What I’m mostly using Cubase for at this time, is to do cover song recordings where I record vocals to a pre-recorded instrumental track.
These tracks are 16-bit files but I like to setup my projects as 32-bits because I can afford to. When importing these 16-bit tracks into my 32-bit sessions, should I have Cubase convert them to 32 bits, or keep them as they are? (if it makes any difference to the answer, most of these instrumentals are 320kbps MP3 files).
Also, some of the vocals were recorded a few years ago when I could have probably adjusted my input gains better before they reached the DAW - some may be a bit soft compared to recent sessions. How would you advise I turn them up without inducing more noise, so that they will sound more equal to he recent stuff?
If you keep the file 16-bit, it will be processed in 32-bit in the project. If you convert it before, you don’t get more data from the file anyway. So you can keep it in 16-bit.
First os all, don’t use Noise Gate, please. This will Mute the very low (meaning in Volume) signal. But once the real signal comes, the noise will be back. And it will be much more noticible, because the human brain reacts on the changes. You can try any noise-reduction plug-in, but be very carefull with it, please. In 99% I just end up with the result to keep it, as it was, with the noise, as the best tested solution.
So then my options are what? To process using Normalize? Or to process using Gain? Or, just to put the fader as high as possible in the console without normalizing or increasing the gain on the vocal track?
o then my options are what? To process using Normalize? Or to process using Gain? Or, just to put the fader as high as possible in the console without normalizing or increasing the gain on the vocal track?
All of these are nothing more and nothing less than ways of changing the level. None of them is better than any other as far as your signal to noise is concerned.
A sensible option would be to set the clip gain or channel input gain to give a healthy signal level so if you should add any insert effects they will see a good level.
Please note that when I say a good level I don’t mean peaking near zero…something around -18db RMS is a good individual track level though we’re maybe straying off the topic there!