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IgF
IgF
Known Participant
March 15, 2018
Answered

Monitor levels in Multitrack

  • March 15, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 9180 views

Hi,

I'm trying to monitor my levels on the selected track armed for recording in a Multitrack project using the Level Meter Window, but the Level Meter Window does not work as it does in Waveform mode.

Alt+i does nothing and when right clicking, the option "Meter Input Signal" is greyed out. The Windows Level Meter Window works fine when playing a track, but during recording (or before recording, when the track is armed for recording) the only level meter working is the small one of the armed track itself.

How can I get the Level Meter Window to display the levels of the armed+selected track in a Multitrack session?

And a related question:

In a Multitrack session, BOTH the small track Level Meter when recording and later, the big Level Meter Window when playing, show the levels clipped at -3db: the display never goes above -3db and never gets into the red "peak" markers. But this is only an apparent clipping: when the same file is viewed in Waveform mode (or in a different app) it shows, correctly, the levels going above -3db and peaking.

How can I get the level meters to show levels above -3db in Mutitrack mode and register peaking when it does occur?

I'm using Audition CC 11.0.2.2 (just updated it)

Many thanks.

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer ryclark

In order to see your Input levels on the track that you are recording to on the main meters you have to also select the orange 'I' icon square (Monitor Input) as well as the 'R' Record icon for that track.

As far as the levels clipping at -3dBFS in the Multitrack view make sure that you don't have any Limiter or Compression effect in the Master tracks Effects Rack.

3 replies

G
george_5275
New Participant
December 6, 2024

could you please anyone recommends me on what level i must set instrument and what level a vocal? ( i mean music plays ok seperetly, but whne i add vocal its goes over 0db, so, on what level i shoul set music, and what level i shoud set vocal adui, which is good for sond, how must it be

usually?

N
Nwaka23007813x720
New Participant
February 5, 2022

Hi. I picked an input for my audio interface from the insert of my mixer which is a balanced stereo trs cable to an xlr cable entering my audio interface. I'm not recording mono, I'm trying to record all my stereo mix on track one in multi track. But my issues is that when I pan my drums for example, it's not reflecting on my multitrack. My multitrack is still recording same levels on both sides (left and right) in track one.

What can I do?

I believe that since it's stereo set in Adobe and I'm using a stereo cable, my pan mix on my mixer should reflect. Please help me out.

E
emmrecs
Braniac
February 6, 2022

@Nwaka23007813x720  I suspect your problem is because the insert from (your) mixer, assuming you mean you're using a single insert point (normally found as a socket in the channel strip), will be mono.  Hence your drums are recorded as mono.  (It makes no difference at all in this situation that you are apparently using a TRS plug.)

 

You need to take a stereo output from your mixer into two channels of your audio interface.

ryclark
ryclarkCorrect answer
Participating Frequently
March 15, 2018

In order to see your Input levels on the track that you are recording to on the main meters you have to also select the orange 'I' icon square (Monitor Input) as well as the 'R' Record icon for that track.

As far as the levels clipping at -3dBFS in the Multitrack view make sure that you don't have any Limiter or Compression effect in the Master tracks Effects Rack.

IgF
IgFAuthor
Known Participant
March 16, 2018

Thanks ryclark!

I don't know how I missed it - however, if I select it I get what I'm monitoring through my output+latency so I get that sort of echo loop - if I turn my speakers off I don't hear it, but the echo is there in the recording.

If I mute the track or select output "none", then the Level Meters Window does not work... even though the small level meter on the track itself works... in fact, if I lower the volume of the track that seems to affect the level in the Level Meters Window, i.e. it is showing the track's output, not its input? Can I get it to monitor the input instead? In other words, get it to do just what it does in the Waveform editor?

As for the clipping, I'm pretty sure I have no effects and, as I say, the sound is not actually clipped - it just shows that way in the level monitors in the Multitrack Editor... actually now it is only doing it in the large Level Meters Window, the track input monitor appears to work fine whereas the Level Meters window stops at -3db...

ryclark
ryclark
Participating Frequently
March 19, 2018

ryclark  wrote

Well all of that proves that the main Level meters aren't capped at all. All that is happening is that the level of any one given track shows 3dB less on the Main level meters than the actual track level. So all you have to do to get round the problem is to raise the Master track level by 3dB and then the track meter and main meter will show the same level. It is as intended by Audition's developers.

So if "db Centre" is set to -3db (as by default), I'd need to set the Master Track gain at +3db in order to get the full levels of the tracks going into the Master. In other words: the Master Track is set a -3db gain when it actually reads "+0" gain? And if I go and set the value in "Mixing>Panning>- db Centre" at -6 then the Master Track, which still shows gain +0, is actually set at gain -6db... I find it very confusing (particularly as the db Centre values only go up to -2db and cannot be set at 0), but I just found this: Audition CS6 plays a soundclip 3db lower than Audition 3.0 !?

So yes, it is as intended (by the way, in order to get the main level meters to register a peak I'd need to set up the Master track gain at +3.1db, otherwise it goes right up to 0 but does not peak).

But then there's the other issue associated to this that I have already mentioned:

If with "Mixing>Panning" set to -3 db Centre (as it is by default when I create a new Multitrack session) AND with the gain in the Master Track at +3.1db as you suggest, I:

1) Switch to the Waveform Editor (it doesn't matter how or what I do in it)

2) Switch back to Multitrack editor

3) Then ALL the individual level meters in ALL the tracks in use STOP at -3db  (or whatever value is set in "Mixing>Panning>- db Centre"). The only level meters showing the true levels of the individual tracks are the Input/Output level meters in the Effects Rack (in order to use them for this test I added a random effect and then toggled it off - so the effect does not affect the levels but the level meters are active). So in this situation I have one level meter showing one input level and a different meter showing a different input level for the same track. Surely that is not how Audition is meant to work.

4) To get the individual track level meters working again I have to toggle either the "arm for record" or the "monitor input" (it does not matter whether on of off - just the opposite of whatever it happens to be) and then the level meters for that track reads the corrects levels - but I have to do this for every single track affected, every single time I switch to the Waveform editor and back.

Surely that was not intended by Audition's developers?

Instead of doing all that I can follow the steps I described above and switch from "Mixing>Panning>- db Centre" to "Mixing>Panning> Left/Right Cut (Logarithmic)" and that seems to take care of all level issues for that session. It may be the "wrong" solution, but it works for me. Audition's developers will have to excuse me.


No, it is fine to leave your sessions set L/R Cut Logarithmic. The alternatives are for different type of mixing. The -3dB Centre option is really meant for Mono compatibility of audio mixed for Stereo Broadcasting for which Audition and Cool Edit before it were originally written. The L/R Cut Log mode is probably better for general music mixing and if it fits in better with your workflow leave set in that mode.

Not quite sure what the switching backwards and forwards between Multitrack and Waveform signifies in your case. The Waveform view will always show the real level of the waveform in that view. Since the Multitrack view is meant for compiling and mixing many tracks together and is non destructive the audio levels can be altered in many different ways without changing the original audio file's levels. hence the Main Level meters in the Multitrack view reflect what track and master settings are doing to the final output audio, not necessarily what levels individual files are.

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