ok i got a behringer xenyx 1202fx and focusrite scarlett 2i2 like probably every other newb.
i guess i just turn my yamaha cp33 and novation mininova up full blast volume wise, right? and put the mic's gain on the mixer right in the middle?
You have guessed incorrectly grasshopper. You never want to really exceed 75% of your gears capability. Like @
BobbyS mentioned, you need to learn how to gain stage. First off, lets take everything out of the signal path and just talk about you 2i2 and mixer. If you are using a mic, than your button on the front panel needs to be in the "line" position. If it is an instrument, than you would select that feature.
Think of gain staging as a water supply line. It comes out of the water tower in a 24" pipe. From there it runs through your town in a 12" pipe. From the street it runs into your house in a 1" pipe and from there it runs through out your house in a 3/4 or 1/2 inch pipe. If the pipe coming from the water tower ran straight to your house, the amount of pressure, would blow your pipes apart.
Now lets deal with your gear specifically. Set your channels up like this on your 1202. Place your main gain control on each channel (top) you will be using to the the 3 o"clock position. At the bottom of each channel set the knob labeled "Level" to the 3 o'clock position as well. This is the knob you will use to fine tune your input for that channel. Pan every channel you will be using to the left. Turn your mixer off.
Now take your instruments and route them into the channels you want to use on your mixer. Turn your instrument on and set the volume out level, to around 50%. Now turn your mixer on and play something as you watch the meters. If they are going green and yellow, you are done with this part of gain staging. If not, you can raise your output slightly on your instrument as well as the lower gain control on your mixer, till you reach that level. Try not to just use one volume control to get into that sweet spot.
This is the same set up for your mics. Make sure your 2i2 is turned off. Now, come out of your mixer from the Left Main Out Jack and into your 2i2. The "Main Mix" out fader on your mixer is what is going to supply the signal strength to your 2i2. On your 2i2, set the gain control to the 12 to 3 o'clock position. As we have no idea how much signal we have coming through at this point, it is impossible to give an exact position but we will talk about that in a min or two.
Now, you must turn on your 2i2 and mixer BEFORE you open Audacity. If not, it will not recognize your interface. Once you have created a track in Audacity, take the mic input and move it to the 50% position in Audacity. Now click on the record input meter. This will show you your signal strength coming into Audacity. Slowly raise your main mix fader on your mixer, making sure it never goes into the red as you are speaking into your mic or playing your instrument, till the input meter in Audacity is between the -12db and -18db range.
Once you do this, you can now click record and start laying down your track. Once you are finished recording, YOU MUST select the track and use the amplify filter to bring your audio up to whatever level you desire. Around a -9dbs to -13dbs should be just fine to start with. This will make it very easy to listen to it during playback.
You need to understand that your input levels verses your output levels are
two very different things, even though they both work off of the db measurement system. Now, if for some reason you
can not get your input levels to go into Audacity at the recommended levels, go back to EACH part of your signal path, (Instrument, Mixer, Interface, Audacity) and increase EACH part just a little more. If I have explained this to you correctly, you now know 99.9% of everything you need to concerning gain staging and all your hissing should have vanished.
Now next week we will discuss how to assemble a 4 stag trident xr 22 ballistic rocket. Wait, you were correct, this ain't rocket science!
Now, with all that being said and since you now know how to gain stage, your setup and what you want to achieve is 100% wrong for recording into Audacity! If you were playing live, than this would be correct and I am going to see if I can get you to understand why. When you record into any DAW, you want to lay down each part of the recording, vocals, drums, synths, guitars etc on their own separate track.
This will allow you to address each track with different fxs as well as give you the ability to adjust the volume of each track so it blends in with the over all recording. You are limited to 2 tracks due to your 2i2. When Pros mic a drum kit, they will run mics to the snare, kick, toms, ride, high hat, splash ect so they can adjust the volume for each part of the kit. So now you should understand why it is important for each part of the audio to have its own track.
So, if you decide you want to do it like this, you will take your mixer completely out of the signal chain and go from your instruments or mics and go directly into your 2i2 and into Audacity. Now your gain staging will consist of your instrument output level, your 2i2 input level and than Audacity's mic input level. If you are just using a mic than it would just be your 2i2 input level and Audacity's mic input level. If I have made myself clear, I am confident that you can now "
STPFMH".