PunkRocker, post: 456640, member: 51258 wrote: HI all, I have a Scarlett 18i8 that I bought so that I could mic my drums which it does fine but I noticed that when I went to mic my vocals I clip with the louder decibels. I haven't really experimented with compression and/or limiters) I ventured and bought a better mic to solve the problem. Not the best but a nice AKG c314. But I'm still clipping when my vocals start to rise in volume. Should I fool around with limiters and compression in my DAW? or should I consider a preamp?
Thank You...

What gain level are you recording at?

If you're clipping on the way in nothing you do afterward will fix it.

First do all the obvious stuff like make sure your settings and drivers are correct. Weird behavior by interfaces can be from driver/hardware conflicts etc...

Simple test: use the Focusrite Control software to activate the 10dB pad (attenuator) on the 18i8 channel that you are using for the vocal input. If that makes no difference other than reducing the overall level of the vocal by 10dB, then you have to look elsewhere to see what is overloading. Forget about compression, limiters and EQ until you have identified where in the chain clipping is occuring.

The overload point on the 18i8 microphone inputs with the gain knob at minimum is +8.5dBu (+18.5dBu with pad engaged). It would be surprising if you were exceeding that level when using the microphones you mention.

Do you have the 1st or 2nd generation of the 18i8?

I have the 2nd gen

I didn't know that Focusrite had drivers or software...

You'd think a nice preamp would help drastically.

Thank you for that heads up on the "Focusrite control software". I'll be trying that out when I get the chance

Healthy recording levels are way lower than people would think. I usually record around -18db with peaks up to -10db max.
Recording near zero db is a thing of the past with digital recording specially at 24bit.
I can get that if you record normal lyrics and then start to scream without changing gain, you will either have a low level recording for the average singing and ok screams or the screams will peak. One good thing to do is to record those seperatly with lower gain.
But a lot of people forget that the microphone can also overload. Using a Dynamic mic, which will take high SPL better, is a good idea for loud vocals. SM58 or 57 or SM7 are nice choices for this.

Thanks, I actually own a SM 57. I'd be humbled if that sounded better..

PunkRocker, post: 456667, member: 51258 wrote: Thanks, I actually own a SM 57. I'd be humbled if that sounded better..

I often use the SM57 with a UA LA-610 preamp for screamers.. sounds very good ! ;)