1/15/2024 0 Comments Gain plug in![]() This may appear counter-intuitive since filtering should reduce the overall signal level, but in reality an EQ will actually boost slightly around the edge of a cut, which in some circumstances can be enough to push a signal into clipping (watch out for this with high-pass filters, which are commonly used to clean out noise below the fundamental but can also sometimes boost the fundamental frequency slightly). Even something as simple as applying a high-pass filter or an EQ notch to a signal can push a hot signal into clipping. ![]() If you don’t leave yourself plenty of headroom in the audio signal before it reaches the Inserts there is a risk that you could push the audio into digital distortion through processing. Simply highlight the clips (or parts of a clip) you want alter and press ++ (PC) or ++ (Mac) to raise the gain ++ (PC) or ++ (Mac) to reduce the gain. What’s more, it can be used to quickly alter sections of clips individually, or multiple clips across multiple channels simultaneously. This gain occurs before the inserts, and not only does it therefore perform a similar function to the Trim plug-in without using up one of your Insert slots, it also provides visual feedback as the waveform shrinks and grows relative to the clip gain level. In Pro Tools 10 the Trim plug-in is still an option, but the new Clip Gain feature lets you dial down the level of the clip directly on the clip itself. Placed in the first Insert slot, it can be used to bring down the level of a signal before additional processing, ensuring that even a hot recording was given some headroom. In Pro Tools 9 and earlier versions the Trim plug-in was an important tool for gain-staging. Once it’s distorting from the Trim plug-in, pull down the fader and the signal will still be distorting. You can test this very quickly by applying a Trim insert to a clip and pushing up the level until it distorts. This means that any gain changes made by an insert effect cannot be fixed by simply pulling down the fader. ![]() In the case of an audio channel the gain is first determined by the clip (previously known as a region in Pro Tools 9 – a name change which is going to make discussing clipping quite complicated!) itself, which then goes to the inserts and, finally, to the fader. Understanding where each gain change occurs is key to ensuring you maintain a solid gain structure throughout your signal path. There’s no reason to stick exactly to this figure, though we usually find ourselves aiming for around -12dBFS. The meters might not look like they’re doing much, but at -18dBFS you’re giving yourself a good amount of headroom and you’re still well above the noise floor. 0VU on an analogue system equates to around -18dBFS on most A-D converters and there are many engineers who prefer to use this figure as a guide when recording in Pro Tools. The first rule to good gain-staging in Pro Tools (and, in fact, any DAW) is to record at 24-bit and give yourself sufficient headroom in your initial recording. However, despite the extra dynamic range of modern digital equipment, many users still try to record as close to 0dBFS as possible, leaving themselves very little headroom before harsh digital clipping occurs. This wasn’t always the case: early digital equipment had a very high noise floor, so users had to run equipment as close to 0dBFS as possible without clipping, leaving very little headroom. The noise floor becomes almost forgettable. Even entry-level A-to-D converters have a signal-to-noise ratio of over 100dB, and with 24-bit recording offering a dynamic range around 144dB (the new 32-bit floating point format in Pro Tools 10 brings this up to a staggering 1,680dB dynamic range ) Once the signal has reached the digital domain the noise floor issues aren’t really important anymore.
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