AGGRESSORMIKE Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Hello all, you guys are usually incredibly insightful and helpful so I'm really hoping somebody has the answer to this problem. I'm recording through: iMac 5k 2015 4.0Ghz 32gb Ram 2 TB Fusion Drive Scarlett 18i20 Interface through usb 2.0 and some low end M Audio monitors ( Don't know the exact model ) Now, everything i have is pretty new so I'm not sure why this is happening, but here it goes: I mainly record really heavy metal stuff (screaming, breakdowns, etc.) and by the time i've recorded all the instruments (Superior Drummer, 4 Guitars, and 1 Bass) my vocalist pointed out that even when turned to 10 (on the monitors AND the DAW) it is so quiet that theres no way you could possibly record vocals over it without completely not being able to hear any music. I never really noticed because i don't usually need to be full blast to do all my instrument tracks. I've tried everything, my volume monitor knob on my interface is all the way up, i've tried turning down all the tracks in logic to see if any peaking is making the music lower somehow and I'm just at a loss. In some of the studios I've been to, you would never even think of cranking the speakers up to 10 because it would be unbearably loud and i've just never seen anyone else I've recorded with have any sort of volume issues like this. Please help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mixerjack Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 First make sure your monitors are turned up max. The Scarlett's all have a kind of mix knob on the front for realtime analog monitoring of the inputs; make sure this is set all the way to the right so it's 100 percent daw return. The Scarlett's seem to have a low output compared to most interfaces.. This could be your problem. Just a juicy headphone amp will be enough to keep your vocalist happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGGRESSORMIKE Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 Yeah, my monitor knobs on the front are all the way up. I have the 18i20 hooked up to my monitors through the (2) 1/4" cables in the back of the interface, and i have my headphones plugged into the headphone jack on the monitors, am i supposed to have my headphones plugged in through the 1/4" headphone jack on the front of the interface? I'm so confused, theres no way its just this low. When i play music through iTunes (Kendrick Lamar for example) the monitors are super loud. Why wouldn't logic be the same way? Also, how do headphone amplifiers work? How do i actually connect one? is it interface to monitors the headphone amplifier? And how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 am i supposed to have my headphones plugged in through the 1/4" headphone jack on the front of the interface? Yes. You can also get one of these to increase volume to the headphones: http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Pro-PHA40-4-Channel-Headphone-Amplifier/dp/B003M8NVFS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1456363124&sr=8-5&keywords=headphone+amp And get this cable to connect from the headphone output of the interface to the headphone amp http://www.guitarcenter.com/Livewire/TRS-TRS-Balanced-Patch-Cable.gc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stardustmedia Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 Just wondering, what are the levels reading on the channels in Logic? For me low level means below -30 or even -40 dBFS If the levels in Logic are ok, let's say between -15 and -6, you have to check your Scarlett, then the loudspeakers. But there are vocalists that cannot have it loud enough. On a side note: I recorded once a punk vocalist. While everything in the signal chain was maxed out, the headphones were already working as a small PA for clubs (it was so loud), he still insisted of cranking it up even more. You can imagine how bad the bleeding from the headphone into the vocal mic was, and he wasn't "singing" softly Saying that everything is pretty relative. "Low Level" can mean everything between bearly audible up to deafning levels 8) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AGGRESSORMIKE Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Wow, i must say that i just went and bought a livewire 4 channel headphone amplifier and i think all my problems are fixed. Immediately made a world of difference, i can't believe i didn't know about these things before (shows how new i am to being on this end of the production method.) Are headphone amps pretty commonplace? Do most people have them? I hope i'm not just putting a band-aid over a gaping wound but it really seems like this was the answer all along. Of course i only bought one trs to trs cable like a dummy so its only coming out of one headphone, but I'm assuming once i get two the effect will be even more awesome. Thank you so much guys! @mixerjack @triplets @stardustmedia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 Of course i only bought one trs to trs cable like a dummy so its only coming out of one headphone, but I'm assuming once i get two the effect will be even more awesome. ?? You only need one TRS cable to go from the interface headphone output to the Livewire headphone amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.