+4 -10 Fireface

[shadyru]

If I have a great river preamp connected to the inputs what levels should i be using on the fireface and why? (+4 or -10)

[Newcleardaze]

On my 800, I run the Level in on Hi Gain (it says Hi Gain on the face of the Fireface and it says Lo Gain in the RME Settings window, so I think it is the Lo Gain setting) and I rn the Level Out at +4 dBu. For one it sounds better, and on the other settings, I would barely turn up the output on the preamp and I was already running too hot. Now I can push the preamp to really take advantage of its color, and get a great sound.

[Zuewi]

Originally Posted by shadyru

If I have a great river preamp connected to the inputs what levels should i be using on the fireface and why? (+4 or -10)

Try what sounds best, often people use +4 cause it's kinda some standard in recording.

[theblotted]

Hi-Gain nor +4dBu on FF is actually not the standard. i found out that it's lower than +19dBu, which is still 5dB lower than the standard 24dBu on say, a Lavry.

i noticed that on Hi-Gain it's actually a bit noisier and "hair-ier" if you will. much cleaner on the +4 setting, then -10. i keep it at +4dBu for a good balance between cleaner sound and enough gain to feed DAW.

you can actually get more preamp gain color using the lower settings, NOT the higher settings. if it's feeding an outboard gear, the FF output needs to be set higher.

[shadyru]

What is a recommended setting if I am reamping guitars from the fireface? I would be sending out mono into a radial x amp.

And even sending to an outboard compressor what is recommended?

[theblotted]

Originally Posted by shadyru

What is a recommended setting if I am reamping guitars from the fireface? I would be sending out mono into a radial x amp.

And even sending to an outboard compressor what is recommended?

depends on the song. a harder, more rock-y song could use the stronger +4; an orchestra based track could use a cleaner -10/lo gain setting.

experiment, use your ears.

[Flying_Dutchman]

its just all about gain matching
studio units have a reference gain
pro units are at 4dBu
"japaneese" units are on -10dBv, cheaper electronics...
Match the source to the converter
the high gain thing is a spcial, giving you more headroom whenn recording hot, like api drums

[theblotted]

Originally Posted by Flying_Dutchman

its just all about gain matching
studio units have a reference gain
pro units are at 4dBu
"japaneese" units are on -10dBv, cheaper electronics...
Match the source to the converter
the high gain thing is a spcial, giving you more headroom whenn recording hot, like api drums

i've found that the Hi-Gain setting actually has less headroom, breaks easier.

and i dunno about cheaper, but most of my "Japanese" units have the ability to switch between +4 and -10... and usually in better shape and sonics compared to other pieces, even after years of usage.

[Flying_Dutchman]

Originally Posted by theblotted

i've found that the Hi-Gain setting actually has less headroom, breaks easier.

and i dunno about cheaper, but most of my "Japanese" units have the ability to switch between +4 and -10... and usually in better shape and sonics compared to other pieces, even after years of usage.

ups, my fault, i meant the inputs, lo gain, there you can drive the converters much harder. With high gain preamps you don´t need a pad...
years ago, products made in the east came out with -4du. The reason was, that you could use less quality electronics. You don´t have to gain up a signal to about 1,2V just 0,7V... thats were the -10dBv comes from...today is today, but some units still operate on this gain setting, so the FF can work with them better on -10dBv mode.