Unofficial Mackie User Forums > DL1608/DL806/DL32R/ProDX Mixers
Am I using the DL32R right?
cyclops:
Thanks guys!
musicdan:
The input gain control boosts or cuts a signal to a usable level for the mixer. Where it is true that the police won't arrest you if you have this set wrong, having it set correctly is ideal.
Think of it as a car's tire pressure. The ideal pressure for everyday driving is usually around 32psi with all 4 tires at the same pressure. Sure your car will still drive with 10psi in one tire and 40psi in the rest, but things like handling, fuel milage, and tire life would be affected.
I'm a firm believe of being experimental when it comes to mixing, but there are certain things that you can do so you're not set up for failure right out of the gate. Proper gain stage gives you a good clean signal to use, and everything downstream (eq, compressor, reverb, delay etc) will have this ideal signal voltage and will function to their full capability. Low gain will usually result in a muddy, lifeless mix. High gain will over drive the input and distort your signal.
Signal to noise ratio: Any amplified signal is made of two parts, the desired signal (from your microphone diaphragm or guitar pickups, keyboard etc) and background noise caused by radio, electrical and magnetic interference either on the stage or from inside the mixer itself. The mixer will amplify 100% of the combined signal and doesn't care if the signal it receives is from your lead singer or the transformer in your power supply . Its your job as a sound engineer to feed the mixer input with the signal you want and filter out as much noise as possible. I'm going to steal some of an analogy used when explaining power factor, I'll try to apply it to signal to noise ratio as best as possible.
You are a bartender(sound engineer) and a customer just ordered a beer. The contents of a beer mug is beer(signal) and foam(noise). If the keg is too warm or the beer is poured too fast, you'll have mostly foam and very little beer. You're customer is not getting their money's worth and it won't quench their thirst. If it's poured properly at the correct temperature, they'll have mostly beer with a small amount of foam on the top.
Headroom: When you walk across the room with the beer in your hand it begins to slosh around in the mug(AC signal). If it was filled level with the top, you'll surely spill it when you walk. By leaving a small amount of foam between the beer and the top of the mug, the beer can now slosh around without spilling over the top. Idealy, you would want as much beer in the glass as possible without spilling it over the top.
or.... you want as much signal (beer) into the mixer input (mug) without overdriving it(spilling beer)
James91104:
--- Quote from: musicdan on March 16, 2015, 03:17:56 AM ---The input gain control boosts or cuts a signal to a usable level for the mixer. Where it is true that the police won't arrest you if you have this set wrong, having it set correctly is ideal.
Think of it as a car's tire pressure.
Signal to noise ratio:
You are a bartender(sound engineer) and a customer just ordered a beer. The contents of a beer mug is beer(signal) and foam(noise).
or.... you want as much signal (beer) into the mixer input (mug) without overdriving it(spilling beer)
--- End quote ---
However, an encounter with the police may occur after having found oneself having an overload of signal(beer) and operating a car with zero psi tire pressure, consequently having foam(noise) applied by the Fire Department on said vehicle post head-on to innocent hydrant. :facepalm:
cyclops:
LOL!!!!
Soundbyte:
--- Quote from: cyclops on March 11, 2015, 03:09:52 AM ---Hi all!
I've had the DL32R since day 1, and it has been working well for me. However, I'm starting to question if I'm using the mixer right... I typically use the compressors and their makeup gain to get a good sounding mix. This usually does the trick. However, I've been going back over some DVDs and books, and almost everyone talks about getting the gain staging correct to get the most effective signal-to-noise ratio on the mixer. I feel like I tend to run the input gain low and use the compressor's makeup gain to output a smoother signal. To me, it seems like the more I up the input gain, the quicker the singer's mics feed back, but if I use the compressor's makeup gain, I get a better, more controlled sound without the feedback. (this is with the compressors doing very little work)
This weekend, I set up a new band that I was running sound for, and tried to do it 'right' (i.e. using only the input gain to set the levels), and it sounded terrible until I started kicking in the makeup gain with the compressors on the mains, the monitors, and channels.
How is everyone else running their channels and mains / monitors in terms of the compressors?
One other question... does anyone know where the signal level is being measured at on the main screen? I have channels that have zero input gain, but are showing as a strong signal on the main screen. Is there any way to set those meters so that they show pre gain level, post gain level, and/or post fader level?
Thanks!
- cyclops
--- End quote ---
Nothing wrong with the way you're doing it if it works for you. I'll try to explain to you about the feedback you experience using the gain control. First, you should adjust the input gain before you add compression, here's why. The threshold level you set on the compressor is gain dependant. Meaning that changing the gain at the preamp stage will affect the threshold that you set. Turning the gain up will be similar to lowering the threshold. You'll find that the compression becomes overly sensitive and will start compressing faster than you wanted. An overly compressed signal is much more likely to feed back.
Here's something you can try. Turn off the compression, then adjust the preamp input until you're satisfied with the level in the mix. Now turn down the make up gain on the comp, select the ratio and raise the threshold till the amount of compression sounds right for you. Adjust the attack and release for a natural effect. At this point you'll notice that the average level of the signal is somewhat lower due to the compression. This is where you adjust the make up gain and bring the level back up to compensate for the loss.
Adjusting the input gain is no problem as long as you keep in mind that you'll need to readjust the compressor each time you make a change. Hope this helps.
Dwain
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version