Too many gain controls

[Coma]

My signal chain has too many gain controls and I have no idea what the hell I'm doing.
Setup is simple enough: guitar -> TC Mimiq -> Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 -> Bias FX -> Reaper.

But each channel on the Scarlett has a gain control

Then there are the input and output knobs in Bias as well as the amp gain and volume controls

And to complicate matters further, there's also a level control in the cab/mic selection menu

Is there one correct way to set these? Or at the very least, some good guidelines to follow?

 

[dystrust]

Re: Too many gain controls



Not meant as an insult, really; I have a copy on my shelf that I still look at from time to time. I learned a ton about recording when I first started nearly 15 years ago from it.

The Cliff Notes answer to your question is:
1. Set the Scarlett's gain control on whichever input you use so that when you play as hard as you're going to, the levels peak between -15 and -20db in Reaper.
2. Set Bias FX to taste
3. Set the level in the mic / cab so that you can hear the track, but it stays below 0db. Exactly how high you let things peak depends on the density of your mix since adding tracks makes the overall mix louder. If you're recording a single track, 3-5 db of headroom should be enough. If you're going to mix multiple tracks, I wouldn't let it peak higher than about -12db.

 

[Kamanda~SD]

Re: Too many gain controls

^ Good start.

Welcome to the world of gain staging!

In your case the addition of BIAS FX adds to the confusion because normally alot of that would be set outside the recording environment. Think of the Gain and Master knobs as AMP controls. You know how when you crank the master on your amp and it sounds beefier? But if you go full 10 it may get a little looser? Exactly... The BIAS input is to fine tune if you went a little cold on setting your preamp (scarlett) gain and the output is incase you have so much going on in there your clipping the output on your track. I wouldn't even bother with the mic level inside BIAS for now, leave it where it is and do as dystrust said above.

 

[Metalman_666]

Re: Too many gain controls

Great tips so far from dystrust and Kamanda. I've never used or heard of BIAS before, but I do use a Scarlet 2i2... my signal chain for recording at home is guitar --> Mark IV head --> Palmer PGA-04 --> Scarlett 2i2 --> Reaper.

No matter what is going on in my amp, I usually have the Palmer volume at 4 and the full range volume at 3. Then I will slam a few chords to check that the input gain LED around the Scarlett's volume knob stays green. If it's turning orange or red and clipping, I'll turn down the volume on the Palmer first.

In practice I'd say as long as your guitar is not clipping going into your Scarlett, leave your input on BIAS at unity (maybe this is 12 o'clock in your screenshot?). Then dial your amp SIM however you want, and turn down the BIAS output so that it's not clipping. If you are using the mic/cab portion, can you leave the Level control at 0 dB (unity) without clipping? If so, use BIAS output to adjust to taste. If not, then turn it down a bit until you see a few dB of headroom.

I figure as long as your guitar's input to the interface is not clipping, and you are dialing in a sound on your amp/sim that you like, you are fine with hot levels so long as there is no peaking and clipping at the output of BIAS. My thought is you can get a hot level onto tape, and you can always turn the volume down to make space after you've recorded that sound.

But if your recorded level is too low, turning it up to compensate for that could just lead to excess noise if you're going to compress your overall mix. I try to look at the track meter after all the processing is done, and the waveform to see if it has some room for dynamics, but I hate wimpy-looking, thin waveforms on my guitars, especially if they're distorted. Maybe some guys here will disagree (and have more experience than me), but I am happy with my sound this way. I can always turn it down if need be and still have a nice, full signal.