Recording with bass roll off vs. post EQ adjustments

[6079]

I'm curious if there is any advantage to utilizing bass roll off while recording, as opposed to simply adjusting the EQ afterward with a software program.

How is the process of one different from the other?

[A440]

If you use bass roll-off while recording, you can't restore the missing bass. It is stopped on the way in, giving you a less accurate recording. But bass roll-off prevents the itty-bitty, bass-sensitive mic preamp from overloading.

Record with mic-->battery module-->Line-in and you won't need bass roll-off. Adjusting EQ afterward is a much better choice.

[Richard]

* Moved to Live Recording Section

[greenmachine]

In the 16bit recording world, you have to set your levels as close as possible to the 0dB mark to get a detailed, noise-free recording. If the bass is very prominent in your recording, other frequencies (mid range, high frequencies) are recorded at a much lower level and thus at a lower resolution which can lead to loss of detail and a lower signal to noise ratio. If you know beforehand that what you want to record will be very bassy and you would have to roll-off in post anyway, it can make sense to roll-off low frequencies before the signal reaches the digital realm in order to record the most musical frequency range (midrange) at a reasonably high level.

With a 24bit medium, you can set your levels much more conservatively (lower, more headroom), you can even include the prominent bass and edit afterwards without significantly losing detail.

http://www.24bitfaq.org/