Re: [LAU] Questions on New Recording Gear

Regarding mics' distance - I would like to be able to record a chorus/choir and large ensemble settings with the mics at a greater distance. (I'll also record guitars/bass/drums/etc. but I'm assuming that'll require lower "gain" levels. At the moment I'm testing a nylon-string acoustic with the mics a few feet away.) Regarding just the mixer - I've tested the levels on the mixer alone (took the delta 1010 and computer out of the equation), and at the moment - when using either "solo" for testing levels or "L/R" w/ all faders set to "U" - I have to adjust the "gain" levels to a little over half (the knobs read a range of 0-60, they're set at around "35" to "40" approximately). And the "Level Set" never reachs "0" (the meter lights that have "0dB=0dBu"). At best, the lights that go up/down based on how loud it is only go up 1 or 2 of those lights (reading 30 or maybe 20). The weird thing is, I temporarily had another mixer before this and it easily reached "0"/Level Set. This is actually a more expensive mixer and it barely lights up on those light-meter things. (Sorry I don't know the lingo/terminology.) This is good to hear. I have only hesitated to turn the "gains" up any higher because of fear of "overpowering" their levels. I'm not sure where to find "127". Is that in the Envy24? The levels on my Envy24 application have a minimum of "96" and a maximum of "0". I see the meters in envy24, the green to orange to red, that the audio I create only produces about 6 or 7 of those thin green lines (very close to the bottom). By mute everything in "envy24 monitor mixer" do you mean in "Monitor Inputs" and "Monitor PCMs" or just one of them? I'd think that I should leave the ones I'm using un-muted so the signals send. I changed the "Patchbay/Router" settings all to PCM Outs now. I did have 1 & 2 set to "Digital Mix" (L&R) while my Delta 1010's Out 1 and Out 2 are physically connected to a strip on my mixer set to Main Mix. However, before I get my monitor speakers I'd like to use my computer for the headphone monitoring if possible. Maybe the PCM Outs will make that work. In Ardour, with the current default general level settings, when I record audio I only receive a very small "wavelength" graph in the actual recorded tracks. I'd figure it'd be much larger. I'm currently only testing levels for mics. I do have other sources connected to the mixer, Line Ins from guitar amps Line Outs for example, but I'll work with those after I get the microphones leveled out. Maybe I should crank my mixer "gains" even higher (currently ~35 or ~40 out of 60 on gain levels). :-\ The level meter thing is only showing 30 or 20 (not going up to "0"/"Level Set"). Good to know about not messing with the envy24 gains once they're set. Do I have to load the envy24 program every time I record (kind of like JACK), even if I don't make adjustments to envy24's settings? As a side note, regarding Ardour, every time it loads I get a warning "your system has a limit for maximum amount of locked memory". Should I change something there? Hmm, I just tested playback with a quick recording sample I made and it won't play back via the computer, I have to go back to the Main Mix on the Mixer. That's okay though. Not a big deal. Ultimately (when I get monitor speakers) I'd like to use the mixer's main mix for playback audio anyway. Okay this is weird... levels are sounding pretty good but maybe because I have things set really high? The envy24 channels are set to about 20 (96=min, 0=max). During playback, the envy24 "Monitor PCMs" only read 1 or 2 green bars.