CUE-MIX=CONFUSING AF!!

[terrybritton]

I figured it out and have had the same 55 years for this music habit to drive me crazy, so I know you can also!

If the meters in the 828 show decent levels, trust them, but my principle way of working is to always bring stuff in with peaks at -12db. This gives me plenty of headroom for transients that aren't showing up in the meters, and has other benefits. UNLIKE tape, where you have to feed a signal as hot as possible, in the new 24-bit recording environments the dynamic range is so gigantic that you sacrifice nothing pushing signal through at -12db. You just gain the headroom to have some surprises happen!

Sounds you are >>>THIS CLOSE!!!<<<

The sequence of different volume settings available from the interface to the DAW's trims to the fader to the effects sends to the master is called "gain staging" and has always been an issue with recording - but it actually is easier to get a grip on now that you know that 24-bit recording gives you so much headroom.

Keep it an exploration and fun, and try not to let it exasperate you too much! (Maybe a little, just not too much!)

Terry

[HARDDRlVER]

Soon as I posted my issue, I realized that I remember gain staging, and on that, that the daw,track itself shoul have unity gain...pretty much, untouched trim and track level.
So it has to be the output of the Motu 828.

Crossing my fingers. .

[terrybritton]

Soon as I posted my issue, I realized that I remember gain staging, and on that, that the daw,track itself shoul have unity gain...pretty much, untouched trim and track level.
So it has to be the output of the Motu 828.

Crossing my fingers. .

Yes, set the trim in the 828 so it sends peaks of -12 dB to the DAW and you'll likely be fine. Leave the DAW faders at unity gain (0 dB) and use them only for FADING!

At the end of the project when everything is right, that's when you can normalize things back up from the -12 db, recommended having it peak at -3 dB or even -1 dB as a whole, just for the final bounces. That gives some "wiggle room" for MP3 conversions, which sometimes distort the peaks if you use 0 dB as the normalization target of the master.

Terry

[HARDDRlVER]

Thanks again, Terry...
And everyone...who's sharing in keeping me in love with this thing...music...

I have a question in the meantime, sort of...
I know I could drudge through the manual for this, but I'm sure I could get a quick answer here.
...and I'm not relying on the help here to be the only way I learn this, trust me.

I can get a sound from the mic input into my headphones...
I can get a sound from a prerecorded track in the daw...into my headphones, so yes, I'm getting somewhat of a mix...
My question is...
Where is the Daw's signal inputting into the 828????? I have no clue. I know the output of the track shows 'main 1&2 but looking at the 828, I can't see any sort of signal reference anywhere? I've tapped every mix tab, every switch...
I'm sure I'm must missing something simple.
Its these simple things that have a one sentence answer (I assume) that leads someone like me to the manual for hours...to find zip..lol.
Again, I AM hearing both my live mic and a prerecorded track in my headphones, but I have no way of knowing where any level setting is in the 828 to adjust the Daw's input. I turned the track output up all the way, but can't see any level anywhere in reference to the daw input...so loud the signal was bleeding out of my headphones back into the mic.
I can see and adjust the mic levels.
The only way I can make a proper sounding headphone mix is to adjust the daw output to blend.

Thanks again, for your considerate input.
Joni

[bayswater]

On the 828 Mk3 you can use the setup panel to define which output is mirrored by the phones output. In the manual I have, it is shown in the "quick reference" page for MOTU Audio Setup. The phones can also be set there as a independent output, and in that case I think they appear in a DAW as output 11-12, if not as "Phones". Probably a bit different in newer 828 versions and on a PC but the idea will be the same.

[terrybritton]

Additional to what Baywater is saying, if you mean you wish to see meters for the DAW output in Cuemix, then there are two places where you can see the DAW output.

The first is in the "Meters" tab at the bottom where it shows outputs. If you click on the "Focus" button above the sliders, then the topmost meter shows that channel. So, clicking "Focus" above the "Phones" slider on the Output page will make that output be the top slider.

For a large display on the far right that shows allowing you to leave the "Meters" tab and still monitor things, you go to the output tab, click the "Monitor" button at the bottom beneath the channel you wish to watch. When you do that, the "Monitor Level" knob at the very top right also becomes active.

Terry