My recordings are overly quiet

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Diimi

New member
Hi everybody,

I'm just starting out with a RME babyface and Pro tools. I am encountering a big problem : my recording are overly quiet. I mean, when I look at the signal representation of my acoustic guitar tracks in pro tools, I can barely say when I am playing and when I am not.
I think I stage the gain right though : I play a loud guitar part and I set the gain so that the peaks don't go over -10.

So I'm desperately looking for an answer to my problem.
Thank you all :)
 
Likely an issue with the scale you use to present your track information.
Reaper would need a zoom in treatement. Not sure how PT works....
 
As far as seeing the signal, you can just zoom in but as to being quiet... no worries. That's normal.

You can bump it up as you get into the mixing and "mastering" stage. The key is you're leaving headroom. That's a good thing. Don't sweat the volume. :)
 
Diimi said:
Hi everybody,

I'm just starting out with a RME babyface and Pro tools. I am encountering a big problem : my recording are overly quiet. I mean, when I look at the signal representation of my acoustic guitar tracks in pro tools, I can barely say when I am playing and when I am not.
I think I stage the gain right though : I play a loud guitar part and I set the gain so that the peaks don't go over -10.

So I'm desperately looking for an answer to my problem.
Thank you all :)
Click to expand...

Check your main output volume.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6SD0tTuseY

Hope this helps.
 
Honestly, until you get to the mastering stage, there is no such thing as too quiet. Unless your tracks are coming in at -65db or something, it's nothing to worry about. Just turn up your speakers. It's totally normal that they seem quiet compared to the finished products you might be comparing them to. Like others have said, it might also just be a "view" thing. See if you're able to zoom in on your wave form if you have to.
 
RAMI said:
Honestly, until you get to the mastering stage, there is no such thing as too quiet. Unless your tracks are coming in at -65db or something, it's nothing to worry about. Just turn up your speakers. It's totally normal that they seem quiet compared to the finished products you might be comparing them to.
Click to expand...

Good advice from RAMI. Have fun experimenting with your own "mastering" once you have a suitable stereo track mixed down with helpful tools such as dynamics processing, limiters, normalization, stereo panning..suit to taste and once you beging "beefing" it up, remember to turn your speakers back down!
 
If your peaks are around -10 then your tracking level is fine.
The wave form zoom is up near the top left of the PT mix window. Just zoom in once or twice. :)

If the issue is auditory as well as visual, turn up your monitors or headphone amp.
Master fader should be at unity.
 
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