Recording level meters

When tracking, what do you use for level meters? So far I've found the mixer view, but those meters are small. For tracking I'd like to configure Logic as close to a tape recorder as possible. Good meters + transport controls and nothing else to distract from the music.

Lots of choices - I favour InspectorXL, but I will also sometimes use the meters on the UAD Precision Limiter, Sonalksis FreeG, or Logic's own meters (although I don't really like these.)
Remember that we no longer live in the in the days of tape. The benefits of decent convertors and 24-bit recording is that we can leave plenty of headroom, know that we are getting a good, clean recording, without having to panic-watch for overs, making it less necessary to stare at the meters.
Given the choices, I'd pick up FreeG as it's free, and I favour InspectorXL for general metering (the Elemental Audio version, not the RogerTheDoger version).

Similar Messages

Level Meters on "Record Audio" have disappeared

I'm using 10.0.8 with OS 10.8.3 and yesterday connected a Blue Microphone Yeti as the Sound Input Device. When clicking Window>Record Audio, the window to select the Destination, Input Device, Gain and so on appears but the level meters at the top of the window are unresponsive. That is, the sound level scale is present but no green bars show input level. I can still record a voice-over fine, the clips appear in the timeline and the sound meters on playback display properly but yesterday the "Record Audio" meters worked and today they're gone. Any ideas on what I could have done to make them disappear?

So it doesn't sound like it's a hardware or drivers problem.
I updated to 10.0.8 and I cannot find a way to reproduce this. (But I'm not running 10.8.)
Try the trashing your preferences with Preference Manager.
Good luck.
Russ

A particular recording session shows dancing level meters but no output!

only this garageband project is behaving like this. i've opened other projects and listened to itunes and it all works. this particular project shows the level meters and compression lights and everything else as it's playing. each track shows it's producing sound. the master track is right in the middle as always. even the master track EQ analyzer shows something is playing. however, the level meter on the top right of the application is blank. it's turned up, but it's not showing a level. it's the only level meter/signal indicator light in the entire program that is NOT lit up. i cannot figure out where the problem is. i've restarted garageband, restarted my computer, saved the project as another name and re-opened it, etc. i'd open it in the old version of garageband but due to the AU's i've used, it would totally wreck the project. i suppose i could do it and have the AU's bypassed just to see if it plays, and then remix/remaster the whole thing. but i'd like to avoid that. any tips?

HI Bee Jay,
Thanx for the info. However i think it's not indicating audio level. ie it displays the same level for all tracks regardless of what level the actual track audio is!
They just click up and down a few bars on every channel that has any audio on it. It is almost as though they are monitoring a click or metronome level because it is very regular. It doesn't coincide with hard drive usage but is a similar regular pulse as that.
I have noticed that if there is no audio at all on a certain track then the level meter doesn't appear at all. Not sure if that's any help or not.
Many Thanx
Mark B.

Recording Level?

New to Logic, coming from garageband and I have a quick, probably embarrassingly easy question, but in Garageband when recording from an external mic there's a slider that can set the recording level, to prevent clipping. Is there a way to do this when recording into Logic? Thanks.

No. This would only be a problem if you are plugging a mic directly into the computer (you're not doing that, are you?)
Any external audio interface you might use would have a level control. If you have not yet thought about getting an external interface, I suggest you search these forums for suggestions... there are many threads about this. I assume that you have upgraded to logic to have more control over your music than garage band will allow. As part of that process, a decent interface would seem mandatory (and a decent mic, of course... there are also many threads about this)
And in any case, when you're setting the level, you need to do more than just avoid clipping. Assuming you are recording in 24bit mode (you are, aren't you?) it makes a lot of sense to set your levels so that they are peaking at least 6 - 10 db below max. This doesn't look as pretty on the meters, but by the time you put them through a number of plugins and send them all to busses and outputs, that extra headroom will really open up your recordings so they don't sound so digital and squashed. There are also many threads about this.
Welcome to the big bad world!

