Balancing all the levels into my Mac...help!

drpbier

I've never really figured out the optimal way to balance levels and gain on my rig. Gain and volumes in the Helix amp models, the physical volume level on the Helix, gain on my audio interface, the Audient app that came with the interface and then I out levels in Garageband. I seem to be very close to clipping almost all the time on the Audient and sometimes my teacher asks me to turn down the gain but then it sounds thin coming out of the monitors. Is there a standard sequence for setting this stuff up?

Danny1969

Analog gain is just a question of setting a high enough level that won't clip the rails so won't distort  .... basically find the level where there's no clip light even when struck hard. Leave plenty of headroom but don't go too low as you need to be above the noise floor of any analog circuit to achieve good signal to noise ratio. 

Digital is different. The loudest volume digital can express is 0dB  ...... trying to represent any level louder than that will just clip the signal and sound awful. I aim for about -18 to -20dB in a DAW and it seems to pan out pretty well. 

Most things have a clip light that goes red when your either over the clip level or 3dB below it so always look out and back off when you see a clip light. 

drpbier

But how do you go about getting the ideal levels for all the real and modeled components in the chain?

andy_k

It takes a little time, but I try to use this as a process.
Anything going into interface has to be level matched to get a strong signal that does not clip input.
Start with raw DI guitar, set interface to clip and then back off. 
Put DAW into record mode, and check input level, this will be a very dynamic track, but adjust level on interface to peak at around - 12,  adjust actual level you are hearing with monitor level.
This will be the setting that you save as a reference on your interface, then using the next higher gain sound you repeat the process, but adjust the output of the pedal / preset /  whatever is pre interface, to try and get a similar peak level in the DAW.
This will be a louder sounding clip-due to the compression that the gain adds, but try and get the peak to be around -12 again.
I would describe this as setting unity gain for each pre set / or patch you intend to use.
It is easy to get lost, if you keep adjusting input gain on IO, and the same applies to levels on output / monitors, and if using an amp in the room it can be tricky, as you are hearing a signal outside of the recording.
Once you have a decent recorded signal, at around - 12, it should be possible to add VST plugins inside DAW and these usually have an output control, because they will inevitably add gain and your levels begin to creep up.
Anything pre IO, such as a pedal or a helix will also have output level controls and you should use this to set level to prevent the interface from clipping, and not change the input, as you need to have a baseline to set to, this will generally be the cleanest signal you are recording.
Your IO is an AD-DA converter, and unlike analogue gear, there is no advantage to record a hot signal, and digital clipping is to be avoided.
If recording a mic'd amp for example, the input level is governed by the volume of the amp, not the level of the mic, so the preamp in the IO needs to be set to its optimum which is a signal that is strong but not clipping, easier to manage if the mic and speaker are isolated, otherwise the volume is added to the volume being monitored from the DAW.
I hope I am explaining this well, not sure, but there is no shame in making notes of settings, and time spent doing this once correctly is not time wasted.
Also, don't expect patches and settings to relate directly to 'live' settings, as the idea is to have these patches etc set relative to each other, to a baseline.

drpbier

Thanks Andy, that broke it down into more discrete steps and I now seem to be getting a good rich sound without clipping! 

andy_k

Nice one, I have similar frustrations sometimes with organising presets on my digital amps, Marshall Code and Boss Katana.
It is easier to understand the issues when you see the difference in waveforms for a DI vs a distorted signal.
It it can be possibly useful to set your IO to a more distorted signal, if that is your LEAST distorted sound, but more important to avoid ANY digital clips at input.
Levels can easily be raised in the DAW, but clips (digital overs ) are impossible to be rectified.
I find this a bigger problem if recording both DI and amp sound at the same time ( which I always try to do ), as playing dynamics can vary widely if using a distorted sound to compress the signal. The clipping we like to hear is quite different to the accidental digital clipping we should avoid.