Hardware volume controller

[theonelikepaul]

Your using Fruity right??, simply right click on the volume slider and chose 'link to controller'.

Move the controller / slider of your choice on your controller keyboard, and bam, instant hardware volume slider.

Give yourself enough headroom on the main monitors and you'll be larfing.

There, no need to spend any money on a 'knob'!

I have been doing this, but when i turn up the moniters for some decent headroom, i end up having to turn then down again if im just listening to itunes or whatching movies or using sound forge which seems to have no audio out volume control??

Ahh right. Hang on doesn't the Emu 0202 have an external volume control ?

I've never used one, but this picture seems to indicate it does.


Can't you just bring a longer usb lead round to easy grasp?

[spire]

...shure sm47...

57 you mean?

[silentk]

...shure sm47...

57 you mean?

yeh lol i cant be assed to go correct the typo.

and the 0202 has a volume control for the headphone output, not the master out.

[Sharmaji]

the mackie big knob is great for what it is, but its got a lot more features than just volume control. i use it to monitor 3 different sources (computer, turntables/synths submix, feed from my mic pre), the talkback feature is great for sessions, and the monitor selection is ace.

but if all you need is a volume control, it's waaaaaay too much--even if you cop it for cheap on ebay (as I did).

cheapo alesis mixer or yamaha mixer would be the simplest route, methinks.

[abstractsound]

i think im the one that recommended the sm57.. youre recording off a fender amp right?

i have the soundcraft compact10 mixer and i love it. i think its perfect for project studio set ups. it has 4 channels with mic pres with inserts. two of those channels have a hi-Z switch which functions like a DI so you can plug a bass or acoustic guitar straight into the mixer and get clean signal of useful level. then it has 6 stereo channels with both 1/4" and RCA inputs and push button for stereo/mono. the last two stereo channels have RIAA EQ switches so you can plug turntables right into the mixer and theres a groundscrew of the side for TT groundwires. theres a record bus with a button on each channel to send that signal to the record bus. there are two monitor outputs.. one at monitor level which sees the signal of a channel if you push the monitor switch in. then there is a mix out which takes the stereo mix (rotary pots for mixing, no faders)

playback in, two seperate headphone jacks that output different signals (like mix vs monitor out), 3 band fixed eq, pan, phantom power on 4 channels with mic pres. and even though its budget, preamps have soundcraft name on them so they cant be too bad. i think they sound great considering the thing goes for $179 US new.

[silentk]

i think im the one that recommended the sm57.. youre recording off a fender amp right?

i have the soundcraft compact10 mixer and i love it. i think its perfect for project studio set ups. it has 4 channels with mic pres with inserts. two of those channels have a hi-Z switch which functions like a DI so you can plug a bass or acoustic guitar straight into the mixer and get clean signal of useful level. then it has 6 stereo channels with both 1/4" and RCA inputs and push button for stereo/mono. the last two stereo channels have RIAA EQ switches so you can plug turntables right into the mixer and theres a groundscrew of the side for TT groundwires. theres a record bus with a button on each channel to send that signal to the record bus. there are two monitor outputs.. one at monitor level which sees the signal of a channel if you push the monitor switch in. then there is a mix out which takes the stereo mix (rotary pots for mixing, no faders)

playback in, two seperate headphone jacks that output different signals (like mix vs monitor out), 3 band fixed eq, pan, phantom power on 4 channels with mic pres. and even though its budget, preamps have soundcraft name on them so they cant be too bad. i think they sound great considering the thing goes for $179 US new.

wow :O this thing looks good! better than anything i have found in the same price range. rotaries rather than faders is a bit dissapointing but still, doesn't really matter. now i just need to find £180 odd from somewhere , fancy a whip round guys?

[theonelikepaul]

Ahh the direct monitoring is just for the inputs..ok..

What about this for a cheapo idea.....

One of these:


From the headphone output to your monitors or amp!

Then use the headphone volume knob.

[silentk]

Ahh the direct monitoring is just for the inputs..ok..

What about this for a cheapo idea.....

One of these:


From the headphone output to your monitors or amp!

Then use the headphone volume knob.

aah now this i like. Would it cause any loss in sound quality though? Feeding moniters from a headphone out?

[darkmatter]

Your using Fruity right??, simply right click on the volume slider and chose 'link to controller'.

Move the controller / slider of your choice on your controller keyboard, and bam, instant hardware volume slider.

but then you're lowering the volume in the digital domain, so you're reducing bit depth and introducing more quantization errors. in sound quality terms it's better to keep the volume higher in the digital domain and reduce volume in the analog domain.

what you're looking for is a passive line controller. i just use a cheap mixer - the soundcraft compact 4 - £60

[theonelikepaul]

Your using Fruity right??, simply right click on the volume slider and chose 'link to controller'.