Setting the record straight for setting recording levels in Logic

Hey everyone,
I asked a similar question a while back and got some great feedback, but I'm still a little confused about how to set a perfect recording level and work with the fader in Logic. A lot of what I've been doing has been trial and error and I would like to ask a few more specific questions:
I record with a MOTU traveler and have recently, for example, been recording direct with my guitar into the MOTU inputs. I am using "pre-fader metering", which is checked, and I using "software monitoring", which is also checked. When I am watching the fader, what should I be looking for? I always have the fader set at 0.0db. How do I set the perfect level in this situation? Should the fader be hitting red as I record? How do I make sure I don't clip, and what should I be watching for overall? AND, is it all the same process when recording with microphones? I've heard Logic records at a low level with MOTU products, but what exaclty does this mean in terms of setting levels and watching the fader as I record? I have been recording a lot lately and have some good sounding tracks and some that are not so great and I think it has a lot to do with the topic of this post.
Thanks for the help and clarification.

the fader position in logic does nothing to affect the recording level. That is totally dependent on the gain setting on your MOTU. The logic fader merely allows you to adjust the level at which you listen to the material you are recording. If you set the gain correctly on your MOTU then you shouldn't see the logic audio object hit the red unless your logic fader is set higher than 0dB. If your logic fader is at 0, and you still see red, then your gain is set too high. Remember, digital distortion is not like analog distortion. Once you have recorded the signal and you are in playback mode, then things change somewhat. The internal headroom of logic allows individual channels to hit the red without causing audible distortion. You should definitely avoid hitting the red on your audio output objects though.
I haven't heard about low levels with MOTU stuff. My own 896 has three settings on the inputs - mic, line and fixed +4dB. If you have variable gain as well, then you should be able to get healthy gain. If your recording level is very low, then recording at 24bit will help a lot towards a more detailed recording, as 16 bit can get grainy if the recorded levels are low.

Input Level Metering

I'm new to Soundtrack Pro, but have 10+ years of experience with Logic. I am attempting to record simultaneous audio on multiple tracks, each to a monaural file. My dilemma is that input levels do not display on the channel strip meters during recording (unlike Logic and most other DAW's) and am only able to see one meter at a time on the meter tab. Am I missing something?? How can I monitor recording levels all channels simultaneously? I can seemingly only have multiple meters displaying on the tab if I record to a multi-channel file on one track. UGH!

Hello. I think FCP isnt the right app for recording multiple tracks at once. I would propose a Sequencer like Logic or the new Sondtrack Pro pre.

Erratic Recording Levels

I am having difficulty with erratic recording levels in SB 2.01. The sound card is an
Andrea USB pod.
This is what happens: I will record a 20 second sound clip, stop recording and copy and paste
the clip into another file. I will then record the another sound clip. The volume is often 20%
higher when recording the next clip.
I use the USB pod to record in Dragon NaturallySpeaking and to record into Soundbooth.
Dragon NaturallySpeaking automaticlly sets the pod's recording level to 81. When I lower it to
60 for use with SB, it is often too high (The level meters in the Record dialog box are in the red
area). Even when the level is lowered to 43, the level meters are often in the red area. However,
when I shut down and restart SB, 43 is often an appropriate level.
Are the erratic recording levels caused by the sound card driver?

Hi Durin,
I checked Dragon NaturallySpeaking to find out if there is an option to select which sound card can be used with it. I did not find any such option. I'm using a Dell XPS 420 that came with a "Sigma Tel High Definition Audio Codec" sound card.
I tested the Sigma card with SB. In the recording level dialog box, there are two controls: one for microphone volume and the other for microphone boost. With microphone boost turned off, the recording levels in SB are near zero. Only with the microphone boost turned up to the max of 20db are the recording levels in SB satisfactory.
Do I need a better sound card? I found some lower-priced sound cards that may result in good quality audio when recording in SB. Do you know if the following are decent cards:
(1) Creative Labs SB0880 PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Sound Card
(2) PCI Express Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series
(3) M-Audio US41750 Audiophile 192 Hi-def Aud Card

Recording Level grays out when I plug in my mic

Today I bought a Sennheiser e838 microphone with XLR cable and a MXL Mic Mate (to adapt it to USB) so I could record my voice. I plugged it in and it was working just fine and I recorded my song.
When I changed to a different session, the Recording Levels meter grayed out. When I unplugged the mic I was able to get it to come back on. I went back to the original session and plugged the mic back in and the Recording Levels meter grayed back out again. I unplugged the mic from the hub (the kind that has a power cord that plugs into the wall) and plugged it directly into the back of my computer but the recording meter was still grayed out.
I upgraded to GarageBand '11 to see if that would help, but the problem is the same. Does anyone have an idea why this happened and how I can fix it? I just paid about $200 for a mic and cable and everything and I hate for it to be worthless, but as soon as I plug it into Garageband, that Recording Levels meter is gone.

itchysoul wrote:
the Recording Levels meter grayed out.
since none of the "meters" get disabled, i'm guessing you mean the Input Control (slider):
http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/GBFAQ.html#volumesliderdisabled
(Let the page FULLY load. The link to your answer is at the top of your screen)

