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.<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 11:08 AM, Ectropic Harmony <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ectropic.harmony@gmail.com">ectropic.harmony@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex;">
<div><div></div><div class="h5">On Tue, Jan 26, 2010 at 9:10 AM, Mark Rufino <<a href="mailto:157audio@gmail.com">157audio@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
><br>
><br>
>> On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 12:22:24AM -0600, Ectropic Harmony wrote:<br>
>><br>
>>> I haven't had a chance to test the entire set-up of multiple<br>
>>> connections just yet (see message below for what I'm thinking about<br>
>>> trying, I don't know if it'll work) but I have managed to get a basic<br>
>>> recording going with mics into mixer into delta interface into<br>
>>> computer.<br>
>>><br>
>>> One issue right now -<br>
>>><br>
>>> Levels.<br>
>>><br>
>>> Really low levels.<br>
>>><br>
>><br>
> I'm not sure if, from that, I can determine whether or not I need a<br>
> separate mic preamps type device.<br>
><br>
> Any ideas?<br>
><br>
> Hopefully it's just a matter of me incorrectly setting levels. :-\ But<br>
> if I need a preamp device I'll definitely get one.<br>
> When you saw low levels, how low? If you are using a mixer into your delta<br>
> 1010 then you have mic preamps. If you are plugging a mic into your delta<br>
> 1010 (which I assume you're not- that is only 1/4" inputs, right?, then<br>
> those are line inputs and your mic needs amplification. Also, for your<br>
> condenser mics you do have phantom power, right? Just checking, without that<br>
> they will not make much, if any, sound.<br>
> However, assuming things are working correctly, what level are you shooting<br>
> for? digital 0 and analog 0 are not the same thing, different scales, so<br>
> shooting for 0 on your mackie then shooting for 0 in ardour is not going to<br>
> work- ardour ideally should be peaking around -18, maybe a hair higher once<br>
> in a while. That is called 0dbfs (0 decibels below full scale). "Full scale"<br>
> is calibrated to something analog, and -18 is one standard (people calibrate<br>
> to different things depending on the situation), so 0dbfs in that case would<br>
> be +18dbv (I think dbv is the scale, maybe dbvu? doesn't necessarily matter<br>
> though). So if you are recording at +18 analog, that means your mackie is<br>
> red lighting everything, and a mackie most definitely is not going to sound<br>
> good at +18, and your delta 1010 inputs aren't designed for that either, so<br>
> you're going to get some ugly sound. Just something to think about, it may<br>
> or may not be your issue.<br>
> So when you are gain staging, you want each piece in your signal chain to<br>
> operate where it is meant to operate efficiently. In your mixer, if you max<br>
> out your channel gain then lower the fader, that's not really what you want<br>
> to be doing- the gain is not a "volume control" really, it is meant to bring<br>
> the operating level of your mic to its correct spot. Same thing with your<br>
> channel faders, you don't want them all up high then the master fader down.<br>
> However, inside ardour, this is different, you can have your faders up and<br>
> your master down, to a degree. Ardour's internal headroom is much much<br>
> higher than any analog component, so you're not clipping ardour inside, but<br>
> then as you send sound out too loud you're clipping your converters, which<br>
> can be done with some converters, but not something on the m-audio level (me<br>
> either, I have a phonic mixer, probably made in the same factory as the<br>
> mackie). So keep your levels conservative and you'll get a better sound.<br>
> If there are inaccuracies to what I've said please correct, but for the most<br>
> part I think my info is correct.<br>
><br>
> --<br>
<br>
</div></div><div><div></div><div class="h5">Thank you for the info.<br>
<br>
I recently posted some info about my current connections/level<br>
settings ("Questions on New Recording Gear" subject).<br>
<br>
Here is the bit from that referring to Delta 1010 current settings &<br>
Envy24 levels:<br>
<br>
Default button settings on back of Delta 1010 (buttons out, allowing "+4")<br>
Software connections via JACK<br>
Envy24 running, with levels maxed out (ins and outs).<br>
Ardour (no current changes in Ardour's mixer's levels, using default).<br>
</div></div></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><a href="http://www.reverbnation.com/jeffreybrayne">http://www.reverbnation.com/jeffreybrayne</a><br><a href="http://www.jeffreybrayne.com">www.jeffreybrayne.com</a><br>
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