So after years of playing & doing things the Live way then messing with my first DAW for 3 years.  I am going back to the drawing board and starting from step 1 again (PreFader Levels)

I have been racking my brains trying to get my stuff to come together better and I think I know where I am going wrong.
Normally setting up to record I do all the usual stuff outside the DAW like mics placement, connections, equipment levels for clipping, etc... Then I get my input levels good through the board and into the interface just right. Bring up Sonar, load my template, and set the recording levels there.   (This is where I think Ive been mixing wrong)
I go ahead and complete my tracks as needed saving often, then its time to clean up tracks, and all the mixing stuff.

So tonight after days of reading, listening, questioning, and on... In console view for the first time I happen to see the option to set all tracks to prefader-at which point it hit me, what I record and see on the meters is not what is actually going on after recording and checking initial recording levels in Sonar. ie...my actual levels prior to mixing anything were either to low or to high and NOT where they should have been or I thought they were recorded at. 

Why did I assume that if all was set good externally to the interface and what was showing on the meters in Sonar when recording meant I didnt have to recheck it all again Prefader mode on the Sonars tracks before any mixing.

Anyway I closed out of X1, loaded up an old project, killed ALL fx, moved all the faders to -6 dB.
Then I selected Prefader mode on all tracks and set the levels there with the gain -/+ to where they should have been (somewhere between -6 to -12 dB depending on the track). Hit play and what a world of difference. With out all the plug-ins it sounded a world better and CLEANER with more dynamics. So I started messing the plug-ins I had previously inserted. I noticed that all the gates, compressors, eqs, and all the other plugs were really responding differently.

So Im wondering with all this in mind, do I record the way Ive been by just loading a standard 16 ch temp and come back before the MIX and set Prefader levels first or

Do I set the Template prior to recording to Prefader and watch the levels as recording is going on?

Im brain farting here (or just lost as usual)

Any thoughts on ho or what I should change or do with this process?

It's always best to start a mix with all FX off and all faders low enough not to cause clipping.  is that what you're really asking?

Nah, it was more of a finding as to my process prior to hitting "Record"

I never checked X1 PreFader Levels (which appear to be way off if you dont set them by the prefader reading for me). 

I went back to an older recording and reset everything. Started a complete remix starting with adjusting the Tracks PreFader levels first and then going from there and noticed a huge difference in what I was putting out as an end product. Just better and PlugIns seemed to work better (Not so much messing around when you load PlugIn presets and their levels etc..)

Since starting the recording side I just overlooked this first and simple step Setting PreFader Levels). Havent had much time to mess with it but what Im finding for my process is completely worth the effort.

I guess my main question would be,

How are others recording with X1 when setting up input levels they see in X1 on the Track that they are recording to?

Are your levels set by watching prefader or postfader on the meters?

BTW Sorry for the long winded in-coherent babbling. I was going on about 26 hours of messing around with what I thought I might have found Im possibly doing wrong  

Heres another way of looking at it

You set your levels without any clipping all the way from guitar and mics through your interface to your computer.

Once it hits X1, can you overdrive/clip X1 prefader and not catch it because you forget to check prefader and set the recording level by adjusting the sldier and the track until your happy with what is registering on the meter postfader.   (I think thats an easier explanation?) LOL

you can't set your levels in sonar with respect to recording anyway.  so leaving your faders at 0dB is the best option for recording.

the faders do not affect the recording level at all period end of story.  sonar records exactly what you send it from your soundcard.  the faders in sonar affect playback ONLY.

Thats kinda what I thought to. Maybe Im seeing something wrong or misinterpreting it.

Ill do some experimenting and maybe try to do a video to show what Im talking about.

no, you're not missing anything.  the faders cannot affect the input recording in sonar.  that's the way it is designed.  no gain +/- from the soundcard.

I've heard other DAWs are not that way, but I've never found out for certain for myself.  to me, it doesn't even make sense that it would do that.  you want your gain stage to be outside the box and the DAW to record exactly what the hardware outputs.

Beagle


   you want your gain stage to be outside the box and the DAW to record exactly what the hardware outputs.

And thats exactly what I thought. Im going to really mess with this theory today and Ill let ya know what I find.


Thanks Reece, much appreciated!!!

The levels going into the tracks are affected only by the level you put into the interface from the source, and the interface input levels set internally by software. 

In my Saffire for example, I have a software control panel where I have set up the default levels I want to allow into and out of my interface and Sonar.  I have level knobs on the interface to allow some quick control over the immediate levels from mics and guitar processors. 

A bit of trial and error in setting those (internal) levels has allowed me to find what works best. I get a strong, but clean (not clipped) signal into the tracks in Sonar with the input knobs set about 60% or so. Occasionally I need to tweeze them but they are mostly not touched. I generally want to see about 75% to 90% wave coverage in the track..... I don't want to see it slamming the ceiling. My knobs on the Saffire help control that. 

Faders, as Reece pointed out, control the output levels from the DAW. 

I generally load a normal project, link the soundcard output faders and pull them down. Tracks vary but most often I pull them down too.