MIDI to Audio in DP 4.5 - Techniques and Levels?

[RhythmRmixd]

Hey Everyone,

Ever since I upgraded to Digital Performer 4.5 from DP3, I've found MIDI a little easier to use. I still have questions about making the best choices for recording and mixing MIDI. To start, I've familiarized myself with most of the MIDI edit and region menu operations as far as processing MIDI sounds, for those of you who are familiar with how DP operates. My general process is to set my MIDI faders at full volume (on a 0 to 127 scale), keep pan at dead center, add continuous controller information (sometimes with pan info) and velocity changes to balance the mix somewhat during MIDI mixing, and then record my MIDI tracks (one at a time) from my modules outputs directly into my 828mkII inputs for further processsing as audio soundbites (where panning, fader level changes, and DSP processing are done). I'm recording each MIDI track to its own audio track, most of the time.

When I monitor my audio levels (the level the MIDI is being recorded at going into audio) I'm seeing levels usually around -12db, and not much stronger than that. Does this sound like a good range going into an audio soundbite? This is with my modules volume knobs turned all the way up, my 828mkII inputs at 0db, and my 828mkII mix bus at 0db. I'm reading green on the inputs meters on the 828mkII and not yellow at all, but I think close to it. I'm also wondering how much gain should be applied to each AUDIO track, so that I'm getting a good signal level but still allowing some headroom for the mastering stage. Is there a general area I should be shooting for as far as db levels during the audio mixdown stage, just before I'm bouncing to a stereo master track for mastering?

[ssscientist]

First, get used to controlling the level of your midi tracks with controller 7, not with velocity. Many midi sounds are programmed to change substantially with increased velocity and by controlling your levels with that you are cheating yourself out of a whole bunch of subtle expression.

Second, one of the great things about midi is that you can edit the parts right up until the final mix. When you print a midi track to an audio track you are stuck with the performance, the sound and limit your mixing options greatly. I find myself leaving final sound choices as well as any perfomance tweaks of the midi tracks of a song until almost everything else is together.

[RhythmRmixd]

One cool thing about DP4.5 is that you can "freeze" midi tracks to audio, adding DSP as needed, and then if you want to adjust the midi within that audio track you can "unfreeze" it later to adjust what you need. But I think this freezing and unfreezing process only works on midi tracks created with a software sampler (in my case, MOTU's MachFive). I am also using a couple E-MU modules, and from what I understand I have to actually record these module midi tracks into a live, record-enabled audio track during playback to get them to audio. That was sort of where I was trying to get that audio volume level question answered. But I suppose I'll just try to automate everything volume and pan wise in my MIDI tracks (with controller's 7 and 10) instead of using velocity changes for everything, print (or record) to audio tracks and go from there until I can get a good level on my final mix.