Topic: ua-5 jb3 svu-2

[shayne]

I know there has been alot of talk about this topic, I have searched for the answer to my question but have not found exactly what I am looking for. So I hope no one gets bent out of shape because this topic has been covered but I really want to know. I know I need the svu2 for monitering my levels, not sure if I should run out of the ua-5 or the jb3, if I run it out of  the ua-5 is there any way that the levels could oveload the jb3, or can I feel safe that the levels comming out of the ua-5 are good then the levels in the jb3 are good as well. Should I just run out of the line out on the jb3 and I would be sure, also is there any calibration needed or does everything run on the same decibal meter. I hope this makes sense, any help is greatly appreciated.

[Javit]

Run it out of the UA5 and you'll be fine. I  usually let mine peak around -4db or so.

[willndmb]

run it out of the jb3 and you will be safer and still be able to let people patch from the ua5
safer because if the jb3 stops recording at any time you will still see the levels moving from the ua5
but if you are patched out of the jb3 if the jb3 stops recording you will see no levels--thus giving you more protection

make sure you calibrate it too
use a program to make white noise at set it so you know its balls on

[shayne]

Not sure how you calibrate or what white noise is, I am getting a svu-2 so maybe I will understand more when I get it. I think you are be right about running out of the jb3 though.

[oniontaper]

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=20129.0

read the whole thread and you will understand 

[willndmb]

Not sure how you calibrate or what white noise is, I am getting a svu-2 so maybe I will understand more when I get it. I think you are be right about running out of the jb3 though.

ok what you do is make a mp3 of "white noise" and set it to be 0db
you can do this in programs like cool edit pro and such
then you play the white noise and "record it"
while recording it you can use a small screwdriver to calibrate it (there are little screws on the back you turn)
and you turn them untill the levels are at 0db
you now know that the svu is calibrated to be exactly 0db when it lights up to 0db

otherwise if the lights goto 0db it could really be recording at +3 thus clipping or on the flip side -3
if you are lucky its right no like mine was but others are not so its good to test it out

there is a lot more on this in the team svu thread - which while i was typing this got linked above

[Javit]

^^ I don't know why the fuck I never did that before.  Mine were totally screwed up and I have no clue how I never pulled a decent recording before that.  SO just to make sure I'm doing it right....

I went into audacity and just clicked... Insert > White Noise and that's a shot posted below... are those levels at 0db?  I always get confused with the lighter green vs black green.

I burned that to a CD and fred it to the SVU and the levels were off the charts so I pulled them back down to right at 0db (orange light) right? 

[willndmb]

well i used cool edit at work and you could tell it exactly how many db to make the file
but the pic you posted looks like it might be -5db or so
(the light green is showing the file noise - the dark green is unused db readings at the moment)
it doesn't matter what the db output is set at as long as you calibrate the svu to match it, i have a svu1 and the lights are green, 1 yellow/orange (0db), 3 red

[Roving Sign]

Dont you guys want to sync the calibration to the UA5 peak light? - so they match...?

[Brian Skalinder]

but the pic you posted looks like it might be -5db or so
(the light green is showing the file noise - the dark green is unused db readings at the moment)

Pretty sure in Audacity the dark green represents peak levels, and the light green...well, dunno, probably either RMS or VU.  In the waveform view, I believe the dark / light blue correspond to the dark / light green level meters in the toolbar.  So it looks to me like the file is nearly pegged at 0 dBFS.

For the sake of calibrating the SVU-1, the level of the white noise playback file doesn't really matter - what matters are the record levels levels while you calibrate the SVU-1 with the white noise file.

Edit to add:  You may view the waveform's vertical ruler as dB instead of the arbitrary -1.0 to 1.0 by clicking the dropdown (black upside down triangle next to the track name) and selecting waveform (dB).

[bgalizio]

Also, you can use a sine wave instead of white noise. Use the SVU out of the JB3 line out, as stated previously.

