Digital recording artifacts
- By poldaaudio
- Digital Line Level
- 6 Replies
I'm having a hard time making acceptable quality digital recordings of an 8-bit computer synthesizer - that is with the line-out of the synth plugged into the line-in on my soundcard. The voices of the synth are programmable-frequency square wave generators.
Max level is 8-10 dB below clipping on record, but single discrete notes that sound pure directly from the synth acquire an annoying degree of "graininess" when recorded and played back - like there is a lot of FM modulation.
When playing chords of closely spaced keys in the same octave, additional and distinctly annoying artifacts are produced. It's present on the initial uncompressed WAV recordings but is exacerbated when the recording is compressed, which you can't avoid when uploading to a video sharing site.
The chord playing artifacts (especially after compression) make the digitally recorded audio sound remarkably like something being played back from a scratchy LP record.
The synth analog out has a single-pole roll-off at around 18 kHz. There is no undue noise or anything else.
I am wondering if there is still enough high-energy harmonic content in the squarewaves to play havoc with my audio cards digital sampling. My card is a not too flash Asus "Xonar" thing that set me back in the region of $35 maybe 10 years ago.
Has anyone else had similar experience or has enough insight into the robustness of anti-aliasing filtering on run-of-the-mill soundcards?
Max level is 8-10 dB below clipping on record, but single discrete notes that sound pure directly from the synth acquire an annoying degree of "graininess" when recorded and played back - like there is a lot of FM modulation.
When playing chords of closely spaced keys in the same octave, additional and distinctly annoying artifacts are produced. It's present on the initial uncompressed WAV recordings but is exacerbated when the recording is compressed, which you can't avoid when uploading to a video sharing site.
The chord playing artifacts (especially after compression) make the digitally recorded audio sound remarkably like something being played back from a scratchy LP record.
The synth analog out has a single-pole roll-off at around 18 kHz. There is no undue noise or anything else.
I am wondering if there is still enough high-energy harmonic content in the squarewaves to play havoc with my audio cards digital sampling. My card is a not too flash Asus "Xonar" thing that set me back in the region of $35 maybe 10 years ago.
Has anyone else had similar experience or has enough insight into the robustness of anti-aliasing filtering on run-of-the-mill soundcards?