Hey guys - my PSR740 is connected to my PC's soundcard through the line-in jack. It is a new soundcard...so it SHOULD record pretty good, but guess what? It doesn't.

So I've come here to ask you experts for your opinions on this.

My keyboard is connected using this cable:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Accessories&pid=05760034000&vertical=ELEC&subcat=Cables%2C+Connectors+%26+Wiring&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

Connected to the red and white stereo jacks are two of these so it can connect to my piano:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index....rentPage=search

When I record to my PC, I make sure ALL of the mixer volume levels are correct (like line in, etc...) and then I make sure all the other volumes are correct as well. Then, I record and make sure the meter does not peak above the red spot.

Finally, when I playback my recording, the audio is EXTREMELY low compared to other audio. Like, for instance, if I play a normal .mp3 file like Coldplay's music, it sounds great. Then, when I play my music, it is MUCH lower which forces me to turn my speaker volume all the way up. The quality sounds "okay" but the volume is way too low.

Scottyee, I've listened to your recordings - how do you do it so well? You sound great in your recordings that are up on your site and the quality is amazing...what am I doing wrong?

Thanks for the help!

Ryan

Ryan. Check your email. - Scott

Try using a mixer between the keyboard and computer that way you have more control over volume and tone.

I am no expert but had somewhat the same problem recently and found that I did not have the Master Volume high enough on the keyboard.

Cousin Ken

You should have plenty of volume, with the keyboard volume somewhere around halfway.

Can you hear the keyboard "loud and clear" through the PC playback system - if there's no oomph here then there's no hope for recording and you should sort this first to confirm tbat the sound card is getting a good feed from the keyboard.

Once you have a good playback signal you should be able to organise a decent record signal.

The record mix is usually controlled by a totally separate set of level controls and input selectors. The "normal" windows mixer controller doesn't show the record controls by default; you have to go into "advanced" settings to twiddle with record settings.

I use "SoundForge" for recording puroses, because with suitable twiddles (set up to record, enable "Monitoring") you can view the incoming signal level on some quite big LED style meters; I'm sure there are other similar items out there.

If you've still go problems, whats your soundcard? What software are you recording with?

Hey guys,

Thanks for your input. Scott Yee contacted me about this and stepped me through the process. I switched to a new program to record the .wav file (Sound Forge) and it SEEMS to be working pretty darn good as I've noticed a big boost in the volume of my recording.

HOWEVER...here is what I also told Scott. I'm still questionable about the overall quality of it because...

From what I read in the help file, Sound Forge says to get as close as possible to 0 DB without going over. Well, I did that and I believe that it is working properly...but I'm still questionable and here's why:

It has TWO meters: one is the Peak Meter which is NEVER supposed to go over 0 and the other is the VU/PPM meter. It says the VU/PPM meter should fall near 0 (reference mark) for some reason... My VU/PPM meter goes clear up to 8 but what is interesting is that the Peak Meter does not exceed 0 DB. I burned it to CD and tested it on a number of CD players and it sounded fine...but I'm not sure if that's the case though. And my highest peak level is -0.2 I'm not sure if that's recommended or not, but it sounds fine to me. I opened the .wav file in WaveStudio out of curiosity and it was in the red many times...but Sound Forge just explains that as long as it doesn't go over 0.0 DB it's fine. Is that the case? Is it okay that I my music goes into the red as long as it doesn't go over -0.0 DB?

Thanks for the help Scott and everyone - I REALLY appreciate it!

Ryan

Glad to hear the good news. Ok Ryan, looking forward now to hearing the results . . . in a "song"



I've been solely using the Peak Meter, raising the input rec level as high as possible to 0 but making certain it NEVER goes over it. Frankly, I've never used the VU/PRM meter before.

I'm curious now to learn what benefits each of these two different types of meters have, as well as what specific recording projects each best suited for. Thanks.

Scott

Scott, you've been a great help with this...I appreciate it.

I burned the music to CD and played it on a number of CD players, boomboxes, PCs, you name it and it sounded perfect. I really didn't notice ANY distortion and the volume was much improved.



