this:

http://www.digido.com/art...-practices-part-1.html

and this:
http://www.digido.com/how...recordings-part-2.html

Sorry to piggyback this thread - some good advice on levels in general to take on board.   I have just got the Klanghelm meters and have a specific question.
 
I've tried it on a section of a guitar track which according to the Sonar meters is peaking at
-6.9dBFs.     I then put the VUMT Solo meter in the FX Bin, and set it to PPM with the default settings (PPM reference setting -9 and LED peak -6).   The VUMT LED lights up at the -6.9 peak in the track, even though SONAR meters indicate -6 hasn't been reached.  Is that just because all meters have a slight discrepancy between them or have I got the settings wrong?
 
Thanks for any advice.
 

Ok, so other than percussive instruments, it is a rule of thumb to record at -18 dbFS using VU Meters? But as of the moment I do record as Danny suggested which is peaking at the -6db mark.

that's the whole point of the links i sent...

to show the difference between what you are getting with RMS versus PEAK...
and what you should be shooting for.

study this for a minute:

if your meters are hitting -6 on digital scale meters, what is the equivalent of what you would be hitting on an analog scale?


are your tracks sounding a bit....... crunchy?

That's why my rack is full of analog stuff that doesn't get crunchy until you are up about 26dBu.

yes, analog has sorta built-in anti crunchy devices.

heheh

random notes:


I don't think all digital dBFS scales relate to analog dBu levels the same way. They can be calibrated to match other gear better. 
The legacy of tape being pushed far beyond +4dBu created a scenario where the pro and then the semi pro converters were scaled to work well with gear that was made to drive tape decks hard.

That's why many old "pro" hardware devices use -20dBFS as the +4dBu level, the newer ones sometimes use -16dBFS or even -12dBFS.

Most of the mini mixers that say they can hit +26dBu can't... so they mate up to a -12dBFS = +4dBu set up ok... where as something like an API 512 preamp needs a pad even on a -20dBFS = +4dBu set up cause it sounds great up at +20dBu all the time. :-)


The meters on the iPod... they are calibrated to -10dBv... so that's why they work good with a home stereo.

Etc.


best regards,
mike

sharpdion23


Ok, so other than percussive instruments, it is a rule of thumb to record at -18 dbFS using VU Meters? But as of the moment I do record as Danny suggested which is peaking at the -6db mark.

As dumb as this may sound coming from me, I don't even pay attention much to my meters other than to see if I'm hotter than a -6dB peak and I make sure it's not a constant -6 dB peak. Meaning...
 
Let's say I'm playing a distorted guitar part. Arm Sonar, and play the song I'm about to record. I won't play another song, I won't play a solo, I play exactly what I'm going to record so I can judge the meters correctly. I play nearly the entire song parts to see where my meter is hovering. It's under -6 just about all the time, but once in a while I'll get a little peak coming in.
 
Most times a high pass can control it. I always use a light compressor going in, so if something does hit -6 dB it won't stay there or create a super spike TO -6 dB while being low signal wise.
 
What I mean is....let's say I'm averaging about -12 dB. If that were the case, you'd never see a spike in any of my tracks that went to -6dB. I try to keep things consistent without over-processing.
 
For the percussive instruments, I do the same thing. I try to make things consistent and if there is a jump to -6 dB, it's not coming from a far away place. A little compression, the right mic placement and a high pass can work wonders. :) I never get anything "crunchy" on my end that isn't supposed to be crunchy. If it crunches, I made it do it with a processor...not due to my input signals being out of control.
 
-Danny