I may just be imagining this, but I think the level from my main outputs is quieter than it used to be…
When I create a brand new project and program the default kick, the level is showing on my meter in Ableton as -26… (master volume at max)
Is that normal?
Maybe I’ve just been using kits with overdrive/distortion/compression so much that I’ve got used to a higher output…
[quote=““Bobby Vosene””]
I may just be imagining this, but I think the level from my main outputs is quieter than it used to be…
When I create a brand new project and program the default kick, the level is showing on my meter in Ableton as -26… (master volume at max)
Is that normal?
Maybe I’ve just been using kits with overdrive/distortion/compression so much that I’ve got used to a higher output…
[/quote]
A good reference are the kits in the preset project. They are, in my opinion, properly gain staged throughout the signal chain.
Since the AR is analog and there are so many parts of the signal chain for a sound/track that affects the levels you have to check the synth, sample, filter and amp settings. One thing that I missed at the beginning was the “vol” on the compressor page that acts like a master gain for the entire kit even if the compressor signal isn’t mixed in.
Have you changed cables? Balanced cables will give you higher output of about 4-5 DB.
Do you have any input settings on your sound card that you changed. Some sound cards have settings for low, +4 or +10 to match the signal inputs.
Or, perhaps your DAW metering is fooling you making a good signal with nice transients appear as “low”. Came across this really good article on Sound on Sound about gain staging (Gain Staging In Your DAW Software) that talks about stuff like this.
Thanks for the advice.
It’s not the Rytm, I’m fairly sure now, as I’ve just noticed the TR8 is the same.
I just put in a new patchbay, but I had thought it couldn’t be that as I checked plugging the Rytm direct into my interface and there was no difference in level…
Maybe my cables got mixed up somehow when I was setting it up.
Soundcard (Motu 2408) is currently set to +4db - I don’t know how I could have changed the settings but it’s possible…
Cheers.
That’s a great article by the way!