Setting recording levels

M

matt's bedroom

New member
Yo,

I have a question about my 424--and recording in general really--that's been niggling me a bit.

Suppose I'm setting the recording levels for an instrument. Obviously, I want the cleanest-sounding recording possible.

So, for optimum results, do I:

a) Turn the channel (volume) fader all the way up and not turn the trim (gain) up so much.

Or

b) Turn the channel fader to its 'nominal' setting (between 7-8) and turn the trim up some more to compensate.

Does anyone have any views on this, or doesn't it make the blindest bit of difference whether you use more gain and less volume, or more volume and less gain to record?

I imagine in general it would be preferable to use as little gain as possible, but what have other 424 users found works best for them?

Cheers

Matt
 
Hi Matt :)

As someone who's used the 424's cousins (144, 414, Porta-One) and who currently uses a 388 I would say that Option B is the correct one (and so do Tascam ;) ). You use the Channel fader(s) to set the level going to the Busses (1, 2, 3, 4, L and R) and the Trim control to set the level going into the Channel itself. Hope that's clear.
 
Cheers,

That's sort of clear to me. I'll stick with option b) for now, then.

So, you say, the channel fader only sets the volume going to the channel buss, while the trim control sets the level going to the channel itself...

so the reason I needn't raise the channel fader above 7-8 is because it won't actually increase the recording level, but merely boost (and distort) the already-recorded signal?
 
Not quite. It's called Gain Staging. The idea is to get the clearest, cleanest signal you can to tape. By setting the Channel Volume fairly high you're able to use less of the pre-amp's gain. The reason you want it at the 7 - 8 level is because this still allows some increase in volume should you need or desire it. But you should really only use that at the mixing stage and use the Gain (or Trim) control(s) to increase or decrease the levels going into the channel(s) during tracking.
 
Sweet, I get ya.

So I'll record with the volume fader at 7-8.

But is it okay to increase the volume of a track above 7-8 after it's been recorded, during mixdown?

Or would this result in loss of sound quality and more hiss?

Like, would this only be used in an extreme situation, such as if one track was a lot quieter than the others, and you didn't want to reduce the volume of the other tracks to compensate?

Thanks for the help, by the way.
 
matt's bedroom said:

***Like, would this only be used in an extreme situation, such as if one track was a lot quieter than the others, and you didn't want to reduce the volume of the other tracks to compensate?

That's right !
That would be the exact purpose.
I have mixed-down several songs where I had to do just such a thing.
At this point pay particular attention with your ears.

Good Luck !
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