Track Midi Suite/Dance Production Studio - Behringer EURODESK SX4882 User Manual

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EURODESK SX4882 User Manual
13.2.3 Recording levels
When recording to digital, it's a good idea to keep the recorder's PEAK READING
meters below 0 dB. Engage "peak hold" on your recorder if you want to confirm
that you haven't inadvertently overstepped the mark during a take or mix.
Most digital recorders (though not SAMPLERS) read 0 dB with some headroom
left. This is because, unlike with analog, the onset of digital distortion is as
sudden as it is horrible, and the manufacturers of digital recorders don't want you
to hear this! If you really want to take your recording level to the limit (and fully
exploit digital's 96 dB dynamic range), you'll have some calibrating to do.
You could run a tone at 0 dB from the mixer, and use that as your DAT or digital
multitrack recorder reference. But your DAT or digital multitrack recorder may still
be 10 to 20 dB off its headroom limit. Probably a better way to work out just how
hard you can drive your recorder is to incrementally increase the record level until
it well distorts, subtract, say 6 dB, and never ever exceed that level.
When recording to analog, the tape machine's VU meters should show around
+3 dB on BASS, but only around −10 dB for HI HAT. Although analog distortion
is more like compression at modest overload levels (often desirable on bottom
end), higher frequencies cause saturation even at modest levels (an unpleasant
"crunchiness"). Also, VU meters tend to progressively under-read above 1 kHz,
due to their sluggish response time.
13.2.4 Auditioning a mix
In order to be heard other than when PFL/SOLO-ed, channels must be routed to
the main mix bus. This can be either from the channel routing matrix directly,
via one of the subgroups, or from the MIX-B bus (
Channels going to tape are usually monitored via the tape return channel,
whether A or B. In this case the main mix button of the channel going to tape
should be UP, while that coming back should be DOWN (if on an A-channel).
Tape tracks returning on B-channels will always be heard so long as the
MIX-B/MAIN MIX switch ( ) is depressed.
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Some to-tape channels will have no routing other than a direct out patch into the
recorder, others may be routed through subgroups. When a subgroup is sending
to tape, the subgroup L/R assignment buttons (
that subgroup should not feed into the main mix bus directly.
14. 8-track MIDI Suite/Dance
Production Studio
8-track MIDI studio with sampler, 8-track recording system, one vocal
microphone and an array of synthesizers and FX. MIDI sequencer driven.
A typical dance production suite.
14.1 Sends
Fig. 14.1: Send routing
In a dance production, effects are often of paramount importance in creating
interesting/evolving sounds, and aux sends are usually all dedicated to this
purpose. Also, it is not unusual for a vocalist to be drafted in to add some colour
to the mix at a late stage. The following set-ups avoid using aux sends for
headphone monitoring, while enabling both the vocalist and engineer to get a
comfortable headphone mix.
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14.2
The vocalist will probably want to hear her-/himself above the normal mix level.
With the following headphone sources you can do this without tying up any
aux sends or MIX-B. Passing the DIRECT OUT through any 1 in 2 out delay/reverb
device enables the vocalist to choose an effect she/he is comfortable singing
along with.
Fig. 14.2: Simple auxless headphones mix
Here the MIC CHANNEL FADER controls the amount of extra voice blended into
the main mix. Adjust the FADER level first until the vocalist is happy, then set the
level to tape with the SUBGROUP FADER(S).
Alternatively:
Split the microphone onto two channels and use one to feed the routing matrix
while the other drives the EXTERNAL input via its direct out. Now you have totally
indepedent monitoring and tape send levels for the vocal signal.
DOWN).
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Fig. 14.3: Slightly more complicated auxless headphones mix
, ) should be UP. I.e.
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Alternatively:
If you need to hear the harmonies, but they're putting the vocalist off key,
you'll want to be able to delete channels from the headphone mix. If you still
don't want to assign a couple of aux buses to headphones monitoring because
this would disturb the main mix, the following suggestion might prove useful.
Set up a separate channel assignment on a spare subgroup pair. Feed the output
into aux return 3. Route aux return 3 to headphones 1 (
main mix (
backing track mix (see fig. 14.4).
Fig. 14.4: Subgroup-driven auxless headphones mix
This configuration does not allow for anything coming in on B-channels to be
sent to headphones. If you need to do this,
◊
◊
Auxless headphones mix
). Now you can delete distracting channels from the vocalist's
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In all cases the WET/DRY balance of the extra vocal signal takes place
within the FX processor.
The above example refers to aux 3 return > headphones 1.
An analogous situation is possible for aux 4/5/6 return > headphones
1 or 2.
) and de-assign the
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must also be depressed.
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