The mic was analog and had a XLR connector. This went into a separate preamp or a mixing board. You may also have an analog mic and an interface box m-box, focusrite, etc. If you have a USB mic, things may be tricky. The newer, better mics actually have a gain control knob.
And the oldest, least expensive mics have, well, nothing. For these your only recourse is to adjust the level in the computer control panel or in your recording software.
And they can only turn the level down, not up. So give you a little bit for levels. Of course none of the above applies to my equipment… because it goes up to Want more VO info? Your email address will not be published. Aliso Creek Voice Over Blog. Skip to content. Why I like Voice Answer 9 quick questions and I will give you a personalized step-by-step 7-week action plan showing you exactly what you need to do to get more traffic.
The terms gain, volume, and distortion tend to be used interchangeably in music and audio. They get thrown around without regard to what they actually mean. A lot of times you'll hear the term gain when someone means the overall volume or distortion.
Despite being used interchageably, the gain, volume and distortion aren't necessarily the same thing. For starters, you can add gain without distorting the signal. Similarly, adding gain to your signal is not the same as adding volume. The meaning of gain in audio amplification is quite literal.
Gain refers how much the signal has "gained" from being amplified. If you pass an audio signal through an amplifier and it comes out the other side twice as large, then there is a gain factor of 2. A gain factor of 1 would mean you've go the same signal coming out as what went in — this is called unity gain. Unity gain, is the term for the level on a fader or processor that just passes signal through it without boosting or cutting the signal strength.
It a more popular concept in analog engineering as the saw above. At the lower end of the scale, increasing gain will result in a louder signal without adding any distortion.
When talking about gain for a guitar amp, we are technically, although not always, talking about preamp gain. The preamp takes your weak guitar signal and amplifies, EQs and distorts it, before feeding it into the power section, where all the volume gets added.
Gain about signal strength — how strong an audio signal is, whether it's analog or digital, when it's moving through your mixer, mic, console, preamps, DAW etc. Technically, gain is the input, it is the first part of the signal chain before it hits any plugin or effects.
That is really a measure of the strength of the electrical signal moving through the equipment. Unlike dBv or dBu which can have both negative and positive values, 0 is the highest possible value for dBFS, meaning dBFS is measured in negative values.
In a digital audio signal, anything above 0 is introducing clipping or distortion into the signal. You'll see analog engineers working with dBu pushing gain past 0 all the time, but you can never do this a digital signal without introducing true digital clipping. This is a big confusion point. An analog engineer has to worry about something called, a noise floor and something called head room , whereas in digital audio there is no headroom above 0 because that is the top of the scale.
As soon as you go above 0, the computer has to interpolate or crush or distor or clip somehow, to accomodate the audio signal that's being digitized.
There are different types of gain we need to know. However, all gain is additive. That is how gain works. You need to check whether you additive gain is pushing past 0. That is often indicated with red? Gain staging is a technique for leveling and balancing our gain levels appropriately in the mix. It is basically appropriate gain management throughout the mix to make sure our groups and master output isn't clipping or distorting.
Make sure they have one and know how to use it. The gain setting process involves matching the points where the head unit and amp begin to distort. Once the gains are set, your installer should be able to tell you where on the volume dial the distortion appears. You should never exceed this level. Your installer should recommend the settings be checked when your head unit is replaced. Even if the output ratings are identical, there may be differences in the distortion point requiring a gain adjustment.
You should now have a new appreciation for a properly tuned gain control, so go outside, crank up the tunes, and enjoy! At Extreme Audio , we understand how to properly tune your system and set your gain controls. We have all the right equipment and we are extremely well versed in their uses. We invite you to stop in and allow us to show you around our facility. And if you are in the market for an audio upgrade… We can handle that too! Your email address will not be published.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.
0コメント