Record Level Adjust for Audio in Voice Memo or Video Recorder

I would like to request that Apple allow me to adjust the record audio volume level when recording in Voice Memo or Video Recorder modes. Often I find that the audio is distorting and most times I cannot step back far enough to avoid distortion levels. While I love the ability to SEE the audio level in Voice Memo mode, I am hoping that it is only a matter of firmware upgrade to be able to ADJUST the record level.
Also, if it is possible, it would be great to see some indication of audio level when recording video... something simple like a bar graph with green, yellow and red bars with the highest level reached sticking for a few seconds so that I can tell what the level is.
An alternate solution (if none of the above is possible in a firmware update) would be to automatically adjust the recording level to prevent audio distortion.
Thanks for the great iPod and here's hoping for a great firmware update in the near future!

Thanks, I've submitted my recommendation to Apple.

Record level lock on SAP ABAP table editing

Hello All,
I have a requirement wherein I need to give users ability to be able to update contents of a table. Currently, there are using maintenance view on the table for adding/editing contents of this table. However, this prevents other users from being able to enter the table and edit contents of other records within the table.
Can anybody please guide me how do I go about giving record level edit lock on the table instead of entire table edit lock.
Appreciate all responses.
Thanks and Regards,
Samta.

Ok
I have had a request like yours, i.e the users could manage the same table in the same time.
The standard behavior avoids it, because a lock of entire table is set.
This was my solution:
A) I've created a maintenance view for my table, and I set the attibute S (for subset) for all fields will be the key I want to lock.
B) I've generated the maintenance table program for the view above.
In this way if it try to manage the view by SM30, it'll be possible only to indicate the values of the fields for the subset, so not all data of the table will be loaded, but only the records satisfying the key.
C) I've created a program to run SM30 for my view, using the fm VIEW_MAINTENANCE_CALL:
.CALL FUNCTION 'VIEW_MAINTENANCE_CALL'
       EXPORTING
            action      = 'S' "Display mode
            view_name   = <table name>
       TABLES
            dba_sellist = tb_sellist
       EXCEPTIONS
            OTHERS      = 14.
As you can see above, the SM30 is always called for DISPLAY only, in this way no standard lock is set
D) I've use the event 19 in order to change the mode and set my lock:
DATA: BEGIN OF MY_LOCK,
          MANDT       TYPE ZPPTA019-MANDT,
          WERKS       TYPE ZPPTA019-WERKS,
          /TRILOG/SE TYPE ZPPTA019-/TRILOG/SE,
          COD_MOD_TAG TYPE ZPPTA019-COD_MOD_TAG,
        END OF MY_LOCK.
DATA: W_SEL_LIST TYPE VIMSELLIST.
DATA: VARKEY TYPE RSTABLE-VARKEY.
FIELD-SYMBOLS: <MY_KEY> TYPE ANY.
LOOP AT DBA_SELLIST INTO W_SEL_LIST
    WHERE VIEWFIELD = 'WERKS'
      OR VIEWFIELD = '/TRILOG/SE'
      OR VIEWFIELD = 'COD_MOD_TAG'.
    ASSIGN COMPONENT W_SEL_LIST-VIEWFIELD
       OF STRUCTURE MY_LOCK TO <MY_KEY>.
    IF SY-SUBRC = 0.
      MOVE W_SEL_LIST-VALUE TO <MY_KEY>.
    ENDIF.
ENDLOOP.
IF SY-SUBRC = 0.
    IF NOT MY_LOCK IS INITIAL.
      MY_LOCK-MANDT = SY-MANDT.
      VARKEY = MY_LOCK.
      CALL FUNCTION 'ENQUEUE_E_TABLEE'
        EXPORTING
          MODE_RSTABLE   = 'E'
          TABNAME        = 'ZPPTA019'
          VARKEY         = VARKEY
        EXCEPTIONS
          FOREIGN_LOCK   = 1
          SYSTEM_FAILURE = 2
          OTHERS         = 3.
      IF SY-SUBRC <> 0.
        MESSAGE ID SY-MSGID TYPE 'S' NUMBER SY-MSGNO
                WITH SY-MSGV1 SY-MSGV2 SY-MSGV3 SY-MSGV4.
      ELSE.
        MAINT_MODE = VIEW_ACTION = 'U'.
      ENDIF.
    ENDIF.
ENDIF.
CLEAR OLD_019.
I hope it can help you
Max

