Trouble is, the lower you set the trim on the console emulator, the less of an effect is has. 

If the console emulator is overloading, then you need to follow the ProChannel module chain backwards from it until you find the offending module, and turn that one down (or put an FX chain module before it so you can use the gain sliders on it). Remember also that any effects that you have in an effects chain need to have their outputs correctly set as well. 

The first thing you need to do is adjust the input gain - a lot of soft synths/drum modules run too hot.
 
Many compressors have make up gain which can be turned down.
 
The quad EQ is one module that benefits from an empty FXchain to compensate.  It is also better with EQ to cut, rather than boost, so if you're having to boost a lot, it's worth re-recording or re-working the source material anyway.
 
Gain staging does seem to be especially important with the Console Emulator.  It can seem to exacerbate the effect.
 
Also, the trim and drive knobs on the console emulator do not work as they may at first appear.  According to Overloud, their developer, the Console Emulator emulates the summing characteristics of a console.  The drive controls how much of the signal goes into saturation, and the trim knob affects how much the emulator effect is applied to the sound.  So the trim does not act like the input trim on a desk, and shouldn't be used to gain stage.
 
 

Thank you.

The advice you guys gives is worth millions. I solved this one, and understand better how pro channel works.

I'm a little late to the party, but can confirm there's some great advice in here. I find it crucial to avoid red-lighting any of the pro channel modules. You're okay until it lights solid red.

If you have a mix where there's red-lighting going on, getting rid of it can make a HUGE difference in terms of cleaning up the sound, especially (as noted previously) if you're using the Console Emulator.

If the input to the pro channel is excessively hot, in addition to the input gain control, you can also use clip envelopes to reduce the amount of signal. Bear in mind that altering the signal going into the pro channel will affect any processors that depend on input level, like dynamics and amp sims.

It is also better with EQ to cut, rather than boost, so if you're having to boost a lot, it's worth re-recording or re-working the source material anyway.

Apparently I've been EQing wrong. I pretty much always have to boost certain frequencies. I do remove some stuff to get rid of undesirable tinniness or noise but for the most part I'm turning up the lows a bit, the highs usually quite a bit (to give them "air") and then on one of the mid freq's I'll try to give it all a bit more presence. A perfect example is my vocal tracks. My mics kind of suck and kind of sound like I'm singing into a phone with no EQ. I end up shaping it all with the EQ until it sounds good and watch the levels to make sure nothing is clipping. It seems to work but I've seen the whole turn stuff down concept over and over again. Am I supposed to be able to get the same results? Like instead of turning those frequencies up turn down the freqs where normally I'd have them sitting on the line?

Proper EQing is something I need to learn A LOT about. Currently I'm just twisting knobs until it sounds okay. Kind of the spray and pray method of EQing. Not very professional.

I sometimes boost to give a part more clarity or make it stand out more in a mix, but I only ever boost 1 or 2dB. I cut a lot more often, and usually by larger amounts. First thing I do is a wide sweep a high-Q maximum boost, to locate a problem frequency, and I'll cut that quite heavily. Then I high pass filter as much as I can without the instrument losing weight, and make some gentle cuts in areas in which it's fighting for space with another instrument. But I have so much to learn about EQ, mainly in the listening department. 

Beepster, might be worth getting yourself a one month subscription to Lynda.com sometime, and watching as many of their mixing courses as you have time for. They have a guy called Brian Lee White who has done some excellent courses on general mixing, as well as EQ and compression. He uses Pro Tools but the principles are of course the same. I learned so much about basic EQing etc from him, he's an excellent teacher. In fact I could do with watching them again as a refresher because I didn't even come close to taking it all in. 

Beepster


And check all your effects and PC modules. Your actual track meter may not be clipping but something else in the chain might be or the accumulation of everything is pushing the PC too far. Hopefully someone smarter than I will come along and explain because now I'm curious myself.

Definitely. It's important to early on set your track and bus meters to pre-fader in order to properly set the gain trims to prevent clipping. Next, if you have plugins which do not have output level controls, you'll need to set the meters pre-fader post plugin to check again for clipping. Finally, once you've done the whole gain staging rigamarole, then can you switch over to post fader metering to view relative outputs...

sharke


I sometimes boost to give a part more clarity or make it stand out more in a mix, but I only ever boost 1 or 2dB. I cut a lot more often, and usually by larger amounts. First thing I do is a wide sweep a high-Q maximum boost, to locate a problem frequency, and I'll cut that quite heavily. Then I high pass filter as much as I can without the instrument losing weight, and make some gentle cuts in areas in which it's fighting for space with another instrument. But I have so much to learn about EQ, mainly in the listening department. 

You've got it when EQ'ing the listening part is important.
 
I wouldn't worry too much about what you've must have heard from elsewhere about boosts being a bad thing, it's one of those mythical 'don't do's' seem to arise out of nowhere.  The point of an EQ is to adjust the emphasis of certain frequencies on a track in relation to others, the filters work as well boosting as they do when cutting.
 
I have no qualms about boosting +10 db (sometimes even more) for a sweet spot on a particular sound if that's how to get the frequency relationships right on that particular part.
 
Where it might be an issue is on your final mix if you are needing to make anything other than small adjustments up or down then you need to look further back at the track level.
 
Slightly off the main topic I know but it just struck me as worth mentioning after seeing what you put and again it all comes back to the idea of getting the gain staging right at the outset. Obviously you need to check your output levels after each element because adjustments like that are going to make a big difference to what is coming out of an EQ or whatever to what went in and level wise you'll want to keep things as consistent as you can through the chain.

Great stuff, guys. I can't wait to be settled in my new studio so I can just shut out the world and really start focusing on these types of in depth subjects. I can't focus properly here. Cheers.