100% on your windows mixer (line in)

[shackrock]

slack i tried moving my slider up to 100% on my line in control (on my soundcard)...but it doesn't match my mixer's db scale at all on n-track.

i go through a behringer 802a, then to my line-in port by the way.


so unless i turn the slider to around 15-20%, it clips a whole hell of a lot...any ideas here? or just a shitty soundcard (which it is)?

 

[Slackmaster2K]

Well, on a decent system, 100% on the input gain should mean that the system is going to receive a 100% line level signal and do absolutely nothing to it aside from digitize it. On that same system, if you drop the input fader to 50% your are digitally reducing the input by 50%. Hence on that system it would be most beneficial to leave your inputs at 100% and control levels before the inputs. This is what I do on my Delta, and what I assume most people do.

Now in the case of a cheapo soundcard, who knows what's going on. Line level should be standard, but it's not always the case, and that could be an issue. Perhaps the card's mixer is configured to digitally *boost* instead of just attenuate....this would be my guess. So who knows where 100% line level is on that fader. Having the fader down at 20% seems awful low to me. I know that on one of my old cards (a soundblaster I think), I had to set the input level at like 70%. But who knows, if the card is cheap (as you say it is) then I wouldn't worry too much...just set it up so that it works and you'll be fine for now.

Slackmaster 2000