pjbrewer44 Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 Does anyone have any idea about what a good starting point would be for the input and output volumes would be specifically on the XLR outputs. I see people who run their amp blacks with a level that is significantly higher than what I can. I seem to get a lot of clipping and harshness when I run presets without significantly adjusting volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 This seems to be a question about gain staging, which is a whole world of its own. In the digital world there is an opportunity for clipping and harshness to occur at virtually all points in your signal flow, especially if you increase a block's Level parameter above 0db. This can potentially overdrive the input of any following block(s) causing clipping and harshness. The Stadium's Output block will tell you if/when clipping is occurring, as described in the manual. If it is, you need to identify which block(s) in the signal chain is causing it and reduce the output level of that block. In my experience the best way to do that is to bypass all blocks and listen to the effectively dry incoming signal. If the Output block still shows clipping then you need to reduce the level of the incoming signal from external equipment, or address it in the Input block by lowering the Trim parameter. After all blocks are bypassed and the Input Trim is reduced if required, then you begin to turn the processing blocks ON one at a time. I generally begin with the amp . If that introduces clipping at the Output block you need to lower the Gain, Level, or Master level - or perhaps the Tone stack levels - in the amp block. These interact with each other so you may need to adjust more than one. Then I move on to the cab block which can introduce fizz and harshness. Experiment with mics, and Hi/Low cut levels. Once the Output block is no longer clipping with amp/cab active, and you don't find the tone too harsh, you can move on to other blocks in the preset. Continue to activate them one at a time. If clipping appears at the Output block, lower the levels in the offending block. Rinse and repeat until your preset no longer shows clipping at the Output block. Tedious? Yes. But learning how to properly gain stage your signal path is a critical part of preset and tone development. The art of Gain Staging is not specifically a Line 6 or Stadium topic. It's a general audio engineering art/skill. Google and/or your favourite AI agent can help you learn more. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbehrens Posted July 14 Share Posted July 14 Also, the Stadium allows you to create multiple parallel paths using Splits and Joins. Every split can create a slight increase in dB output because of the parallel paths. This is obviously true when using parallel Amp Model presets. Unfortunately, Line 6 Stadium STILL exacerbates this problem by automagically setting the Join at an additional +3 dB, which alone is noticeable. I usually set all joins either at -1.5 dB for parallel splits such as dual parallel delays or parallel delay and reverb and I set the join at 0 dB for parallel Amp joins. But the bottom line is that if you happen to have 4 different joins in your presets (as of Stadium firmware v3) then you can automagically have +12dB added to your signal chain without you doing anything else. Additional effects or Amp blocks can make this even higher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbrewer44 Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 So I have tried a multitude of things and is just seems like no mater what I do and how much I just everything has a blanket over it. High end isn't clear just harsh, but the moment I EQ to make it better it feels like its not present enough. I guess I have solved the clipping, but everything is just meh, its not clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverhead Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 How are you monitoring? Guitar amp? Headphones? Speakers? What kind? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjbrewer44 Posted July 18 Author Share Posted July 18 I'm monitoring using Mackie 8 inch monitors with a universal audio volt 2. A sound technician came. And checked it out with me today we levelled every thing out on my monitors. We then went to the church PA system because things still sounded a bit strange. There was a clear lack of mid range, and everything sounded so distant. We've kind of conclusion that it's probably a firmware issue and I'm going to reinstall it. Some people report having a ghost curve. I've also seen that there can be problems with the agora modelling engine. The proxy clones I have sound good, but it's the same issue across the board regardless of whether I have a global EQ on or not even tried dialling in amp parameters I had on my HX stomp and it's the same issue. Much less harmonic riches coming from the stadium. I think that's why it felt like I was clipping, because there's so much missing that Lowes boom in the highs are super yeah everything sounds very thin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbehrens Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 You are probably already aware but... here goes anyway. Church Electric Guitar often is very saturated in Delays and Reverbs. These can cause clipping badly in the Stadium Unit and yet still make the guitar tone not seem very full. I assume that you are A/B testing with only the Amp and Cab blocks at home and at your church. This behavior is what you are describing - though there could be other issues. I just never assume that the product is bad until I have eliminated all other options. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.