Sorry for the crosspost. I wanted to consult both lists though to make sure I get the best answer from both DAW angles. Though this is mainly about Reaper, not ProTools, there definitely are some aspects which are crutial to understanding in means of comparing how PT does things vs. how Reaper would do it. So, in that sense, yes, this is on topic.
So... I'm trying to train a friend of mine how to better mix audio. We've not yet gotten to the point where I'm teaching him the masterring phase. Right now, we're working on gain staging, microphone placement/proxemity, etc. The issue is he recorded a test audio file onto a track in Reaper, then while playing, he looked at his meters as his vocal was extremely extremely quiet. I get that you want some headroom so you're not going to push 0, which obviously equals a ruined recording in most cases. I told him on his meters to aim for around -12 to about -10, at most, DB. Then, we can use a compressor, or in some cases, other tricks to bring that up in the mix later. I was very clear that when I said -12 to -10DB I was talking about the input signal level. Not the output level adjusted by the volume control in whatever DAW you're using located on the actual track itself. He's not using an interface, just a general USB headset, so he doesn't really aside the Windows volume mixer have much control over gain adjustment. For this reason, I wanted him to aim a little low. Preferably, I'd like him to have about 6, to 3 at the least amount, DB of headroom he can work with. All this said, when he hits J and K while on the track in Reaper, he's showing the meters at around -50 on an average. Now, here's where I'm! getting real confused! In ProTools, which is my choice of DAW for most things, when importing his recording on to an audio track, I'm seeing his levels at about -24DB on the peek. This makes a lot! more sense. -Come on! 50DB I don't think even would be audible in most cases. He's not doing something wrong though in Reaper, as I checked it on my end in Reaper, and I see exactly the same readings he's getting. So, how in the world are our meters differring so much from DAW to DAW. I get that each DAW is gonna be a bit different on how the meterring works, but over all, signal noise ratio shouldn't fluctuate that drasticly, should it? I could see maybe 3 or 4, maybe even upwards to 5 DB's difference, but not to the point where it's doubling the DB signal from about -50 to -25. That just doesn't make any sense! Audibly, the levels sounds the same. In PT, I have my meters set to hold infinent, so at the highest peek, they stick until I reset them. I still however don't think that's the issue here. So, I guess ultimately, what I'm asking is, what signal is being considerred in Reaper on a track when you hit J and K? I mean I know J is the left channel, K's the right channel. Duh! I get that. What I mean is, is it showing the current output level, or is it showing more the signal coming to the input IO path, or what? I'm wonderring if ProTools is somehow analyzing a different signal path than what I'm getting with Reaper, although, I don't see how that would be the case. I can't effectively teach this guy until I get this mystory resolved, as he's not wanting to focus on just one DAW, like ProTools, or Reaper. He wants to more learn about mixing over all in a more broader scale. Chris. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Pro Tools Accessibility" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
