Signal seems low

efeurich

Logician
Hi There,

I am new to this forum and have not much recording experience. I have recorded some songs already but there is one thing that keeps wondering me.
Attached you'll see a screenshot of the signal in my tracks. You can see that the the signal is very low.
Can anyone tell how I can research this or maybe someone already has an answer. By the way the signal stretching is set to max in this screenshot.

Hope someone hears my call.

Regards,

efeurich
 

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Crank the gain on your preamps a bit more when you are recording.

Low levels on their own aren't really a big issue though. There are lots of ways of boosting the level after the initial recording with various plug-ins, like compressors or limiters, or even just the plain old Gain plug-in.
 
Hi and thanks for the quick reply.
But how do I crank the gain in the preamps? Do you mean in my mixer or in Logic 9?
You see I'm very new to this and understand the basic of recording but if people start using jargon I'm lost.
 
By cranking the mic preamp I am referring to boosting the signal before it reaches your computer. What audio interface are you using? Do you plug the mic directly into the audio interface? Is there an input gain control on the audio interface?

It would help if you described your signal chain. To begin with, what do you plug your mic into?

What type of mic do you use? Are you using a dynamic mic or a condenser mic? Dynamic mics generally need more gain than condenser mics which use phantom power.
 
Check out a site like this: http://www.basic-home-recording-studio.com/get-started.html

There are plenty of books out there, and if you invest a bit of time into learning what you are doing with these tools (and also what things are called and what they do) who knows where you could end up.

I went to recording school 29 years ago this year, dropped out after about 6 months due to the very high costs that were too much for me to pay, and have been self employed in this insane business since. Learning the basics were actually fun (for a knowledge hungry guy like me) and I will never regret the investment I pout into my own future.
 
I am using th following:

Mic AKG perception 120
MACKIE ONYX-1220 via firewite to Logic Pro on my Macbook Pro 17"
I plug the mic and guitars in to the MACKIE -ONYX 1220

Thanks for the help.

efeurich
 
I find that getting information from books is not that thorough as when you try things out and discover things. Thanks for the website I will look at it.

efeurich
 
Mic AKG perception 120
MACKIE ONYX-1220 via firewite to Logic Pro on my Macbook Pro 17"
I plug the mic and guitars in to the MACKIE -ONYX 1220

efeurich

Can't you boost the gain on the Onyx channel so a hotter level gets sent out to the computer?
 
Increase the levels in the Onyx so that you see the meter go to about -3 when you hit your instrument at full volume or sing at full volume.

That should do it.
 
I have already done that but then a get a lot of amplified noise int he mix.
To What max level can you increase the gain on the mixer?
Or is that what you mean with -3?
 
He Guys,

Thanks for the help and sorry for the late reply. I have been fiddling around with the software and understand now what you mean with using the amplifiers to boost the signal.
I also tried to boost the gain on the Onyx but then I get a lot of noise.

Al is well now and I am a little bit closer to feeling like a sound engineer.

thanks,

efeurich
 
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