[Javit]

well i used cool edit at work and you could tell it exactly how many db to make the file
but the pic you posted looks like it might be -5db or so
(the light green is showing the file noise - the dark green is unused db readings at the moment)
it doesn't matter what the db output is set at as long as you calibrate the svu to match it, i have a svu1 and the lights are green, 1 yellow/orange (0db), 3 red

So you're saying there that no matter what the db is on the white noise (whether it be -5 or 0db or whatever) that the SVU is just getting calibrated and not so much tuned to that db level?  For example - if that file was at -5 the svu wouldn't think that from now on any levels hitting -5 were peaking.. right?

[willndmb]

Dont you guys want to sync the calibration to the UA5 peak light? - so they match...?

you could, i didn't do mine that way though--i don't pay attn to it at all
i totally use the svu

[willndmb]

well i used cool edit at work and you could tell it exactly how many db to make the file
but the pic you posted looks like it might be -5db or so
(the light green is showing the file noise - the dark green is unused db readings at the moment)
it doesn't matter what the db output is set at as long as you calibrate the svu to match it, i have a svu1 and the lights are green, 1 yellow/orange (0db), 3 red

So you're saying there that no matter what the db is on the white noise (whether it be -5 or 0db or whatever) that the SVU is just getting calibrated and not so much tuned to that db level?  For example - if that file was at -5 the svu wouldn't think that from now on any levels hitting -5 were peaking.. right?

if i understand what you are saying - then no
if you use a -5db file you set the svu -5 light to match it, if you use a -3db file then you want the -3 svu light to match, if 0 then 0
whatever the file db is you want the svu light to match
what you don't want is a -5 db file and the 0db svu light matching, otherwise you have a uncalibrated svu and it will not do you much good

[dnsacks]

I'd think that the ua5's peak light is key to the synch process.  The ua5 peak light illuminates at around -2db.  Thus, if feeding white (continuous) noise to the ua5 via mics, one would simply raise the ua5 levels so the peak light just illuminates (do one channel @ a time) and then calibrate the suv-2 so that it's showing -1 db (to give a bit of headroom). 

[Brian Skalinder]

FWIW, here's what I did:

• created a white noise playback file; didn't care about the specific dB level, but it was somewhere between -6 and 0 dBFS
• played back (looped) the white noise file from my PC to my stereo (one could also burn to CD for playback on the stereo)
• set up my recording gear as I would in the field, with both mics directly in front of one of my speakers, so they occupy as close to a single point as possible
• connected the digital output of the UA5 to my PC's soundcard
• started recording on my PC (probably using Adobe Audition at the time, but Audacity or Wavelab or any other recording s/w that allows you to monitor levels will work)
• while monitoring the levels in my PC recording s/w, adjusted the L channel levels on the UA5 until they were just a hair below 0 dBFS
• adjusted the SVU-x L channel accordingly;  FWIW, I ignored the level #s on the SVU-x and set the "highest" LED so that it triggered just a hair below 0 dBFS on my PC recording software
• while monitoring the levels in my PC recording s/w, adjusted the R channel levels on the UA5 until they were just a hair below 0 dBFS
• adjusted the SVU-x R channel accordingly;  FWIW, I ignored the level #s on the SVU-x and set the "highest" LED so that it triggered at just a hair below 0 dBFS on my PC recording software

[willndmb]

FWIW, here's what I did:

