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HI all,
yesterday I was Micing up a drum kit and for the 1st time all the pres on my TOft ATB console are really hot. For the over heads and front of kit, along with others, the pres are all the way down and even had to lower the channel fader to reduce the level. they sound fine, there just really hot.

I don't have great isolation between my drum room and control room, so I set up my recording compression and eq on pre recorded material, switching the input of the console to line rather than mic. and using The insert I/O in Pro Tools
I've done this dozens of times. Usually the mic gain and the line gain are the same, so my compression levels transfer form pre recorded material to the mic level.
NOw when I patch the compression into the console, the level is very very low. If I crank up the output of the compressor, when the console is in mic mode, the level is really hot and clipping.
Also, My API and Neve preamps are working as usual, so I don't think it's the converter
I'm absolutely stumped. It's weird because the whole console is like this.
I"m using Pro Tools HD 8 with a lynx Aurora 16 interface on a Mac Pro.

I had sessions all last week and it was fine and drums 2 weeks ago where the console was working as usual.
Sorry if this is a bit confusing. I"m really in a pickle

thanks

Comments

bamb00 Thu, 03/29/2018 - 06:48

Ok sure.
1st I get a good mic level with the toft and record into Protools. Then I switch to line in on the Toft, create an I/o send and return in protools insert section on the track that was just recorded , and patch in an eq and compressor and get the right gain reduction and sound, then I switch the Toft back to mic and patch the mic out to the compressor.
This way I can set the eq and compression more accurately as well as not tiring out the artist.
hope this helps

Boswell Thu, 03/29/2018 - 07:42

What level do you get if you patch the PT send output directly to the Toft line input, i.e. omitting the external EQ and compressor? Don't use "bypass" settings for this check, move the actual cable plugs.

I remember in my very early days puzzling over a similar problem with an EQ unit. I eventually found I had mistakenly interchanged the settings for the HP and LP frequencies on the EQ. I blamed it on them being labelled low/high "cut" rather than low/high "pass".

Boswell Thu, 03/29/2018 - 09:27

bamb00, post: 456350, member: 49873 wrote: if I patch directly into the line input of the Toft the signal is very very low

Please be a bit more specific. Do you mean patching from a line output of the Aurora to the Toft line input? Is it the same with other Aurora line outputs, other cables and other Toft line inputs? What level do you get if you cable an Aurora output to an Aurora input?

bamb00, post: 456352, member: 49873 wrote: The line in works as it always has. the gain needs to be at unity gain for a proper level

Do you mean when feeding the output of an external pre-amp into a Toft line input? If this is the case, then you have shown the problem is either with the Aurora outputs or the cables.

bamb00 Thu, 03/29/2018 - 11:12

thanks.
Yes, line Output from the Aurora to the line in of the Toft. The line in is working as it always does. It's just the Mic in that really hot.
No, not an external preamp into the line in of the toft.
all the mic pres are hot, and all the line ins work properly. I've tried different patch cables.
On the Toft line in, I use unity gain for the signal outputed from the Aurora.
I sum in protools so I"m using the i/o in the insert section in Protools to integrate my consoles eq and outboard compression in the mix