Audigy 4 Pro Low Recording Levels/Master Knob/OSD probl

I purchased a second-hand Audigy 4 Pro. I was not given the software disk but managed to install the latest drivers and get it to play MP3s. I use Adobe Audition to record my old tapes to MP3 and record my attempts at guitar. With my SBLi've I had no problem. I bought the Pro because of the ease of using the breakout box. However I have some quesions about some problems I am having. ) Since I have no Creative software, just Win XP Mixer I don't seem to be able to control the input levels from either the mixer or the box. I have a tape deck using RCA to Line In 3 and an electric and acoustic guitar to Line In 2. The mixer record levels seem to have no effect. I can record but nothing seems to be much more than -20db or so at most. Could this be because Adobe Audition only shows Line In 3 L (ie one channel only)? Could this be because of the much greater dynamic range of the Audigy 4 compared to the SBLi've Value? Do I need additional Creative software and if so what and how to get it please?2) The Master knob on the breakout box just spins round and round without sto
ps.
In other words you can rotate it in either direction ad infinitum. Is this correct? Pushing it in and out does cause the mute to work fine. 3) The help file talks about an On Screen Display associated with the remote. I don't have one when I use the remote, even when I press the Display button. Again, do I need Creative software for the remote? I have a yellow question mark against Multimedia Audio Control in my device list. ThanksMessage Edited by Dunkelmann on 2-23-200607:22 PM
Message Edited by Dunkelmann on 2-23-200607:43 PM
Message Edited by Dunkelmann on 2-23-200608: PM
Message Edited by Dunkelmann on 2-23-200608:5 PM

Wow these forums still suck. You have easy questions and no one bothered to help you out. I registered jsut to answer them for you although you probably already figured it all out. . It seems that loudness is optomized by creatives own drivers. What you described was also true back when you could use the e-mu driver hacks before creative bought e-mu. 2. The master knob indeed spins for infinity, obviously with no effect once you get to either end. This sucks becasue i have OCD and constanly spin this thing all kinds of ways. THey should have used the same system as the line-/mic knob. Only God and the engineer will ever know why they did this. 3 Yes. The on screen display is pat of the creative media player app.
So to solve all your problems, you can get the full software package from creative.com under the support menu. Just follow the menu options for your device. The software requires that you have the hardware which you do so the software is free. One more problem you WILL have. The software doesnt install under XP. You have to enter windows safe mode and install it from there otherwise the whole thing freezes up during the start of the install process. Fun times!

Any option to restrict SE16 record level access based on company code?

Hi All,
I have a requirement to restrict record level access in SE16 based on company code.
Our SAP system has two company codes. The requirement is that users of one company code should not be able to see records of other company code in SE16.
Is it possible through some exits/badis/other methods?
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Arun Mohan

You could write a small front end that accepts the company code, applies custom authorization code for each value and retains or removes, then calls the transaction and enters the selections the user requested and that your authorization check resulting in "passing".... Of course, you'd have to block those users from "pure" SE16... I once worked in situation similar, users in one country couldn't see USA data, etc. I think someone wrote an entire new program, called by ZSE16, for that.

Recording Level Sli

I have the X-Fi Fatality sound card. For some reason, (and overnight), the recording level slider won't function any more. The message in the recording status window says "Follow Mixer Settings". I don't want that!? I want to be able to control the recording level from the player window as I always have. Does anyone know how to turn off the "Follow Mixer Settings" option? Thanks!

Found the answer. For some reason, the "Sound & Audio Devices" in Control Panel didn't have the "Use Only Default Devices" checked. This was because I installed a Logitech HD WebCam, with its own microphone. That little check box somehow got unchecked. Not only did this fix the problem, but it also fixed "Smart Recorder", which was telling me that I didn't have an audio device. Everything's good now.

I Recorded 4 audio tracks, could hear it in the headphones while recording. Meters show input. No playback sound. Advise.

I Recorded 4 audio tracks, could hear it in the headphones while recording. Meters show input. No playback sound. Please Advise.

How can anyone advise on such a cryptic post, all we can do is guess.
Which version of Logic, what audio hardware are you using?
Have you read the manual?

Line In Recording Level Adjustment

I am recording from a tape recorder to the hard drive. I have done this a lot over the years. Suddenly I am no longer able to adjust the line in recording level. I have always before gone to Control Panel/Hardware and Sound/Sound (recording tab), Click Line In, then click on Levels. When I adjust the level, either lower or higher, it does nothing to change the sound level. Can aynone please tell me why this feature isn't working any longer on my computer. Could some other setting have gotten changed? Where should I look? Thanks!!!!

Have you tried to discuss it with mixer manufacturer?
I mean they know own product very well and have best experiences with it.
I presume they have tested it on different hardware platforms and different operating systems so I believe they are the right address where you can ask for help.
In control panel you have standard options for sound but maybe you need something specific for connected mixer.

Recording level meters

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