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Section 7
The GT-3/5 Level Meters
If you are not familiar with the Meters under <Utility> then
I suggest you familiarise yourself now. Check out the
Official Manual for how to do this. They really are very
simple and extremely valuable.
Roland tech support seem to be unaware of the calibration
of the scale of the meters. So here is the technical jargon.
All meters are non-linear. The bottom 2 segments represent
6 dB each, then next 10 segments represent 3dB each, the
next 2, 2dB each and finally the last 2 segments represent
1dB each. Above the 100% mark there is approximately
1.75dB of headroom before clipping occurs. So in total you
have about 48dB shown on the meters. Now wouldn't that
look better in a diagram eh?
OK so across the top we have the percentages. The first dB
row shows the amount of gain necessary to light that
segment (5 mini segments). So to light the topmost segment
with the second topmost segment lit you need to increase
gain by 1dB. The third row shows an effective dB relative
to top scale. Therefore at –48dB no segments will be lit – if
you raise it by 6dB to –42dB the bottommost segment will
be lit. Make sense? I hope so.
The Input/Output meters are not calibrated to the same level
as the effects chain meters. The effects chain meters show
12dB LESS than the input/output meters. However, the
general calibration of segments is still the same.
I should also say that when using the meters it is easier to
change the level parameters using the GT-3/5 Editors.
Doing this means you can leave the meters showing and
alter the level simultaneously. Without the MIDI access you
have to exit the meters, change the level and then re-enter
the meters. This latter approach is very much a case of give
it a try and see how you go, and I would definitely
recommend using the GT-3/5 Editors with MIDI.
I should also point out here that the GT-3/5's meters are not
the most responsive and do not have a 'peak hold' facility.
This means that a peak may be very fast, clip and the GT-
© Copyright 2000-2002 Barry S. Pearce et al.
Level Metering
3/5's meter hasn't had time to react. You will see the meter
start to head towards the top but you never see the full peak.
The way to combat this situation is to use your ears and
trust them. Also if you have a gut feeling that the GT-3/5 is
really peaking and clipping very fast go with it and reduce
levels. Better to be safe.
My personal recommendation is:
NO SIGNAL EVER PEAKS ABOVE 90%.
Many think that I am over cautious about this but I have
spent many hours looking at the meter and know that they
do not react fast enough. Mind you I don't care. It's not me
having to listen to it. After all, it's your sound, and if you
are happy having it clip...Please bear in mind this only give
3-4dB of headroom.
Marking up the LCD
OK, now we get down to the interesting stuff. We are going
to start talking about volume levels. Unfortunately the
meters on the GT-3/5 use an unmarked visual display. Not
much use when you are trying to discuss specific levels.
What we need to do is to mark up the GT-3/5's LCD display
with volume marks, so that we can easily see what the levels
are.
The LCD has 16 character segments. We will mark 0%,
25% (four segs), 50% (eights segs), 75% (twelve segs) and
100%. I also mark every 2 segments (12.5%, 37.5%, 62.5%
and 87.5%, this doesn't clutter the display, makes your
estimates of the level more accurate by making the level
easier to read.
To mark it up I place the GT-3/5 LCD directly in front of
me, and look at the display at an angle of 30-45deg. This
allows you to clearly see the character segments. I use a
permanent marker—a green Lumocolour to be precise.
Although permanent the marker may be removed via the use
of a small amount of meths or rubbing alcohol on a cloth if
needs be. One suggestion from the GT-3 group is to switch
into tuner mode. This helps as it lights up the segments
which makes marking them up easier.
37
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