Tips on mixing / levels in the OT

Soju · 2014-07-23T07:21:06.000Z

Hey guys. I’ve recently got an octatrack and I love it. One of the few issues I’m having is getting the mix right. Even with some pretty low level’s im still getting a lot of clipping. Short of running everything SUPER quietly I’m at a bit of a loss about how to approach the mixing and the levels with my OT. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

twardowski · 2014-07-23T10:00:25.000Z

maybe you’re overdriving the overall output of the OT?
or maybe you recorded the samples too loud (ie. already clipped).

but frankly you should check the entire signal path, because the OT offers independent volume changes on multiple stages. so, you should definitely check:

output level on ext device
sample volume gain (on the last page in the editor)
the volume level on the amp page
track level
overall ouput level

Hades_of_Spades · 2014-07-24T05:49:27.000Z

What’s your setup? How are you measuring the clipping?

I found the Octatracks to have quite a low output. My main Octatrack mixer output is set to +63 and I get no clipping at all.
I recommend setting all of your “amp” page volume settings to 0 or below, as this is pre-effect volume. If you go above 0 (and to full at +63) you will get some artifacts going into any effects as they seem to have less input headroom than the OT mixer. This MAY be preferable for the lofi/distortion effect however.

For a while I ran everything at +63 in the amp page and couldn’t figure out why everything sounded a little wrong… Almost like it was being compressed. Bass wasn’t as full, the sound was wrong everywhere. Then I read the manual and realised the “amp” volume setting is pre effects! So, beware.

Soju · 2014-08-04T05:11:32.000Z

I feel a bit stupid. Individual track levels were just up too loud. By the time i lifted the other tracks to compensate bad things were happening. Particularly to boomy 808 kicks. Thanks guys