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Selecting Preamp Gain

Subject: Selecting Preamp Gain
From: "bbystrek" <>
Date: Sun, 28 Jul 2002 23:27:17 -0000
What is the correct way to establish a preamp gain setting?  My 
current understanding is to always set it as high as possible without 
clipping to maximize dynamic range.  Is this correct?  Of couse it's 
difficult to deal with digital overs in post recording editing, and 
from everything I have read, you have to test your recorders level 
indicators to see how they actually work to see where clipping is 
actually occuring - given that they don't all necessarily represent 
the output of the digitizer, but sometimes a value derived from the 
amplifier.

Am I right in also concluding that the perceived noise generated by 
the microphone is unaffected by gain setting of the preamp (given 
that input sections are typically much much quieter than mics) such 
that if the final recording were later amplitude normalized, the 
quality of the recording is the same?

Brian Bystrek




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