I'm unable to set the input gain level

[Dan Bartosik]

15 hours ago, John Vere said:

In the past if you wanted to become a recording engineer you read a few well written books or you went to a college. You would then understand the terminology and "how things work" . It a bit annoying to have people think a software company is supposed to spoon feed engineering to the punters. Read the manual and study your craft. Book or videos it's you choice, but I highly recommend this if you want to get were your going without frustration. 

https://bgaudioclub.org/uploads/docs/Yamaha_Sound_Reinforcement_Handbook_2nd_Edition_Gary_Davis_Ralph_Jones.pdf

 

There’s no need to dumb it down.  What's really amazing is that Cakewalk is a fully-featured DAW which I imagine any experienced recording engineer would find fully capable for use in making professional recordings, yet its also so simple to use that a total novice like me was able to pull off a very reasonable recording after watching a few YouTube tutorials and tinkering around with the software for a few hours.  I literally recorded this tune within three days after using Cakewalk for the first time (actually its my first time using any DAW), and half that time was spent learning the song.  I'm really impressed and I can see that I'll be doing a lot more with Cakewalk as time permits,

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by Dan Bartosik

[EdStauff]

I've been working with live and studio sound for over two decades, and CbB for about a year, and I agree with the O.P.  I just wasted a considerable amount of time and frustration trying to figure out why I couldn't increase my mike recording level.  I've never owned an audio interface that had any metering, just a clipping light (currently using a ProSonus AudioBox USB 96).  Audacity has an input gain control, why can't CbB? 

-- Ed

[John Vere]

Working with live audio for 2 decades doesn’t always qualify a person for pro sound. 
I’ve seen this a lot in places like churches where some pour dude got stuck with the sound system because he new how to plug stuff in. 
The musicians would be complaining about how horrible the sound was in the church and ask me to come and troubleshoot. 
Things were all wrong from top to bottom. They had been buying things like 32 band EQ because the guy at the music store told them they needed this. Worse is the were sold a feedback destroyer. 
All stuff the pour volunteers had no clue about. 
Their education in audio was passed down from untrained volunteer to untrained volunteer 

And some had been doing it (wrong) for   Yes. two decades. 
 

Anyone with any proper audio training who had never set up a computer and audio interface before would have correctly set the recording level instantly. They probably Read The Instructions cause that’s what proper training teaches you 

Edited February 13, 2021 by John Vere

[Kurre]

I now use a small hardware mixer as gain for low output mics. It gives you double amplification of the signal by setting the input sensitivity and then raising the output signal.

Edited February 14, 2021 by Kurre
Addition.

[Byron Dickens]

On 2/13/2021 at 10:04 AM, John Vere said:

Anyone with any proper audio training who had never set up a computer and audio interface before would have correctly set the recording level instantly. They probably Read The Instructions cause that’s what proper training teaches you 

Bingo.

 

Newbies need to learn how to RTFM.

I don't know what they teach in school these days, but researching - and reading in general- seem to be a lost art. Everyone wants to be spoon fed silver bullets to fix their immediate concern instead of learning the basics of how things work. Because that takes effort.

 

 

[John Vere]

15 hours ago, Kurre said:

I now use a small hardware mixer as gain for low output mics. It gives you double amplification of the signal by setting the input sensitivity and then raising the output signal.

Are you aware that the mixer should be plugged into line level inputs and not into pre amps? It is not a good idea to double up on mike pre amps. It's not needed and can raise the noise floor.

A mixer is a great idea for front end and can handle just about any input and boost it to line level. Once again.. basic audio engineering 101.  

So if your audio interface has a line level inputs, usually on the back as 3/4, use that and not the front panel inputs. Unless those can by pass the pre amps which some do with switches. 

Edited February 14, 2021 by John Vere

[Kurre]

2 hours ago, John Vere said:

Are you aware that the mixer should be plugged into line level inputs and not into pre amps? It is not a good idea to double up on mike pre amps. It's not needed and can raise the noise floor.

A mixer is a great idea for front end and can handle just about any input and boost it to line level. Once again.. basic audio engineering 101.  

So if your audio interface has a line level inputs, usually on the back as 3/4, use that and not the front panel inputs. Unless those can by pass the pre amps which some do with switches. 

Yes, i'm aware. 

It would be nice to avoid an extra box but i have very old mics and i don't throw away stuff and buy new ones unless its dead and not working at all. The quality is good enough (for home recording) even with an old mic when you get the input levels up. ?

[Steven Gerard]

On 8/23/2020 at 11:55 AM, msmcleod said:

No, the Gain control is used to control the signal from the clip going to the fx bin /pro-channel (depending on pre/post pro-channel setting).

The gain of the recorded signal is controlled by your audio interface.

So when recording, the signal goes as follows:

Audio Hardware Gain -> ASIO Input -> recorded clip -> Gain Control ->  fx / pro-channel -> Volume

The main use of the track gain control is to gain-stage plugin input signal.

Four plus years later and I'm just learning this.  I've been using a Scarlett 4i4 with my keyboard plugged into the fixed line rear inputs, 3 and 4, and was not getting enough gain.  I was also thinking that the input gain in Cakewalk would boost the signal for recording.  Now I discover the input gain is for increasing the gain on the recorded track.  I was this close to upgrading to a new interface with 4 mic/line combo inputs to rectify this problem.  (I have my v drums plugged into inputs 1 and 2).  I just recorded some keyboard and turned up the input gain on the recorded track and voila!   A workable gain.  Light bulb exploding moment!

[Amberwolf]

33 minutes ago, Steven Gerard said:

Four plus years later and I'm just learning this.  I've been using a Scarlett 4i4 with my keyboard plugged into the fixed line rear inputs, 3 and 4, and was not getting enough gain. 

 

The manual says

LINE INPUTS 3 and 4 – 2 x ¼” TRS jacks; these are balanced inputs for use with additional line level sources e.g., from a keyboard, synth module or FX unit.

Were the sources also TRS balanced outputs?   Or just TS?  How were the cables used wired?  TS to TS?  I don't know what the best wiring should be for that situation, so you may have to research that if you don't already know. 😊 

 

Does the focusrite control software have any adjustments for those inputs?  (it has some for the front inputs)

 

Do the instruments being used have gain controls in them?  (some equipment has settings for +4dBu vs  -10dBv; my GadgetLabs Wave8*24 has this for each channel separately in the control panel (IIRC it's also in the original CP, but it is definitely in the user-created drivers kept updated over the years for it).  

 

[David Baay]

15 hours ago, Amberwolf said:

Were the sources also TRS balanced outputs?   Or just TS?  How were the cables used wired?  TS to TS?  I don't know what the best wiring should be for that situation, so you may have to research that if you don't already know.

IIRC correctly using a unbalanced TS cable between balanced inputs and ouputs results in a 6dB attenuation. If one end is not balanced, I'm guessing there will be no difference.