The old "Normalizing Preset Volumes" discussion

[Nos402]

For years now I've been using Orban Loudness meter to normalize my preset volumes. Of course there is ALWAYS some more live tweaking once you're hooked up to a real PA, but this method has gotten all my stuff at least in a good ballpark.

 

I like it because it uses the ASIO driver so it doesn't matter where your volume knob is or where you have the input gain of your audio interface set, etc. That's always been one dilemma when people say "set your Helix volume all the way up." Okay but then you still have to set your interface input gain too and where should it be set before you start tweaking preset volumes?

 

With the Orban ASIO method I use, there is nothing to set except individual preset volume levels. NOW, the question becomes, what should be the target you're aiming for? I don't really know enough about LUFS, CBS, ITU BS.1770 etc. to really know what that means. I just know that through 10 years of trial and error, -23 seems to be a good place that works for me on these meters.

 

However, I would love to learn from people more knowledgeable than I the best practices here.

[PaulTBaker]

I've always set mine to -18.  sometimes it moves up some....  I have had FOH engineers say it is very hot. 

 

-23 would be safe.

[stuming]

I set mine to -19 and then for lead sounds -17. That was with my Helix. I'm working through the presets I use live now and I'm thinking now that I've been quite conservative with the settings on the Helix: running the main output with the control at 3 o'clock and then output blocks set as described earlier. I'm thinking of running the Stadium XL at -2dB on the outputs, and then balancing at -17, and -15 lead

[Nos402]

The thing is -23 in Orban (LUFS or whatever those meters are, I'm not at home right now) seems to translate to -18 in my DAW IIRC.