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Normalizing sound


SkyRoxx
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Hy everybody !
First of all, please forgive my bad english, I'm french :p

I just want to know if there's a way to "nomalise" sounds that coming out of the Helix (rack) ... And how to do it ^^

I explain : I have plenty of sounds and personal presets, but I realy have problems to have a "normalised" sound on main mix ...

In exemple : A "clean" tone then a "drive" one, how can I have both to the same volume on the PA ??
When I play and ear with a headset, it sounds to be great but when I put it on a PA system, the volume (Db) is very different !!!! It's a tragedy !!  :/

Is there any way to have all presets and different tones at the same volume on the PA ? Just like if I "normalise" with a DAW soft.
I want to have this when I play live ...

Is there a way to do it with the helix ? with an external rack ? witch one ?
Thanx in advance for all, and please don't be too technic with the words in your answer ^^ :p

 

 

SKY.

 

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I had the same problem. Preset A would sound great in headphones then way louder than anything else in PA.

 

Even within a preset I'd engage the overdrive when plugged into my amp and get the mean 'too loud' look from band or engage a Wah and the volume would go down too much.

 

You have to go through them manually. Only way to be sure. Once you lock it in though you are good forever more

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I had the same problem. Preset A would sound great in headphones then way louder than anything else in PA.

 

This is because the dB curve is logarithmic. Comfy headphone volume vs stage volume through a PA are two wildly different things. Let's say you have a rhythm patch with a 3 dB boost for the lead. Play it at home at 80 and 83 dB, respectively. Then crank that same patch from 95 to 98 dB on stage. 95 to 98 dB is a MUCH bigger jump in perceived loudness than 80 to 83 dB... and might be too much of a boost depending on the circumstances.

 

It gets even goofier with clean vs. dirty tones, as distorted sounds will always SEEM louder than their clean counterparts, regardless of their actual amplitude. This is why relying on your ears is the only thing that works, and why tweaking your tones at the volume at which you intend to use them is critical.

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I use a monitor that sounds as close as possible to my stage rig for leveling("normalizing) my presets. I try to get the volume up to a reasonable level, wear ear plugs. If you level your presets at bedroom volumes you will probably find the results to be wildly different when you get to stage volumes. I have a decibel meter I use but you have to use your ears as well thanks to the Fletcher-Munson curve. You can also use a compressor as a sort of limiter at the end of every preset path right before the output block if you want to get really scientific about it, but I don't bother. If you do want to try a compressor the multi-band one will probably yield the best results without squashing your tone.

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Ok, thanx a lot !!

So, I'm on a way to test ALL my presets ans snapshop in "live" condition :/ This gonna take me 2 years ^^

 

 

Anybody ear about a rack witch can "control" Db betweent Helix and the PA ??

 

Something like this may do it or not ?

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tracks_limit_2_2.htm?

A limiter is used to attenuate transient peaks in a signal, to prevent clipping. It will not help you to level numerous patches and snapshots that differ widely in volume... it simply isn't designed to do that. You'll accomplish nothing but squashing the hell out of your loudest patches, ruining the tone. There are no devices that will magically do this for you. The only tools that will help are on either side of your head.
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A limiter is used to attenuate transient peaks in a signal, to prevent clipping. It will not help you to level numerous patches and snapshots that differ widely in volume... it simply isn't designed to do that. You'll just end up squashing the daylights out of your loudest patches, ruining the tone. You're not going to find any devices that will magically do this for you. The only tools that will help are on either side of your head.

 

Yep, straight up or infinite limiting is better suited to saving you from that dropped mic on the floor or someone yanking out a cable and you are right, don't want to be using your compressor in this context for flat out limiting(which is why I said "sort of like a limiter") but set correctly a multi-band compressor can absolutely act in some respects like a soundman in a box and adjust levels on the fly. Behringer includes one in the X32 line as do other mixer manufacturers for among other things just that purpose. Will it replace due diligence on leveling your presets, no, but it can help, particularly when there is something particular in the EQ on an instrument or voice that is jumping up too high. I use one on our PA and it definitely helps, particularly when we don't a soundman available. But you are right, you still have to get your levels roughly set. It is unlikely to act as a substitute, just an aid.

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...it can help, particularly when there is something particular in the EQ on an instrument or voice that is jumping up too high.

Yes, this what they're for...taming transients... but this is a FAR cry from what the OP is asking a limiter to do. It simply won't work, and he'll have spent a bunch of money on a "solution" that was doomed from the start.

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Yes, this what they're for...taming transients... but this is a FAR cry from what the OP is asking a limiter to do. It simply won't work, and he'll have spent a bunch of money on a "solution" that was doomed from the start.

 

Agreed and you'll notice I did not offer it as an alternative to proper leveling in my original post but as an addition after offering several other suggestions, at least that is how it was intended.

 

Hey, if it gets more people checking out the "3-Band Comp" my work here will be done. Multi-band comps can be more difficult to use and a lot of players avoid them as a result. That's a bit of a shame because they can be a really great tool and deliver a very natural and un-squashed compression. When set properly they leave the parts of the frequency range in your signal that don't need to be compressed unmolested. As compared to a regular compressor which when triggered at the set threshold tends to compress the entire signal. Makes them ideal for putting at or near the end of your signal chain as a sort of mastering effect although they can be used elsewhere as well.

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