Re: [LAU] Audio Levels with your delta 1010

I don't remember- what level is the mackie outputting at? Is it a -10 or +4
output? I'm not sure what is really wrong in your setup, I'm not seeing
anything that is really alarming, that's why I was asking what levels you
are shooting for in ardour, because you may not need more gain. Also,
halfway up is not necessarily bad on yoru channel gain- if you solo the
channel I believe mackie uses that as the prefader level (master level
should reflect the soloed channel level I mean, before the channel fader,
allowing you to set your gain), and that should be around 0 (or U), with
only the occasional higher peak. Then you've set your gain correctly.

On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 11:08 AM, Ectropic Harmony <
ectropic.harmony@email-addr-hidden> wrote:

> On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 9:10 AM, Mark Rufino <157audio@email-addr-hidden> wrote:
> >
> >
> >> On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 12:22:24AM -0600, Ectropic Harmony wrote:
> >>
> >>> I haven't had a chance to test the entire set-up of multiple
> >>> connections just yet (see message below for what I'm thinking about
> >>> trying, I don't know if it'll work) but I have managed to get a basic
> >>> recording going with mics into mixer into delta interface into
> >>> computer.
> >>>
> >>> One issue right now -
> >>>
> >>> Levels.
> >>>
> >>> Really low levels.
> >>>
> >>
> > I'm not sure if, from that, I can determine whether or not I need a
> > separate mic preamps type device.
> >
> > Any ideas?
> >
> > Hopefully it's just a matter of me incorrectly setting levels. :-\ But
> > if I need a preamp device I'll definitely get one.
> > When you saw low levels, how low? If you are using a mixer into your
> delta
> > 1010 then you have mic preamps. If you are plugging a mic into your delta
> > 1010 (which I assume you're not- that is only 1/4" inputs, right?, then
> > those are line inputs and your mic needs amplification. Also, for your
> > condenser mics you do have phantom power, right? Just checking, without
> that
> > they will not make much, if any, sound.
> > However, assuming things are working correctly, what level are you
> shooting
> > for? digital 0 and analog 0 are not the same thing, different scales, so
> > shooting for 0 on your mackie then shooting for 0 in ardour is not going
> to
> > work- ardour ideally should be peaking around -18, maybe a hair higher
> once
> > in a while. That is called 0dbfs (0 decibels below full scale). "Full
> scale"
> > is calibrated to something analog, and -18 is one standard (people
> calibrate
> > to different things depending on the situation), so 0dbfs in that case
> would
> > be +18dbv (I think dbv is the scale, maybe dbvu? doesn't necessarily
> matter
> > though). So if you are recording at +18 analog, that means your mackie is
> > red lighting everything, and a mackie most definitely is not going to
> sound
> > good at +18, and your delta 1010 inputs aren't designed for that either,
> so
> > you're going to get some ugly sound. Just something to think about, it
> may
> > or may not be your issue.
> > So when you are gain staging, you want each piece in your signal chain to
> > operate where it is meant to operate efficiently. In your mixer, if you
> max
> > out your channel gain then lower the fader, that's not really what you
> want
> > to be doing- the gain is not a "volume control" really, it is meant to
> bring
> > the operating level of your mic to its correct spot. Same thing with your
> > channel faders, you don't want them all up high then the master fader
> down.
> > However, inside ardour, this is different, you can have your faders up
> and
> > your master down, to a degree. Ardour's internal headroom is much much
> > higher than any analog component, so you're not clipping ardour inside,
> but
> > then as you send sound out too loud you're clipping your converters,
> which
> > can be done with some converters, but not something on the m-audio level
> (me
> > either, I have a phonic mixer, probably made in the same factory as the
> > mackie). So keep your levels conservative and you'll get a better sound.
> > If there are inaccuracies to what I've said please correct, but for the
> most
> > part I think my info is correct.
> >
> > --
>
> Thank you for the info.
>
> I recently posted some info about my current connections/level
> settings ("Questions on New Recording Gear" subject).
>
> Here is the bit from that referring to Delta 1010 current settings &
> Envy24 levels:
>
> Default button settings on back of Delta 1010 (buttons out, allowing "+4")
> Software connections via JACK
> Envy24 running, with levels maxed out (ins and outs).
> Ardour (no current changes in Ardour's mixer's levels, using default).
>

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Received on Tue Jan 26 20:15:07 2010