From Brian Willoughby Sent Thu, Dec 27th 2018, 01:39
Ha! Most of the time, Andrew is right. It has been my experience that -18 = dBFS is a good target, although I place my peaks there, not sustained = sounds. But that fact is that this is hardly a standard that anyone can = rely upon. Sometimes you have to go to great pains to calibrate the = meters so that 0 dBFS actually reflects any sort of known reference = level. Bob Katz goes over the steps in his book. At the other end of the spectrum, many analog synths have terrible = performance with the master volume at 12 o=E2=80=99clock. Not all are = bad there. In fact, some might work best there. But at least a few = synths require maximum volume if you=E2=80=99re going to get decent = signal levels out. It=E2=80=99s also far more repeatable to aim for max = volume than to aim for 12 o-clock, unless there is a detent there (and = even then there can be variation). Again, there is no standard rule that = we can rely upon. You really have to get to know your gear. Brian Willoughby On Dec 26, 2018, at 5:32 PM, laurie <xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx> wrote: > and on planet earth ? > :) >=20 >=20 > ---- On Wed, 26 Dec 2018 19:25:51 -0600 Andrew Horton = <xxxxxx.xxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx> wrote ---- > Set all synth self volumes to maximum for best s/n and gain. Set = sustained/average levels to -18 - Peaks can go higher. Most ADC=E2=80=99s = are calibrated so that -18dbfs =3D =E2=80=9Canalog zero=E2=80=9D on a = traditional VU Meter and are designed to sound and operate best at -18.=20= >=20 > Sent from my iPhone=20 >=20 > > On Dec 26, 2018, at 7:14 PM, Brian Willoughby = <xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx> wrote:=20 > >=20 > > This is a tough question to answer, partly because I think there are = two aspects to the answer.=20 > >=20 > > 1) Avoid distortion from clipping; maximize signal-to-noise.=20 > >=20 > > 2) Postpone adjustments for loudness until the final mixing stage. = There=E2=80=99s a difference between optimizing per-channel S/N and = adjusting the loudness for a good mix. Don=E2=80=99t confuse the two by = trying to handle them at the same time with a single control.=20 > >=20 > >=20 > > On the first topic, I would hope that every synth/drum machine would = have been designed so that it will not clip its own mixing stages. = However, we cannot rely on this because many audio circuits over the = years, even from well-respected brands, have included design mistakes = that are less than optimal. Therefore, it seems that you will have to = determine whether each of your synths/drum machines clip internally when = the master volume is at maximum, and if so then you=E2=80=99ll have to = discover the amount that the volume needs to be reduced until there is = no distortion (unless, of course, this distortion is part of the sound = that you=E2=80=99re trying to record).=20 > >=20 > > Part two is whether your =E2=80=9Cmixer" input can handle the = maximum volume of each synth/drum machine. In my experience with the = MOTU 896HD, the input levels can only be boosted, not attenuated, so = there were many recording situations where I needed to reduce the output = level on the sending device because it was otherwise too strong for the = 896HD to handle. Analog mixers tend to have switchable pads, and my = Metric Halo Labs interfaces have programmable Trim that can reduce = excessive input levels. If you don=E2=80=99t have this option, and if = any of your synths/drum machines are =E2=80=9Ctoo hot,=E2=80=9D then = you=E2=80=99ll need to reduce the master volume.=20 > >=20 > > Personally, even when I have the option for Padding Line level = inputs, I rarely boost a device=E2=80=99s output level if it means that = the mixer will need to be Padded. Those pad resistors can add a little = noise, so it=E2=80=99s better to reduce the send level so that the Pad = can be disengaged. The result will be cleaner. Of course, it=E2=80=99s = generally true that more signal level on a cable is better for S/N, but = once you=E2=80=99ve reached the limits of a +4 dBu Line Level input = (which is about +26 dBu!), then you already have more than enough S/N. = Boosting above this, to the point where you need Pad resistors, is not = going to improve anything at all.=20 > >=20 > >=20 > > Finally, you don=E2=80=99t want to sacrifice the signal-to-noise = performance of an individual channel by turning it down to adjust its = loudness to match anything else. Psychoacoustics research tells us that = there is a difference between the level of signal as measured by = voltages and meters versus the loudness perceived by the human hearing = system. Since noise gets worse as you turn things down, I recommend = avoiding the temptation to match loudness between synths/drum machines, = and just maximize the channel S/N. Once you have a mixer full of = channels that have minimal noise, you can mix based on loudness and = retain the option of making some devices louder than others during part = of a song, while other devices might be louder in other parts of the = song.=20 > >=20 > > Looking at the above from a different point of view: If you=E2=80=99ve= already maximized S/N for every channel, then you no longer have the = option of turning anything up. Thus, balancing loudness means turning = some things down, which just makes the noise worse. Loudness adjustments = should be a creative step, possibly automated, and certainly dynamically = changing during the progression of a piece of music.=20 > >=20 > > Another issue to keep in mind here is that the presets on any synth = or drum machine will vary drastically from one selection to another. If = you try to adjust levels to match loudness across devices, that balance = will be lost as soon as you select a different sound or a different bank = of sounds on any one or more synths/drum machines. Instead, if you = adjust for maximum signal-to-noise, as described above, then your mixing = process will be most successful at matching (or mismatching!) loudness, = as appropriate for the art.=20 > >=20 > >=20 > > Bottom line: These questions are all part of the general topic of = =E2=80=9Cgain staging=E2=80=9D - which is very important in a recording = studio. There=E2=80=99s a lot to learn. I recommend Bob Katz=E2=80=99 = =E2=80=9CMastering Audio: the art and the science=E2=80=9D as one = starting point. It won=E2=80=99t cover all aspects of recording studio = gain staging, but it certainly covers all of the technical basics that = you=E2=80=99ll need. If anything, Bob=E2=80=99s book is probably more = appropriate for your situation, where you have a digital MOTU interface.=20= > >=20 > > Brian Willoughby