Hi

I've had an M-Audio Delta 66 w/ Omni IO breakout box for around 10 years.
The Omni IO went crap, a couple weeks ago, and I just replaced it with a Focusrite Saffire Pro 14.
I did some recording (AudioTechnica AT4033SE), on the new Saffire, and I had to crank the pre-amp up a lot higher than I did on the Omni.

Hey everyone,
So this might seem a bit stupid, but I feel like I don't know as much as I should know about setting levels.
For reference, I am using a Focusrite Saffire Pro 24 DSP, with Logic 9, on a quad core 15" Macbook Pro. And my monitors are Yamaha HS5.
Let's start out with recording levels:

Hi.

I'm using a small set of speakers (Sound Blaster CT-38).

When I play certain youTube or Netflix vids, I get a very
large, loud, clear sound.

But when I record my own music, I start to red-line and
get distortion in the speakers at a much lower volume level.

Does anyone know why?

Thanks!

--Prahas

Hi!

Hello,

I have a very simple question about the levels in mixing, here it is;

Hi, just wondering what difference it makes where and when levels are turned up and down int he recording chain. Is it best to turn a guitar amp up a ton, and then turn the track down in my DAW, or to have the amp lower, and turn the volume up more in the DAW. And for Micing vocals, is it best to turn the microphone preamp way up, and then the track level down in the DAW, or vice versa?

Another question i've been having recently;
how do i know that my sound is loud enough or too loud?
if it's too loud, during mastering it muds
if it's too soft, during mastering it's too sharp

I am Micing an acoustic guitar with 2 condensor mics(not the greatest, but fair), using an ART Tps II 2 channel preamp, and a Korg D888. In the past I felt I have recorded with the levels too loud, not peaking, but with the gain high enough that it creates a guitar tone that is far from what I desire. I have found at lower levels the tone is more natural and warmer.

If you are mixing down individual riffs and phrases for an audio program in which the user could select a guitar or keyboard part etc. to mix into their music, how warm do you want the levels?

Do you normalize it so it peaks at or almost zero db? Or would you want to leave several db headroom? Any input from you pros greatly appreciated. Thank you.