Gain knobs question

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Hi guys.

Just a nooby question here. On the Centroid, what level do you generally keep all your gains at? I'm never sure to leave it at quarter up or half way etc - any personal recommendations would be awesome :)

Cheers!

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  • I agree with Infyuthsion. I'd add, don't use the meters in Audiotool Flash to judge the level of your sound as they are linear meters, not logarithmic. What i do is to open another program with proper level meters (for example Audacity) and set it to monitor incoming audio from the Audiotool app. Then I adjust the level of signals going into the Centroid to peak around -18 dBFS (equivalent to 0 dB VU). This is called gain staging. Then you'll have enough headroom to mix and process your sounds prior to mastering.

  • Don't use the gain knobs at all. Set your volumes from the main outputs on your devices, and use the Centroid faders to mix.

    Always be running your mix so there is no red clipping indicators, also I would keep the loudest parts at about 75% on the Centroid meter.

    • Or, likewise, to trim their gain down, so that they don't hit the mixer too hot and you have enough headroom to mix. The point is to achieve an optimal input signal level that lets you use the whole channel fader range to mix.

    • They are for increasing the power of the signal. If you have a very quiet source signal, you can use the gain knob to bring it up to a reasonable level on par with the rest of the mix.

    • What are they for then? lol.

  • I normally adjust the volume on each of the devices and keep everything as it is by default on the Cent. The only thing I normally adjust/automate on the Cent, are the high/mid/low knobs and the aux sends. Personally I think it is easier to keep track of the volume automations, when they are done on the devices themselves (it is easier for me to find the device on the timeline, than to find the correct channel on the Cent).