Sound Quality OT ;)

With correct recording levels, it should be difficult to hear the difference, apart noise. I suspect recording level was too low.

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I don’t know how it is with the OT but when i convert my wavefile from 24 to 16 bit on my computer i can’t even hear the tiniest bit of difference.

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No, you probably wont hear a difference when doing a proper a/b-16 to 24 bit, but if you want to increase the amplitude on a 16 bit sample later in post then the noise floor will be a bigger problem than with 24bit, which is why mastering engineers much prefer 24bit over 16. This is particularly relevant with analog gear sampling which has a significant noise floor. My understanding of the OT, correct me if i am wrong, is that it can sample at 24bit, but it saves wavs at 16bit, which is perfectly fine for jamming and playing out live, but when you come to bring it into the daw thats where issues could come into play.

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I haven’t read the whole thread, but a recording of an analog synth is a recording of an analog synth.

It doesn’t turn it magically into a digital synth :wink:

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It saves at 24 bits if set to record at 24 bits. It can playback both whatever the settings are.

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Cool, i stand corrected =] . So bassiclly change the settings if you know your gonna mix in daw later.

Yeah. I’d say the more relevant factor is what you’re recording. The quieter the source, the more useful the extra headroom of a higher sample rate is.

16bit every time for me, I’m not using microphones or acoustic sources or signals with a large dynamic range, so most of the time it is adequate, plus most of my releases go onto vinyl or cassette anyway.

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Thanks for the response! I know you’re the OT guru here.

Was recording a piano from my Korg SV-2 into the OT. Level on the keys was maxed out. OT’s lights were yellow/orange, which is usually good when I sample in. The recorded sample just sounded flat and bad on playback. Once I swapped the bit depth, I played the same passage the same way and it sounded fine when played back. I can only assume that was the culprit, but I have no explanation

Sorry to nit pick, but just so nobody is confused, this isn’t about about sample rate but bit depth. (Unless I am confused myself!)

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You’re probably right, I struggle with these…

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Me too. Especially when I record noise from unplugged inputs ! 24 bit sucks for that ! :content:

Once I tested the 16/24 bit recording difference, I had to record pretty low to start to hear clearly the noise difference.

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I think it’s natural that people think higher bit depth equals “higher quality”, since the number is larger, but it’s about dynamic range. With 24 bits, you just get more possible amplitudes, which means sounds can change from one level of loudness to another more gradually than with 16bits.

16 bits can manage ~64k different amplitudes. 24 bits can handle ~16 million.

I mostly record 16 bit audio on the OT, because mostly I’m just sampling synthesizers and drum machines anyway

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This may well be it. The SV-2 outputs aren’t as hot as some of the other sound sources I’ve recorded. I had to max out the volume on the board and max out the input gain on the OT to get something audible. I’ve never had to use those sorts of levels before, and I’ve never run into this issue.

Just something to file away. Hopefully, it helps some lost soul in the future who comes across this post

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I had something similar happen, but for me it was the noise gate.

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Sounds like it might have a setting for mic/DI level output. Have a look whether you can switch it to line. It really doesn’t make sense that it would be so low.

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I agree it makes no sense the level would be that low. The manual doesn’t say anything about a mic level output option but it does have two sets of outputs, maybe try the other one? Maybe there is a balanced / unbalanced issue. What kind of cable is it, mono or stereo? Try the other kind :man_shrugging:

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