Volume problems in cakewalk

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ray74

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Hi,

I am having trouble getting good volume from my recordings. I am using the yamaha 001 mixer which then records onto cakewalk 9.02.

I have balanced both the meters on the mixer and in the console in cakewalk. There are both just below clipping, sometimes touching the red on both meters. This should be right. However when the recording is done the volume is terrible.

I have the record and playback volume at full on my soundcard (which is the SB Live) and I have my monitor speakers at a high level.
I have calibrated the faders in the mixer and have set the volume on its highest level through the oscillator.
I have also changed all the cables.
In cakewalk itself, once I have something recorded at these settings, I then have to inrease the audio by a minimum of 6 db. I usually normalise it and then add more volume because it sound so low. (You can see by looking at the track itself that the recording is low).

Has anyone out there come across this and if so, how did you solve it? Has anyone else got any ideas as to what could be done. Please help as anything I record is futile as I'll never get a decent mix out of it.

Thanks for you help.

Ray.
 
There are likely to be several causes for your problem. Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. You are probably using dynamic mics (e.g., Shure 57's). A condenser mic will get you a higher recording level than a dynamic mic will.

2. The "recording" volume in your computer is not controlled by any of your software. Rather, it is controlled by the hardware going into the sound card. Most likely in your case, the gain/trim and faders on your mixer. Try bringing up the faders if you have any additional room or increasing the gain setting.

FYI, the db meters in Cakewalk do monitor the recording volume (visible when the track is armed). However, the software faders next to these meters only control playback volume. They have no control over the input level You need to play around with the gain and faders on your mixer in conjuction with the Cakewalk meters to determine the proper recording volume.

3. Another thing to look at is the distance you are away from your mic while recording. Dynamic mics require you to be right up close to them.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

I know that the mics have nothing to do with it. I have both condersor and dynamic mics. However I have been plugging the guitar though a DI box into the mixer. The levels on the mixer are just starting to clip.

I understand that the meters in Cakewalk just show you what db is going into Cakewalk. So if these meters are clipping (both the input and the output meters) then why is the recorded level so low? I can't figure it out.

Just to let you know. When I use the mics. They are generally about 6 inches away with the pop mesh about 3 inches from me.

Thanks for you reply though.
 
Try downlaoding the Sonic Timeworks Mastering compressor demo, and put it in your main out fx box, tweak the levels.
This is one of the ways I make sure my signals are where they are supposed to be.

JT
 
Check the levels of your SBlive mixer by double clicking the little speaker thingy in the bottom right corner of the screen. turn it up that way.

Also, red doesnt necessarily mean clipping. However, 0Db does. you might only be getting the level up to -7Db when you could go from up to 0Db. The red on cakewalk is between -6 to 0. so just as long as it doesnt go above that. also, when cakewalk starts clipping, the little red light on the top of the track in the console view lights up.

I hope this information helps yah out. if yah need anymore help just ask away.
 
Thanks for all your replies,

The volume in the SB live is up full for both the record and playback options.

The console meter in Cakewalk and on the mixer is clipping. The distortion is very apparent. I have the channel gain up full on the mixer and those faders are starting the creep up (about halfway depending on the instrument) but I don't want to add any unnecessary hiss if possible.

The volume through the monitors sounds well loud enough when I am recording, however as c7sus (good name!) mentioned the audio wave in the track is hovering thinnly around the middle of the track. This obviously points to the input volume. Yet this is set to its highest level. I know that the card is not faulty as I just had it checked out about two weeks ago.

So I still don't know what is going on. I have done all the obvious things and I can't figure out what's happening.

Thanks again for your suggestions. I really appreciate the help.

Ray.
 
OK - I'm not sure what a Yamaha 001 mixer is, it's not listed in their current lineup of stuff.

Are you using a micropone, connected to a Mic in on your mixer, then sending this signal out a line out to the SB Live Line in?

does the mixer have a main out meter? If so is it showing a good signal (above -6 on a digital scale)? Have you tried different cables?

All things considered -you may have a bad card.

If seen cake mis read the audio stream, by showing clipping levels when the signal was actually far from it, but this has only been under systems with 24 bit capable cards, with the advanced settings in cake not set correctly.
Th Live is not 24 bit capable.

JT
 
The live is only 16 bit, The driver depth must be set for 16, or cake will tell you the the hardware dosent support the bit depth. You can set 24 bit file depth, and I highly recomened it, as this will increase dynamic range when processing with dynamics (compressor/expander)effects.
JT
 
Thanks again for your replies.

The Yamaha 001 is a 16 channel mixer. It is about 4 years old. I bought it from a friend whose recordings are immaculate. It has all the mod cons that you would ever need. 4 Aux sends, digital audio, midi compatable. Loads of different Eq banks and effects banks built in, it is programmable and has pretty much all the kinds of things that you would ever need. Its very versatile.

The monitors are hooked up to the SB live. Feeding it back through the mixer just causes a playback loop. The monitors themselves are 100 Watts and are v. clean and well balanced.

The sound card is only capable of 16 bit so that's where it is set to.
As to the panning, I am just recording in mono and I haven't changed the settings from Cakewalk's default. I prefer to record a dry uncut signal so I know exactly what I have and then at the mixing stage compress, Eq, pan, etc.

The mic is plugged straight into the mixer as it needs to use the phantom power from the mixer. The leads are cannon.

From the mixer to the pc they are balanced cables that are well insulated. I usually check them out first as they have given me problems before. There are adapters going into the SB Live and they are gold plated for better sound. (Not that they seem to make any difference!)

So I don't know where to go from here. If I do have to replace the sound card, what are your suggesestions as to the best one out there?

Thanks for all you help. Its nice to hear from so many helpful people.

Ray.
 
Is your amp +4 or -10, also the Live isn't balanced - what are you to de-balance at the card?

JT
 
hey there... Ive been recording with SB live with Cakewalk for awhile now and Ive been dealing with the same problem. My recording levels werent matching up with the playback levels. I have no idea why this is. I record mostly through SPDIF into soundcard--- I turn my recording levels all the way up and I cant even get the signal to clip! Im at about -6 Db. Im considering a professional sound card. Yes they are a bit more cash but they are made for musicians. Its strange you go through life and one thing always remains the same- you get what you pay for. Good Luck!

Jeff
 
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