Love my R-44 but hate the level meters. Always running lower than I want. Anyone have any tricks/tips on how to more accurately read them?
Left channel names reverse colors when clipping on analog, the tiny little box at the end of each channel meter is for digital clipping. One thing I do is keep hitting the headphone knob until no channels are output. That removes those indicators from the screen so that it is easier to spot when it is clipping on the analog side. It just removes some screen clutter. When I'm just recording for my own uses I run 24 bit and just bring it up in post but there is a limit to that. You do want to be within a reasonable range. You don't want it too low. Since I've been working with John R's archive team and run the outputs of the R-44 into two CD burners, I've been using the digital gain knobs to get levels up but otherwise "set 'em and forget 'em" thing (at unity).
Every once in a while I hunt for a decent external meter for the input side, one where I can see a clipping light from across the room. The reason is that I'm now mixing a radio broadcast at our old stomping grounds, the Bradfordville Blues Club and the board I use is all the way up by the band, next to the main soundboard. The meter on the board itself is some help but not very accurate. Everything I've found is aimed at studios and is way too expensive for me and certainly not something you would want to use in the field. I could buy a new board with a meter attachment for about the same money ... and might next year!
There are some meters made for video cameras that might work in the field. They are usually only two channel though. They also are usually XLR in and 3.5mm out. I wonder if there are any that are XLR in and mini-XLR out? They are usually powered by a basic 9v battery so no worries about that.
Trying to get a perfect level is really an old analog tape thing where you wanted to get the tape as saturated as possible before serious clipping. I heard the expression "lick it but don't stick it" a couple of weeks ago. It was appropriate for what I was doing at the time (archiving to the burners) but not for my normal scenario where I can bring up levels in post.
BTW, if anyone has spotted a reasonable set of bright LED meters that are RCA in & out, I'm looking for them. I want to use them on the output of my R-44. That's for the archiving projects where often I'm out in the bright sun and I can't see the damn levels on the CD burners. I also need a "HEY, STUPID!!!" meter at times. Have they invented one of those yet?
BTW, ya should have been at Bear Creek Alex! Good stuff indeed!
Topic: EDIROL R-44 (PART IV) (Read 115951 times)