User manual

72
Recording
3. Play back the audio and check the level meter for the
input channel.
The signal should be as loud as possible without exceeding 0dB (the
Clipping indicator for the input bus should not light up).
The Clipping indicator
4. If necessary, adjust the input level in one of the follow-
ing ways:
• Adjust the output level of the sound source or external
mixer.
• Use the audio hardware’s own application program to
set the input levels (if possible).
See the documentation for the audio hardware.
• If your audio hardware supports the ASIO Control Panel
function, it may be possible to make input level settings.
To open the ASIO control panel, open the Device Setup dialog via the De-
vices menu and, in the list to the left (below “VST Audio System”), select
your audio card. When this is selected, you can open the Control Panel by
clicking on the Control Panel button in the settings section to the right.
The next step is to check the level of the audio being writ-
ten to a file on your hard disk. This is only necessary if you
have made any adjustments to the input channel (level
settings, EQ, insert effects, etc.).
Also note the following:
• If you record in 32 bit float format, the bit depth will not
be reduced – which means there is no risk of clipping at
this stage.
Also, this preserves the signal quality perfectly. Therefore, you should
consider using 32 bit float format when you are recording with effects
(see “Recording with effects (Cubase only)” on page 78).
• If you record in 16 or 24 bit format, the available head-
room is lower, which means clipping can occur if the sig-
nal is too loud. To avoid this, set the signal level in the
following way:
1. Bring up the mixer context menu, open and select Glo-
bal Meter Settings “Meter Post-Fader”.
2. Set up the input channel, by adding EQ and/or effects.
With some effects you may want to adjust the level of the signal going
into the effect – use the Input Gain knob for this. Note that you need to
press [Shift] or [Alt]/[Option] to adjust the Input Gain.
Adjusting the Input Gain.
3. Play back the audio and check the level meter of the
input channel.
The signal should be reasonably loud but should not reach 0dB (the
Clipping indicator for the input bus should not light up).
4. If necessary, use the input channel fader to adjust the
signal level.
Cubase Studio
In Cubase Studio, the input channels are not shown in the
mixer. Instead, you need to check the level at the channel
strip for the track on which you are recording:
1. Locate the channel strip for the track you’re about to
record on.
2. Activate monitoring for the channel by clicking the
speaker button next to the fader.
When monitoring is activated, the meter shows the level of the incoming
audio signal.
3. Play the audio source that you want to record and
check the level meter for the channel.
4. Adjust the output level of your audio source so that the
meters go reasonably high without reaching 0.0dB.
Check the numerical peak level indicator below the meter in the bus
channel strip. To reset the peak level indicator, click on it.
Ö You must adjust the output level of the audio source –
you cannot use the faders in Cubase Studio to adjust the
input level!
Ö An alternative way of checking the input levels would
be to use the control panel for your audio hardware (if it
features input level meters). It may also be possible to ad-
just the input level in the control panel.
See the documentation of your audio hardware for details.