Theoretically Ssshpeaking...

H

HomesickAlien

New member
Heya..

I just got my hands on an analog mixer today and have a question...
I have been accustomed to plugging my mic's into my Firepod and recording into my DAW, which only entailed turning my levels up all the way and then down until they were not clipping.
Now, I am running my mic's through my mixer and sending the direct out to my Firepod and into the DAW.

I am wondering what is the "proper" way to balance the levels?
I have been recording for a couple years and can get a pretty nice sound of it but would like to know how this is done by people who know what they are doing...

What I am getting at is in what order I should be doing this.. for example:
1. Setting my faders to 0
2. Cranking the gain until I get a nice signal
3. Turning the level on my firepod to the highest it can go without clipping
4. Is this a really dumb question?

Or, .... ?
 
If it's a Direct Out...it's probably pre-fader on the mixer. So basically, it's just the signal from the pre section.

I would set my preamp gain accordingly and on the Firepod have the input at unity (no gain, no cut, aka "0")...that way the preamp level on the mixer does all the work....and then just check the digital meters to make sure you have proper signal.

If you set the mixer's preamp accordingly...but find the level at the pod is too hot or too low...check which operating levels the mixer and pod are working at (-10 or +4). If they are different...THEN use the Firepod input to adjust up/down as needed.

That's how I would do it based on the info at hand.... :)
 
To set the levels on an analog mixer, you'll want to set the faders at 0dB (or between 7 and 8 if they're marked 0 through 10), then use the gain knobs to set the recording level. When setting the gain controls, you want the meters for the recorder track you'll be recording that channel on to be around the 0 dB mark when the signal is strongest.
 
Yup. The above should work. You'll need to check your mixer manual to see whether the direct outs are pre fader or post fader--I answered a question for another poster a few days back and was surprised to find the direct outs were post fader (Soundcraft Rac Pac mixer if I recall correctly).

Either way, set the faders to 0dB (assuming they're calibrated in dB) then use the channel gain trim to get each input (one at a time) to 0dBu on the mixer meters. Use Pre Fade Listen (if your mixer has it) for this, otherwise make sure your mixer master faders are also at 0dB.

Your Firepod line inputs are calibrated so the gain controls are -10 to +10dB so setting them in the middle should be spot on--and should correspond to -18dBFS on your DAW metering.

If things don't line up this way, I'd leave the mixer where it is and adjust the Firepod so 0dB on the mixer meters is equivalent to -18dB on your DAW. When you're tracking, the average levels should be at the -18 level but you can afford to let occasional peaks go above this--that's why you're starting at 0dBu/-18dBFS--so you have lots of headroom for peaks.

Bob
 
Bump. Nice to read a thread that is not full of smart-ass remarks. Other than my own. Nod to Miro, read the mixers manual and see if the D-outs are prefader. If post fader then set fader at unity point. That should be in the manual too. Be well all.
 
Bobbsy said:
I answered a question for another poster a few days back and was surprised to find the direct outs were post fader (Soundcraft Rac Pac mixer if I recall correctly).
Click to expand...

The mixer I grabbed is a Soundcraft Spirit Rac Pac (10 mono, 2 stereo channels).. I was very pleased to find out that they are post eq + gain.. and now that you mention it, the faders were in play as well... Unfortunately I don't have the manual but I'm guessing with a little searching around I could find one on the interweb.

I'm at work now but I will try all this stuff out when I get back home, thanks guys.
 
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