Acceptable masterbus noise level?(HELP!)

[zqone537]

So....
I been putting together some choice hardware for my master bus, comp, eq, summing. And so I have read that -90 to -80db. But what I am getting is a huge low end bump at 100hz. Is this what would be considered as soft noise? Is it maybe from the tubes from the comp? The master comp sounds great in the path but, it is the culprit.
So is this a bad slate to start on guys?
Thanks!

 

[scott2000]

Doesn't look right...
Would think the only thing you'd expect to see is some mains spikes if there were issues there ...

Doesn't look like motorboating...weird...
What unit is that?

 

[JohnRoberts]

You want it to be enough below the noise floor of your sources that it does not make an audible contribution. How quiet are your sources?

JR

 

[zqone537]

If I'm using -10 as my input level I would say it's going to get in the way of my reverbs and delays. Maybe an element or two if I have a lot to sqeeze in.

Doesn't look right...
Would think the only thing you'd expect to see is some mains spikes if there were issues there ...

Doesn't look like motorboating...weird...
What unit is that?

Oh it's an HCL Varis Scott.

 

[zqone537]

You want it to be enough below the noise floor of your sources that it does not make an audible contribution. How quiet are your sources?

JR

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If I'm using -10 as my input level I would say it's going to get in the way of my reverbs and delays. Maybe an element or two if I have a lot to sqeeze in.

 

[JohnRoberts]

Incoherent noise sums as the square root of the sum of the squares. A bus noise floor equal to source noise floor only increases that resultant noise floor +3dB.

JR

 

[zqone537]

JR

So am I correct in assuming that no matter how many instruments I add the nosie will only raise by 3db or is it the opposite? Kinda like adding a track with the same sound on another track. It only raises the volume by 3db. That's alot.
Also this means masking will occur in those ferquinces and I will have issues with clarity and seperation of instuments/sound, correct?
Thanks JR

 

[zamproject]

Would think the only thing you'd expect to see is some mains spikes if there were issues there ...

We don't know what the smoothing is ?
Maybe it's just a spike at 100Hz from the rectifier and a frequency variable smoothing with 1/1 on the first octave ?

@zqone537
are you used to REW ? maybe a better tool to measure what happen

 

[JohnRoberts]

So am I correct in assuming that no matter how many instruments I add the nosie will only raise by 3db or is it the opposite? Kinda like adding a track with the same sound on another track. It only raises the volume by 3db. That's alot.

To clarify summing together two equal loudness incoherent (different) noise sources will result in +3dB more loudness. Doubling that again (4 sources) is only another +3dB, after that doubling again to 8 sources is only another +3 dB, so the trend should be apparent. Peak levels will sum randomly so it is difficult to make a mathematical prediction at least it's difficult for me.

Also this means masking will occur in those ferquinces and I will have issues with clarity and seperation of instuments/sound, correct?
Thanks JR

There has been a lot of research into masking and psychoacoustic perception of noise.

For a perhaps interesting factoid, we can hear signals (like simple tones) below measured noise floors. The simple answer is that it is complicated. There were numerous AES papers published on the subject over the decades.

JR

 

[zqone537]

We don't know what the smoothing is ?
Maybe it's just a spike at 100Hz from the rectifier and a frequency variable smoothing with 1/1 on the first octave ?

@zqone537
are you used to REW ? maybe a better tool to measure what happen

I changed the setting on average time-0, resolution-65565, and slope-0. And it looks alot more like I would think it should now.
thanks Zam!

 

[ccaudle]

I changed the setting on average time-0, resolution-65565, and slope-0. And it looks alot more like I would think it should now.
thanks Zam!

What were the settings before? Can you post a picture with the new settings, just in case someone else has a similar situation?