I am wondering how to get a good over-driven hot signal into cubase from avalon high voltage preamp.
Whenever I press high voltage switch, the signal goes too hot and over the top in cubase input monitor.
I don’t have a mixing board to drop the fader down.
As far as I understand, the input monitor in Cubase is post fader. Is it advisable to lower the input monitor in cubase so that signal doesn’t clip when recording?
The main goal of this is to drive the preamp hotter to get some more overtones and harmonic distortion and drop the “software” input fader so the signal doesn’t clip when it gets recorded. Anyone done this? Any other way of doing this?
Also, when high voltage is pressed in on Avalon, the main output knob is almost all the way down and the signal is still too hot while going into cubase line in +4db
I was also convinced that when recording into cubase, the signal should not go over -+0db on the input meter???
Confused…
Most of the time the VU meter is not even moving on avalon, and the input in cubase is over the top…
Any metering/levels in Cubase are AFTER the Analog to Digital converter (your interface that you plug the Avalon into).
The clipping is occuring at the analog input in your interface. Cubase has no control over the pre-digital signal and cannot “un-clip” it.
You need the reduce the input level to your interface OR reduce the input gain/pad the input OR, in extreme circumstances, there are external pads available to reduce the level pre to the interface.
Mixing board would probably overload, also, if the Digimax is.
Are you using the line inputs on the Digimax? The 1/4" input in the middle of the XLR?
These should be able to handle the levels with the gain down.
Also make sure the distortion is, in fact, coming from the Digimax - you should see the clip LEDs flashing or lit.
OK, that Avalon unit must have a pre level and then a master level - right? And you also have a line/mic selector knob? So turn on the high gain switch and adjust those three knobs until the output of the Avalon is reduced. Just going to the last knob ‘master’ is not the way.
Yes, Avalon has a master “fader” and also has Preamp gain knob.
But, the level problem comes when the preamp gain is at 0 and when the high gain button is pressed, the Avalon’s master fader is almost all the way down, the signal is still very hot coming into +4
so, what does input monitor fader in cubase do? Does it trim the signal ? Let’s say I wanna ride the Vocals too hot with high gain, but my preamp fader is still not enough attenuation to acomplish this…
If it´s coming in too hot, then it´s - well too hot.
Possibilities:
1.Turn the 737 output level fader all the way down, instead of only “almost all the way down”
2.Adjust the 737s input gain.
3.Insert a pad between the Avalon´s output and the A/D converter´s input.
4.Get a device that can handle input levels of >30 dBu, which is the max ouput level of your Avalon according to the tech specs.
Cubase does not have an input monitor fader, so what do you mean exactly…?
As said already in this thread, no software fader will help with too hot hardware input levels. (apart from digitally controlled gains of some interfaces, which none of the Cubase faders is.)
Cubase does not have an input monitor fader, so what do you mean exactly…?
On the left of the mixer there is a panel with inputs coming into cubase. I believe it’s called Input Channels.
And there is a plug in insert and the fader.
Now I kind of get it. The signal coming in should never pass 0db
But I still don’t understand what does the fader on the input channel and what is the purpose of it?
I do not fully understand how you can get a too hot signal into Cubase if you’ve done everything right.
The Avalon has a max output of +30 dBu.
Your Digimax LT has -20 dB pads (only active on the XLR inputs though, not the TRS line inputs)
The inherent gain of the LTs preamps is +10 dB.
Maxing the signal out from the Avalon you should therefore at most receive an input level of +20 dBu, leaving 2 dB headroom up to the specified +22 dBu of the LT.
Also, the Avalon seems to have a -40 dB attenuation with the Master out knob set all the way down so try that.