• created a white noise playback file; didn't care about the specific dB level, but it was somewhere between -6 and 0 dBFS
• played back (looped) the white noise file from my PC to my stereo (one could also burn to CD for playback on the stereo)
• set up my recording gear as I would in the field, with both mics directly in front of one of my speakers, so they occupy as close to a single point as possible
• connected the digital output of the UA5 to my PC's soundcard
• started recording on my PC (probably using Adobe Audition at the time, but Audacity or Wavelab or any other recording s/w that allows you to monitor levels will work)
• while monitoring the levels in my PC recording s/w, adjusted the L channel levels on the UA5 until they were just a hair below 0 dBFS
• adjusted the SVU-x L channel accordingly;  FWIW, I ignored the level #s on the SVU-x and set the "highest" LED so that it triggered just a hair below 0 dBFS on my PC recording software
• while monitoring the levels in my PC recording s/w, adjusted the R channel levels on the UA5 until they were just a hair below 0 dBFS
• adjusted the SVU-x R channel accordingly;  FWIW, I ignored the level #s on the SVU-x and set the "highest" LED so that it triggered at just a hair below 0 dBFS on my PC recording software

thats basically what i did too
good breakdown explanation

[Javit]

^^ So my question is..... was the source I used for my white noise, at 0db?  It appears to be but I need to be sure.  Here's what I did...

Created that .wav file at about 1:30 and burned it to a CD.  Put the CD in my DVD player.  Used the RCA outs of the DVD player and put it into the SVU... hit play... calibrated levels to 0.   

Now I assume that's all good IF my white noise file was at 0db....

[Brian Skalinder]

^^ So my question is..... was the source I used for my white noise, at 0db?  It appears to be but I need to be sure.

Yes, the white noise file you created looks to me like it's at 0 dBFS.  But it doesn't matter.  More below...

Here's what I did...

Created that .wav file at about 1:30 and burned it to a CD.  Put the CD in my DVD player.  Used the RCA outs of the DVD player and put it into the SVU... hit play... calibrated levels to 0.   

Now I assume that's all good IF my white noise file was at 0db....

Definitely not all good.  What you've done above is calibrate your SVU-x to the output levels of your DVD player.  You need to calibrate your SVU-x to the UA5 while it's recording.  If you have a soundcard with digital input, try the steps I outlined above.  If not...well, you need to have some way of monitoring the UA5's record levels while recording, -aside- from the SVU-x, so you then may calibrate the SVU-x meters to the UA5's record levels.  Instead of a computer with a digital input soundcard, you could use a DAT recorder's meters to monitor the UA5 levels and calibrate the SVU-x.

[Javit]

^^ Thanks.  This is getting hairy now as I don't have all the equip to do that.

I don't have a good stereo system.  Nor do I have a DAT Deck handy to monitor my levels.  I'm screwed.   AND I have a concert this Sunday in Ohio.  Sweet.

[Brian Skalinder]

^^ Thanks.  This is getting hairy now as I don't have all the equip to do that.

I don't have a good stereo system.  Nor do I have a DAT Deck handy to monitor my levels.  I'm screwed.   AND I have a concert this Sunday in Ohio.  Sweet.

You don't need a good stereo system to it.  Any old stereo, even a POS boombox, will do.  Burn the white noise WAV to CD as you did before.  Set up everything as I describe in my previous post.  And if you don't have a soundcard with digital-input or a DAT recorder, you could hook up the UA5 to your PC via USB to monitor the levels while you calibrate.

[willndmb]

worse comes to worse, get it close for now
you can do that by watching the peak light on your ua5, it comes on around -3, -2 db
so if you see the light flickering and you svu light is set at -3 you will be close enough not to ruin your recording

[china_rider]

I've got to say I'm lucky... my SVU1 out of the box was dead nuts on for my UA5/JB3 and close enough it does not need adjusting for the R-4 espically since I run lower levels at 24bit.  Went through all of the callibrating but never needed to change anything.

[rowjimmytour]

^^ Thanks.  This is getting hairy now as I don't have all the equip to do that.

I don't have a good stereo system.  Nor do I have a DAT Deck handy to monitor my levels.  I'm screwed.   AND I have a concert this Sunday in Ohio.  Sweet.

I did this once and when I was at the 1/st show after I calibrated my SVU-1 this way I found my levels brickwalling big time. I had to adjust my levels on the fly w/ the UA5 light but luckily this was the during the open act. Hope never to do this again.
Peace