Yeah, I'll try to get something together. My most recent project is unfinished...so I gotta work on that one some more.

Also, about the meters, I don't understand those either. The peak meters are easy to undestand but those VU/PPM meters are unclear of what they do exactly. So much to learn...

Thanks again for the help!!!

VU / PPM meters mimic the behaviour of "analog" meters, and I think they show average power. A "wire and magnets" analog meter has no chance of responding to high frequency, short time period transients. This accounts for the "Rule of thumb" when using analog recording devices that, whilst you can set a bass drum record level to peak near 0db, it is best to set a cymbal record level to more like -10db because the meter cannot respond fast enough.

It's different for digital / computer work.

I would always use an LED style "peak hold" meter; by its nature digital recording will emphasise any clipping and the peak meter gives you the best chance of spotting it.

MacAllcock: Thanks for the good VU/PRM meter explanation. Sounds like utilizing the LED Peak Hold meter alone is the best way to go, and will meet all our SoundForge digital audio rec requirements. I'm still curious though, considering the fact you say VU/PRM meters are intended for analog signal metering, why Sony included this meter option on SoundForge, a digital audio rec/editing software.

Scott

A VU meter measures the average sound output, a PPM (Peak Program Meter) measures the fastest and highest sound peaks. (I think it was developed in the 60s or 70s and was significantly more expensive then a VU meter, which is why you only found them in studios and on high end consumer music items)
LEDs have no moving parts and so respond virtually instantaneously, unfortunately because of this the eye/brain has problems registering the peaks, and so the peak hold LED meter was introduced to solve the problem.
Uses
A piece of Classical music has a very low average volume, but plenty of peaks; a lot of modern music has few peaks, but a high average volume.
If you made a recording of both using a Peak meter, then when you played them back the modern music would be considerably louder then the Classical piece. (The ear focuses on the average volume first)
Consequently recording studios and program makers use both types of meter to make sure they get a nicely balanced sound.
Hope this helps.

Bill

Yeah, thanks for the explanation. I'm still a little bit confused by the use of the PPM meter...

When you say "Peak hold" meter what do you mean? I know that SoundForge has a number at the top that tells the highest peak in the recording...so, for instance, as the song plays, it lets you know when the highest peak occurs. So, at the beginning the song may be at -2.3 DB and then by the end, the peak meter detected the highest peak at -0.2 I'm assuming since it didn't go over zero, that that is a safe level of volume?

"Peak Hold" meters are LED meters which leave the highest level LED segment of a recent peak level illuminated for a second or two, even if the signal has since got quieter.

Hi Ryan,

Here is a quick tip on boosting the volume of your own recordings in Sound Forge.

The biggest problem home recording artists face is making their own CDs sound as loud as commercial CDs without introducing distortion. You must have noticed that your home recorded CDs tend to sound a decibel or two softer than regular commercial CDs.

This issue can be resolved in 3 quick easy steps in Sound Forge.

Open your WAV recording file in Sound Forge.

1. Fix the CD Offset

| File | Process | DC Offset…|
Check = Automatically detect and remove
Check = Compute DC offset from first 5 seconds only
[OK]


2. Run the Normalize process to Peak Level

| File | Process | Normalize |

Peak Level

Move Slider to the very Top = 0dB
[OK]

3. Run the Normalize process to Average RMS Power

| File | Process | Normalize |

Average RMS power

Set the Normalize Slider to –13dB
You may want to move this down to –14dB or –15dB if it gets too loud.

Scan Settings = -50dB
Attack Time = 200ms
Release Time = 200ms

If Clipping Occurs = Ignore (Saturate)--> This is the most important setting to get the high levels!

If you set this to anything else, you will not get the desired loudness.
Short Peaks do not matter.

[OK]

The resulting WAV file sounds just like a commercial recording. It has all the presence and clarity you would expect.


Tapas

Cool, thanks for the tips! I tried the settings and it sounded really good...but there was one time (with a vocal recording) where it clipped on many areas.

also, sometimes even when my recording is no where near the red area, I still receive static in the speakers and I have some pretty decent speakers (they're soundblaster...)

thanks guys and sorry for my bried leave of absence recently.