Move the controller / slider of your choice on your controller keyboard, and bam, instant hardware volume slider.

but then you're lowering the volume in the digital domain, so you're reducing bit depth and introducing more quantization errors. in sound quality terms it's better to keep the volume higher in the digital domain and reduce volume in the analog domain.

No, I was referring to the volume slider on the main output pannel, not on the mixer. As with any dial or slider in fruity it can be linked to a controller.

Seen here (9)


This has no bearing on the the resulting bit depth, which would more likely to be affected by the your master bus level on the main mixer. This I would recommend set on its default level.

[darkmatter]

This has no bearing on the the resulting bit depth

your soundcard is most likely running at 16bit i.e. when it sends information to the digital-analog converter on the soundcard it can give it 65536 unique values. 0 would represent the minimum volume, 65536 would represent the maximum volume. now say we halve the volume in the digital domain as you've suggested. the maximum volume is now 32768, and the volume can take any whole number from 0-32768. so you've halved the number of possible values the volume can take. now twice as many of the amplitude values going into the digital-analog converter will be rounded up or rounded down, so more quantization errors will occur.

whether you notice this and whether it bothers you is a completely different matter, but you are reducing potential signal quality.

[theonelikepaul]

Yeah but I can still record a track at full volume, with the master volume slider at zero!

Its completely independent, and is the equivalent of turning down my volume slider on my soundcard settings, or on an external amp.


I should add, I use tobybear channel grabber to record tracks at the end of the main buss chain, therefore the signal doesnt reach the main volume slider at the top.

[theonelikepaul]

Just to be clear, I was not suggesting monitoring, and controlling the master bus level, (14) here:


I recommended using the Main Volume, linked to controller, for monitoring, (9) as seen here:


Two different things. Your track is recorded out of (14), your monitoring out of (9).

Lowering the volume of (14) would reduce bit depth, and as far as I know, its good practice to leave your master buss setting at default. Yeh?

[theonelikepaul]

Ahh the direct monitoring is just for the inputs..ok..

What about this for a cheapo idea.....

One of these:


From the headphone output to your monitors or amp!

Then use the headphone volume knob.

aah now this i like. Would it cause any loss in sound quality though? Feeding moniters from a headphone out?

Back to topic, and I would say give it a shot. The Emu 0202 specs seem to indicate the headphone output is driven by the same digital to analog convertor:

Analog Line Outputs (2)

Type: unbalanced, AC-coupled, 2-pole low-pass differential filter
D/A converter: CS4392
Max Level: 6.7 dBV (unbalanced)
Frequency Response (20Hz - 20kHz): 0.00/-0.01dB
Dynamic Range (1kHz, A-weighted): 111dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 112dB
THD+N (1kHz at -1dBFS): -98dB (.0013%)
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS): <-120dB

Headphone Amplifier

Type: Class-A power amplifier
D/A converter: CS4392 (shared with Line Out)
Gain Range: 60dB
Maximum Output Power: 16mW
Output Impedance: 22ohms
Frequency Response (20Hz-20kHz): +0.02/-0.08dB
Dynamic Range (A-weighted): 110dB
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (A-weighted): 108dB
THD+N (1kHz, max gain): 300ohm load: -98dB (.0013%)
Stereo Crosstalk (1kHz at -1dBFS, 300 ohm load): <-91dB

So I recon there would be hardly any noticable difference, and as your track is recorded internally, this is just monitoring were talking, theres no effect on your final tune.

[darkmatter]

i think we're talking about slightly different things mate. i wasn't suggesting that it'll change the bit depth of your finished rendered file, or that the internal processing in your DAW would be any different.

i was just saying that by doing what you suggested, the sound coming to your monitors (while you're monitoring) isn't 'optimal' - the dynamic range has less resolution than it could have. if this doesn't bother you (you'd need a good setup and good ears for it to start making much difference) that's not a problem, but that's the theory behind using a passive attenuator.

maybe they can explain it better than i can: http://www.smproaudio.com/index.php?opt ... view&id=25

[abstractsound]

soundcraft compact4 is the smaller cheaper version of the one i mentioned.

whats that one have? 2 mic pres and 2 stereo channels? i forget

[theonelikepaul]

i think we're talking about slightly different things mate. i wasn't suggesting that it'll change the bit depth of your finished rendered file, or that the internal processing in your DAW would be any different.

i was just saying that by doing what you suggested, the sound coming to your monitors (while you're monitoring) isn't 'optimal' - the dynamic range has less resolution than it could have. if this doesn't bother you (you'd need a good setup and good ears for it to start making much difference) that's not a problem, but that's the theory behind using a passive attenuator.

maybe they can explain it better than i can: http://www.smproaudio.com/index.php?opt ... view&id=25

Oh right, I've never come accross this before. I get you now.

I think my ears are long past being able to tell the difference between a volume change on my amp or on my soundcard.