I am trying to set up my system. Yesterday I calibrated my monitor level. I set it so that -20db is at a comfortable level when my interface volume control is set to 1 o clock.
So I am recording the OT through the AH an pushing the level a bit to get an input signal loud-ish (not quite -20db…a bit hard to be sure with studio one meter). So I am using the classic distortion setting and driving it quite hard. At my 1 o clock setting now I cant not hear the noise floor - toggling the AH on and off I can not hear any more or less noise. When I turn the interface volume control all the way up, however - there is a considerable difference between the AH on and AH off (pressumably Im then hearing system self noise).
I am basically wondering about the noise floor…but also recording levels and so on…one thing I see on YouTube videos is when people are recording something they get a bit fat wave in there…but my signals rarely display so grandly, even if I think I am recording quite loud…this has me worried that I am doing something fundamentally wrong…
If I understand your issue right, you must keep in mind that when you apply distortion, you distort the noise floor too. This happens in any audio effect. Analog gear always has noise in the output and to my experience the Elektron gear has a great SNR. But there are some things to try. Connect the OT output directly to the speakers and test if there is noise. Then the Heat on its own, without the effect applied, but with the volume of the interface raised, and then with the effect applied. If the noise floor is more audible in the third case, I guess it is the distortion that distorts the noise floor. If not, you may have another source, and you can reply back here to figure out something, if possible. Keep in mind, many recordings have a noise level, that you can listen to in the end of the track and while the mastering engineer performs the fade out. In my productions, there is almost no noise floor in my “Fully in the box” productions, and it is there in my out of the box ones.
The heat adds noise gain for sure, but with careful gainstaging I’ve rarely found it be objectionable…
And obviously most analog signalpaths have a noise floor… but as long as one understands gainstaging it can usually be kept at an acceptable level.
Now then, while a significant amt of background noise can introduce masking of the finer nuances of some source material, its not the end of the world to have a bit of noise IMO. Heck, some people even add bg noise on purpose ITB
A basic rule of thumb for quick and dirty gainstaging of analog electronics - ideally your gain structure across the whole signalpath should be so that all the various input gain amplifiers are dialed to around 25-65% of their range. Some people like to always use the 50% range (twelve a clock position on the knob) just to keep things simple and visually easy to evaluate. This should give enough level while minimizing possible undesired side-effects that might exist (and in the case of ”prosumer” equipment which is made to a price point, usually exists!) in an analog amplifier circuit.
Undesired side effects include but are not limited to: clipped or otherwise skewed transient response, unacceptable background noise levels, poor stereo imaging, compressed dynamics…
Having an analog input amplifier operate at unity just means that whatever signal level comes into the device, the exact same value is passed on from the inputs and the imput gainstage. So for example, if a peak meter from a synth output reads ”-17dB”, the audio interface input also reads ”-17dB” @ unity gain. aiming for Unity gain whenever possible is a convenient way to keep signal levels consistent throughout a signalpath, and usually result in the most ”transparent / linear” sound, assuming your signal levels are not too hot for some equipment in your chain to handle.
IME, one of the most common example of an incorrect gainstage can be found in older peoples’ homes, and it exists between the TV and the DTV digibox. TV volume is dialed up all the way while the DTV digibox volume is dialed to a too low value. Needless to say, this results in a lot of bg noise and in some cases you can even hear artefacts of sound caused by changes in the picture (esp. when luminosity changes alot on the TV image)
