I’ve been using Cubase 7 for a few months now and have become fairly comfortable with it. But I am still having problems with one area, reading the meters.
When the output channel meter goes in the red, I can’t see where to tell how many decibels over it is so I can lower the other levels by that amount. Essentially I just lower sliders until the meter stops turning red. But that’s not a very scientific way of doing things.
So is there some way to tell exactly how many decibels I am over zero so I can lower my input by that much? I’m sure it’s something simple but I just can’t figure it out.
Well, the meter is pinning but the number at the bottom still shows 0 db. I click it and the red goes off for a second and then comes back on. But I see no change in db.
Have no clue if this is a bug or I’m doing something wrong or looking at the wrong meter.
Regardless, how can I read the meters? A helpful response would be nice. And yes, I know, you lower the input channel, which I am also having trouble figuring out where the main input is. Or of course I can lower the one channel that’s actually causing the red meter, if I could figure out what that channel is.
The point is, when I play the song and look at all the channels in mix consel, all the meters show 0.00 at the bottom regardless of how loud anything is unless I actually take one of the levers and move it up or down. At that point, it is only showing me how much I’ve moved the lever up or down and not how loud the sound coming from it is.
In short, I end up adusting the levels by hunting and pecking until I get a mjx that I like and no red.
Not the most scientific way to do things but I guess if it works, it works.
Is there anybody here who would be kind enough to answer my question?
How do I figure out what channel is causing my output channel to go in the red? Is this is mix console? is it somewhere else? Am I looking in the wrong place? My mix console shows 0.00 for all channels when they play regardless of how loud the music is. It’s only when I move the sliders that the db goes up or down. But that doesn’t tell me anything.
I saw a Youtube video on Cubase (I guess I’ll have to go back there for my help) where somebody mentioned lowering the input channel. I don’t seem to have an input channel, at least not the way I have my songs setup.
I’m obviously doing something wrong but I have no clue what.
Fortunately, I used to mix in an analog studio with no meters at all and did just fine with my ears. So if I have to, I can just use my monitors and adjust things by ear the way I’ve been doing them. It’s working fine.
I’d just like to think that with all this sophisticated technology that there’s a better way.
Just pull the output channel sliders down a bit. There’s plenty of headroom inside the Cubase mixer - it’s just the output, where the signal comes out of 32-bit float and returns to 16 (or 24) bits that overload needs worrying about.
If an individual channel peaks, don’t worry. Unless, maybe, it uses an Effect that hasn’t got a lot of headroom.
What NWP means is being nice. He assumed a level of competency that maybe flatters you somewhat.
Usually headroom is left on the master BEFORE you start. Many start with -10db set in the master, sometimes -6 or so depending on style. This gives you the headroom for the rest of your channels / tracks plus a little for FX. This way, as you go along and your tracks and FX add dbs, you will not see much clipping. This way saves you having to adjust ALL your channel volumes rather than just tweak the one of the master, Just remember that when you export to put the master at 0db to bring everything back up to standard level.
That’s as nice as you’ll get. TIP. Don’t jump on anyone’s head when they’re trying to help. If you did it in a bar you’d get some beer over your head. Good job it was only verbal beer that time. When asking for advice don’t expect it all to be understood and don’t expect 100% to understand what comes back.
Before I thank you for your response, one should never assume any kind of competency of another person. This PC based music production is all new to me. I come from an analog world where I did everything by ear.
As for your suggestion, thank you. That makes a lot of sense and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it. Should help a lot.
As for reading these meters, all I can say is whoever designed these color schemes could have done a better job. A lot of the info in this product is difficult to read. I am sure I am not the only one to comment on this.
Yes, you can. And that’s the way I’ve been doing. I just thought with this technology there was a better and more accurate way. So I’m not using it as an excuse. I’m just trying to be more efficient and accurate.
TIP. Don’t jump on anyone’s head when they’re trying to help. If you did it in a bar you’d get some beer over your head. Good job it was only verbal beer that time. When asking for advice don’t expect it all to be understood and don’t expect 100% to understand what comes back.