DAW Levels Low

J

jet51

Member
Hoping this is a silly mistake I'm making that someone can easily point out. I'm simply trying to record a guitar track in Logic or Pro Tools (same problem in both). The levels are very low... I'm using the Axe II as my audio interface and have set inputs and outputs on the track to be the Axe II (USB). I've got the USB Digi Out Source set to Output 1.

Settings on the Axe FX II:
-Input 1 at 100% using a strat that doesn't "tickle the red".
-Preset Output: I adjusted the Level on the Amp block of my preset such that on the status page in the Utility menu, my output levels are at about 75% (and my input levels are about the same). This gives me some headroom.
-Output 1: I've got the Output 1 knob on the front of the Axe set at about 9:00.
With these settings, when I play straight into my studio monitors this is plenty of gain and everything sounds great

Any idea why levels of my audio are so low when I record into my DAW using these settings??

Thanks for any help!
 
The output knob does not affect the digital usb level. So i doesn´t matter where you set it.
I´m not shure how the utility level is scaled but I guess 75 % could be -15 or -10 dB wich is pretty low rec signal.
The only thing I know is when the red digiclip led lights up you clip the a/d converter.
I usually go for the red digiclip and then back off a bit. I have noticed that it is hard to use a "live patch-level" for recording digitally.
So I guess:

Set the amp level (or outputmixer level) in reference to Logic, or pro tools, input meters. They should indicate clipping at the same level as the axe (red light).
If this makes any sense ?:D



jet51 said:
Hoping this is a silly mistake I'm making that someone can easily point out. I'm simply trying to record a guitar track in Logic or Pro Tools (same problem in both). The levels are very low... I'm using the Axe II as my audio interface and have set inputs and outputs on the track to be the Axe II (USB). I've got the USB Digi Out Source set to Output 1.

Settings on the Axe FX II:
-Input 1 at 100% using a strat that doesn't "tickle the red".
-Preset Output: I adjusted the Level on the Amp block of my preset such that on the status page in the Utility menu, my output levels are at about 75% (and my input levels are about the same). This gives me some headroom.
-Output 1: I've got the Output 1 knob on the front of the Axe set at about 9:00.
With these settings, when I play straight into my studio monitors this is plenty of gain and everything sounds great

Any idea why levels of my audio are so low when I record into my DAW using these settings??

Thanks for any help!
Click to expand...
 
Yes this makes sense. Basically I need to turn up the Level knob on the amp block so that the output meter on the Axe Fx and the input meter in Logic or Pro Tools is clipping, and then back off a little.

Strange that for live use i can get away with lower settings on the amp block Level meter but for recording via USB I need to crank it to just below clipping to get a decent recorded signal.

Would another approach be to use an audio interface and record into the DAW using balanced or unbalanced cables? And if I did that then the Output knob on the front panel controls the signal level going into the audio interface and subsequently the DAW?

I'm not sure what the Db is of the signal I'm currently tracking but the visual representation of the audio signal is so small relative to other audio recorded, that I can't really edit it easily (the amplitude). And the input meters in the DAW are peaking at maybe 10% or 20% of the total.
 
Thomas Larsson said:
I´m not shure how the utility level is scaled but I guess 75 % could be -15 or -10 dB wich is pretty low rec signal.
Click to expand...

You forget that this is the wonderful world of digital. Those levels are in fact very good. Getting your levels to -0dB was required in the analog ways to get the best signal to noise possible, but it's not an issue anymore.
 
8string said:
and how low is low exactly? I always aim for -12 to -16dB when I track.
Click to expand...

+1

Don't try to get it as close to 0 as you can. In the "olden" days of digital with cheap 16bit converters maybe there was an argument for that. Nowadays with most anything built in the past few years which is 24bit, you only need to observe 0dbvu (analog), which is typically around -18 to -16dbfs (digital full scale) on most equipment. For example, if memory serves me correctly, my Yamaha LS-9 is set to -18dbfs = 0dbvu. Keeping your levels in the -18 to -12 range will allow some headroom that will come in handy when you start combining multitracks from a full band.
 
So the point is that it's ok if the input meter in my DAW is peaking at a rather low level? Once recorded I can increase the output of the track to sit in the mix properly?
 
Just to be clear,

You are recording the wet output of the AxeFx and not the dry?

The dry output via USB will be very low level on purpose and is used for reamping back into the AxeFx II later.

Richard
 
jet51 said:
So the point is that it's ok if the input meter in my DAW is peaking at a rather low level? Once recorded I can increase the output of the track to sit in the mix properly?
Click to expand...

Yes, that's ok. The point is that all the different tracks in your mix add up on the output bus, causing that level to steadily rise as you add tracks.
Try it, record one track and watch the output bus in your daw, it should be the same level. Now add more and look what happens. Digital recording is all about headroom.
 
I'm recording the wet signal. Although now that you mention it, I will double check that... Is there an easy explanation for selecting wet versus dry via USB? Understood on headroom. I'm just used to input meters peaking at higher levels when recording audio, and resulting waveforms being larger... I guess that's a holdover from recording in analog
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom