easy volume question

[sneezebomb]

So the other day i was messing around in System Preferences on my Mac and saw that the input volume level was set at 100%. i have been recording with the internal volume set this way for a while now. But it made me wonder...

Is it really a good idea to have it set to full? On the one hand, it seems to me that, yes this is good because i want to get as much audio info into my computer as i can and i should just worry about the gain settings on my preamp (as i have been doing)

On the other hand, i'm still kind of ******** when it comes to gain staging and it occurs to me that maybe i've been screwing up the incoming signal by having the thing set too high and i could get mo better sound out of my preamp by lowering the computer's internal input volume.

Which hand do i go with and why?

Thanks for your help.

[sneezebomb]

er...bump.

[sneezebomb]

clearly, this question lacks pizazz. or maybe clarity. or maybe clizazz. (sounds dirty)

dirty sound...that's what i'm wondering about. i run a firepod into the mac. The firepod is the input device whose input volume level i would be adjusting in system prefs. So i'd totally want that full blast, right? or wait, maybe if i attenuated the input volume i could crank my preamp a little more and squeeze a few more sweet droplets of that budget gear sound into my recordings.

Let's pretend i have awesome gear. and a jetpack.

no really, i'm just wondering if anyone knows what difference it makes. Maybe even, how do you have the input device volume level set in system prefs on your mac?

thanks.

[Mydog_Nixon]

I don't use a firepod, but just like any DAW, the input of the mac has nothing to do with the interface of the hardware. The interface has its own input whether it be USB, Firewire, or a Hardware running direct through the card into the mac. The input on the mac controls that tiny little 1/8" plug in the back. If nothing is pluged into that then don't worry about that preference.

Hope this helped.

[sneezebomb]

Well, i have a mac mini so there's no 1/8 inch input on the back. But your reply did make me think a little more about what's happening here.

Right now, the firepod isn't on, so sys pref shows that there's no input device and subsequently there is no little volume slider to adjust.

When i turn the firepod on, it shows up in sys pref as the input device and the volume slider is automatically set to full.

So, you're probably right about the interface setting the optimum level - which is 100%. i guess it's just that when i saw the option of adjusting it, i wondered if there might be some advantage. Sort of like lowering the output volume of an ipod that's hooked up to a stereo and using the stereo volume knob to increase input. Except that's backward from what i was thinking...hmmmm...

i was kind of under the impression that, generally speaking, it's best to try and get the majority of your gain out of the initial component rather than increasing the gain at various intervals throught the signal path. But maybe i'm wrong or maybe the internal input volume is a different beast than say, running a signal through various processors and experiencing signal degradation.

golly, i'm wordy.

[mahasandi]

everythings cool



back to recording!!!!!!!