A Dilemma & Practical Issue - Zieaz LCA1 Instruction Manual

A dilemma & practical issue
Example 2: A Trombone at 18cm (assumed to be played that loud...) ; because the
waveform of the trombone has high peaks of high frequencies (greater than 1000Hz) ,
the "Max dB at 0cm" turns yellow to indicate the near maximum limit of the
microphone. The sound pressure at the diaphragm is close to the damaging level,
and the distance to the trombone should not be shorter .
The "Set Gain to" is -19.72dB and indicates that you should use a -20dB Pad and 0dB
Gain (or -16dB gain at about 27cm). The red "Use external Pad!" indicates an
assumption, that the selected preamp (Pro -4dBu), does not support more than -10dB
Pad reduction. Use a preamp with -20dB Pad reduction, or increase the distance of
the microphone to the trombone, to match the -10dB Pad limit of about 56cm.
A dilemma & practical issue; humans perception of sound intensity level is
logarithmic. The waveform of the trombone is "compressed" for our perception when
we listen to it directly. Because the recording gear is a linear system, and the
dominant/constant frequencies for a tenor trombone are E2 (82.4 Hz) to Bb4 (466.2
Hz). Depending on the overall "sound picture" or style of your mixing philosophy;
"rounding" the high peaks using a limiter/dynamics/compressor after the preamp,
will adapt the waveform to "fit" for maximum volume capability in the electrical &
digital domain (linear scale) ; so the appropriate "perceived" level can be adjusted In
the recording software/mixer without notable distortion.
Please refer to your preamp/hardware build-in features, and your recording/DAW
software for sound shaping options/effects.
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