Mike Rivers wrote:
In article
writes:
I have a vu indicator which gives me an audible tone at
0vu and set things up with my wif's help using her eyes
so that a 1
khz tone generates -20 dbfs once we've gone over to
digital. I get
satisfactory recordings this way.
The problem that's becoming more and more common is that
there's no
convenient way to adjust the input sensitivity of a
digital recorder,
so you can't calibrate your system.
Well, when in Rome you do as the Romans.
I suspect that the most common means for setting the gain of
systems with digital recorders is to adjust something in the
analog signal chain that preceeds it. For me, that's always
the mic preamp.
My recommended procedure is to record a loud passage during
rehearsal, set gains as required to ensure that your
recording has sufficient (at least 10 dB) headroom, based on
visual inspection of the individual track recordings as
displayed in full-screen mode, perhaps with some time
expansion.
A similar means is avaiable when you record off the inserts
or direct outs of a console. If your gain staging through
the console is reasonable, you just naturally end up with
the right levels going into the digital recorder, as you set
the individual channel trims by ear.
Indeed, if the individual channel recordings fail the first
test above, its probable that your gain staging through the
console is off and needs adjusting.