BFD2 cymbals

Hi all. Not sure if this is a "quirk" of BFD2, or Sonar (although unlikely), but I'm struggling with sound levels of cymbals from BFD2 into Sonar. I have each drum part in BFD2 routed to an output (OH to Stereo 2, Room to Stereo 3, Kick to Mono 2, Snare to Mono 3, Hi-Hat to Mono 4 etc.) and then within Sonar, have one MIDI track which has BFD2 loaded and then several Audio tracks, each with the relevant drum route to it. 
 
Kick, Snare, Toms, Hi-Hat, OH and Room all come through their channels fine. Most are clipping so I adjust them down to get a decent level so I can record guitars etc. But Cymbals are just not happening. In BFD2 I have the Ride Cymbal routed to Mono 8. In Sonar I have the input as BFD2 - Mono 8, it registers the Cymbal, but I struggle to get anything more than -24dB!! The level in BFD2 is sat at 0 so I know I haven't turned down the volume in BFD2.
 
Through the OH and Room, the Cymbals are nice and loud, just on their direct channel, it's almost pointless. Any ideas? Thanks

Do you perhaps have something in the FX chain on the ride channel inside BFD2 that could be lowering the volume? Have you tried routing to a different channel from inside BFD2?

Thanks for the responses and ideas guys.
 

Leadfoot
Do you perhaps have something in the FX chain on the ride channel inside BFD2 that could be lowering the volume? Have you tried routing to a different channel from inside BFD2?

Nothing at all in the FX chain, in either Sonar of BFD. Have tried routing to a different Mono track and a different Stereo track and I get the same result.
 

Bristol_Jonesey
Check the kit inspector in BFD - make sure the Trim control is set quite high, ditto for the Dynamics control.
 
Are you getting a good signal in the BFD mixer page?
 
You need to determine if there's a good signal coming out of BFD before we start exploring what happens to it when it gets into Sonar

Bristol_Jonesey
As you've already found, "Kick, Snare, Toms, Hi-Hat, OH and Room all come through their channels fine. Most are clipping so I adjust them down to get a decent level" the levels coming out of BFD are pretty damned hot!
 
I always trim them down by at least 10db, either in BFD's mixer page or the trim control in Sonar.
 
I think this is the first time I've ever heard of a kit piece being too low!]
 
Just out of interest, which cymbals are you using? Are they from the stock kits or from an expansion pack?

Having played around, the problem definitely lies within BFD. I have muted the OH, Room and Amb channels within the BFD mixer page and even within the BFD mixer, the cymbal is struggling for a decent level. Trim is set to 0dB and Dynamics set to 0%, I have boosted both up to maximum and within Sonar it is now registering at a maximum of -15dB. Probably worth also noting that velocity in Sonar for the Cymbal hits range between 80 and 95. Even increasing every hit to a velocity of 127 only increased it up to -14.1dB.
 
Current cymbal being used is Zildjian 20K Ride, unfortunately I cannot remember if this is stock or one of the expansion packs I bought - it's been a while.
 
Certainly has me puzzled. And listening back through some of my old mixes, looks like I've always had this problem, I've always relied on the OH or Room mic to boost the cymbals, when I mute those 2, cymbals virtually disappear, and that would've been using various types of cymbals too!

Bristol_Jonesey
It's a stock ride and I use it all the time.
 
Right, trash & rebuild your database - only takes a couple of minutes

Nope, still no luck. Interestingly, I crapped my usual set up and loaded the Black Oyster template. The Crash comes through fine, gets a good level come through, Ride still struggles to get about -25dB. I wonder if it's a Ride cymbal thing? Untouched, what do yours usually peak at?

I'm not at my DAW, but I don't recall ever having an issue regarding levels with any BFD kit piece, other than some in the percussion pack