solo piano with audacity distortion

2diamond · Post by **2diamond** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 2:04 pm

Hi, I'm having noise and distortion issues trying to record solo piano from the M3 (Stereo Grand 4 way) into Audacity. I'm running audio output 1 (not the main L/R outs) to the line in of my PC. I'm able to record the M3 fine but I easily hear distortion on high attack notes/chords.

I've got the input level settings on Audacity (and the PC) set just about as low as they can be set (manually set to .05). While my recording levels are not even close to clipping, I still hear distortion when I play high attack notes and chords.

What can I try to do to eliminate the noise? I've looked through the manuals and I haven't been able to find a place to adjust the levels for output 1 on the M3. (they are not controlled by the volume sliders). Could my cabling be introducing that kind of noise? Any thoughts on what I could look at next?

Thanks in advance.

JP

philipgruver · Post by **philipgruver** » Sat Sep 15, 2012 11:58 pm

Try this: In audacity, select Preferences under the Edit menu, select the File Formats tab and set the MP3 Export Set Up Bit Rate to a higher value, 320.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 12:06 am

Also, don't forget to make sure your computer's time is set to Central African. Because their drum based music is so much more dynamic than our music, this will ensure your computer can take the peak levels much better.

SanderXpander · Post by **SanderXpander** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 10:07 am

But just in case you were looking for a serious answer;

Do you have a dedicated soundcard or are you using adapter plugs to record to the built-in one? This will most likely not give you ideal results even if you manage to get the levels right. You may want to consider getting a (simple) USB audio interface for around $150 if you want to get a little more serious. Or, if your computer has firewire, consider the M3 EXB-FW instead.

For now, there are several things you can do. The best option (changing the sound as little as possible) is probably to go into the AMP page of your patch and simply turn down the Amp level (remember to do this for both oscillators). If nothing is physically broken, you should be able to adjust until you get no clipping distortion. Alternatively, you could put a limiter as your last IFX and compress your playing to reduce the dynamics. But you'll need to use it sparingly or your performance will start to sound really flat.
If you have the option, depending on your configuration sometimes recording in 24 bit can help as it gives you a higher dynamic range. But usually your card's A/D conversion doesn't actually change even if you select a different bitrate in software. Worth a try though.

MP3 export bitrate has as much to do with it as your computer's clock setting, FWIW, for many many reasons.

2diamond · Post by **2diamond** » Sun Sep 16, 2012 9:43 pm

Thanks for the ideas everyone. I had tried a number of European and Asian time zones, but not Central African yet

.

I'll give these a shot. I'm hearing the noise even before I export the file to an .mp3 format, but I'll mess around with the export settings as well as the M3 settings. I've been thinking about getting an audio interface, but hadn't quite gotten around to it. This may be the thing that gets me moving on it.

JP

2diamond · Post by **2diamond** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 3:05 pm

OK, I'm sure that everyone was breathlessly waiting to hear how these ideas worked. I finally tried them.

The one option that worked was to reduce the AMP 1 and 2 levels (to around 60) and that took away the distortion. I ended up having to set Audacity input levels to 0.1 to keep it clean.

Thanks for the ideas!

2diamond

r12 · Post by **r12** » Sat Oct 13, 2012 3:17 pm

some internal M3's programs may have distorsion due to high internal levels (amp boost), or FX, EQ settings
decrease overall program level often reduce distorsions on high velocities...