Over the last decade I’ve become more involved in recording saxophones or the production of electroacoustic music. I thought it might be useful to list a few things that I had to understand in the beginning. Absolutely basic stuff for a properly trained audio or recording engineer, but for instrumentalists perhaps not.
Recording Saxophone (particularly Classical)
You can easily find recommendations for the best microphones to record acoustic instruments. Microphones can colour the recorded sound and be weighted towards particular frequency ranges (similar to speakers). I chose two diaphragm microphones with a particular recording pattern that produced a neutral sound with little added warmth, and also weighted to pick-up high frequencies; they’re incredibly sensitive. I’m comfortable that they seem to afford a pretty good representation of acoustic sound across the whole family of saxophones.
I use Focusrite audio interfaces with Cubase Pro. I find that recording to a peak level of around -12 dBFS works for me, you’ll have to experiment. The timbre of the recorded sound changes with different microphone positions. I’ve experienced the ‘microphone in your bell’ position in various ensembles, which produces a completely different (and unnatural?) sound to a more distant position, especially for classical saxophone.
Levels within your DAW
- I use 32 or 24 bits rather than 16 bits to give me a larger dynamic range and recording at lower levels.
- I try to record with a peak level -18 to -12 dBFS to allow for later mixing and other processing.
- Gain-staging is the way to go I think, establishing good mono levels before ‘messing around’.
- Don’t attempt to end up with a mix that peaks at 0 dBFS, that was the old days of ‘loudness wars’.
- I usually set the target levels on meters to match the required streaming/broadcast levels.
- I avoid normalising when creating audio files.
Creating an Audio File of Your Mix
National and International organisations have agreed a set of protocols relating to audio delivered over different platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, iTunes etc. If you don’t comply to the rules, they have algorithms in place to alter you audio to ensure you do.
Rather than focusing just on peak normalisation, it’s good to also look at Loudness Normalisation.
- LUFS Target Level. Different systems (streaming, radio etc.) has different requirements regarding loudness. The European level is -23LUFS, America -24LUFS and streaming services around -16LUFS or -14dBFS.
- If an audio file exceeds the target level, the audio is raised or lowered until it meets the rules. This means that if you have produced a highly compressed audio file at a high LUFS, it will be lowered to meet the rules, but sound worse because of lack of transients and dynamic range.
- Keeping the peak of your mix below -2.0 dB on a true peak meter will avoid clipping and distortion during any transcoding processes, or adjustment by a streaming service.
- Audio with a larger dynamic range will usually sound better than more compressed audio.
Target Levels for Streaming Services
| Service | Loudness | Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Music | -16 LUFS | -1.0 dBTP |
| Spotify | -14 LUFS | -1.0 dBTP |
| Amazon | -14 LUFS | -2.0 dBTP |
| YouTube | -14 LUFS | -1.0 dBTP |
| CD | -9 LUFS | -0.1 dBTP |
| EU Broadcast | -23 LUFS | |
| US Broadcast | -24 LUFS |
Useful Terms used in DAWs like Logic Pro or Cubase
LU
1 LU equals 1dB
LUFS
Integrated Loudness, the average loudness. Use to check if your level adheres to the streaming or broadcasting rules of the service you’re using.
True Peak
True Peak Meters detect inter-sample peaks to give a more accurate reading of peak levels.
Peak to Loudness Ratio
This is the difference between the average loudness (LUFS) and the True Peak level.
LU or LRA
Loudness Range. Shows the dynamics of the audio material. This is not measured from lowest to highest point, rather an average dynamic range. I prefer as wide a range as possible for recording classical music.
I set my target levels in meter plugins to get a sense of audio levels as I work. I aim to get a good dynamic range for acoustic recordings, avoiding compression as much as possible.
Some great sources about recording:
https://soundclass.dk
http://logicprogem.com
https://www.masteringthemix.com
Bartlett, B. and Bartlett, J. (2009) Practical recording techniques: the step-by-step approach to professional audio recording. 5th ed. Burlington, MA: Focal Press.
King, R. (2017) Recording orchestra and other classical music ensembles.
LinkedIn Learning: There are so many great courses giving an insight into basic recording and editing, to mixing and on to mastering. Sometimes the courses are free if you are involved in a university.
