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Hi all.
This is my set up route for live performance.

1 master and channel volume to off.
2 plug instrument/mic into line in or mic in.
3 set gain to just below clipping on loudest parts.
4 set channel volume level to peaking on amber in the master.

IS this correct or should i set channel volume first and then adjust gain?

thanks.


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all i can suggest is what we used to do. don't rely on meters and leds to get your mix right. get out front and listen to the overall mix. start with the main vocal. the rule of thumb is that the closer to the source the louder you set your level. so take the lead vocal to the clipping point on the channel input then set the master volume to the volume you need for the vocal in the room. our lead guitarist used a long lead. he set the overall mix by visiting the mixer and the only time he needed to go back on stage was to sing his vocals and one of us could sort that out from the front balancing his vocal to the main vocal.

nine times out of ten the balanced mix was the same for most venues and once we made a note of it all we did was turn the master volume up and down. sometimes we needed different eqs, reverb and feedback filters but the master mix was quite consistent.

i'm sure you'll get lots of advice but use your ears not the meters and leds. of course it was a lot easier with a roadie and a mixing desk out front but most of the time we were on our own.

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For those of us old enough to remember
This is how Mac explained it in one project we worked on
http://www.audiominds.com/gain.html


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Originally Posted By: paulpaul
Hi all.
This is my set up route for live performance.

1 master and channel volume to off.
2 plug instrument/mic into line in or mic in.
3 set gain to just below clipping on loudest parts.
4 set channel volume level to peaking on amber in the master.

IS this correct or should i set channel volume first and then adjust gain?

thanks.

That sounds correct. When I was studying electronics I was taught that you should always apply gain as early as possible, otherwise you'll be amplifying any noise that is added later - this was confirmed when I was taught the same thing in audio school. In addition, I was also taught not to add a bunch of gain if I'm only going to reduce the channel volume later as that again can add noise.

Basically if you're setting up a mix, I was taught to set all the faders to zero (not to maximum) then set up the gain on the kick drum first and set everything else relative to that. As I'm mostly recording directly into a computer these days, I set the gain so that the absolute maximum peaks for the kick are no higher than -6dbfs to avoid any clipping. With analog/live sound I set the kick to peak around 0 depending on the board, as some will distort more readily than others. My DDA board is much more forgiving than my Mackie.


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Thanks for the replies everyone.

Think I'll stick to the method of gain 1st,although I have seen the method of setting channel slider 1st mentioned a lot.
Ta .


rebuilt styles,songs and real tracks.
win 10...amd a10 radeon r6 4c+6g 1.8ghz
64 bit hp envy
biab 2023 with 1004 build. styles 1 to 429 plus extras 1,2,3,4 and 6.
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