If Setting The Gain Correctly is So Important, Why Dont Mic Preamplifiers Have Meters?

When you first learn how to use a mixing console, you will be shown how to set the gain. Your instructor - either in audio school or in the workplace - will emphasize the importance of this and kick your ass every time you get it wrong, until you can't do anything other than get it right.

Setting the gain correctly optimizes the signal level for further processing in the mixing console. EQ, inserts, auxiliary sends, routing, fading, solo and mixing all depend on having the right signal level for optimum performance, and the gain control is precisely where you set that.

But outboard microphone preamplifiers commonly only have rudimentary metering facilities - perhaps only a single 'clip' LED - or no metering at all! So how can you possibly set the gain correctly?

The answer is that firstly the preamplifier needs to be correctly designed with plenty of output level available. For example, the Manley Labs Mono and Dual Mono microphone preamplifiers can supply up to 30 dBV of output before clipping. That is one hell of a voltage in audio terms - around 30 volts, compared to normal operating level of around one volt.

It's probably fair to say that there is no way you are ever going to clip this brute of a preamp, whatever you are driving. So if there is no possibility of clipping, there is no need for metering.

Where you do need metering is in the equipment you are driving with the preamp, probably your recording system. So the procedure for setting the gain with the Manley preamp is to choose the lowest setting of gain, and also set the 'input attenuate' control to its lowest setting (the attenuator controls the level of signal going into the preamp circuit). Then reduce the amount of attenuation while watching the meter on your recorder. When you are getting a good, healthy signal level with a reasonable margin before clipping on your recording, you have the right settings.

If if the level from the mic is too low to reach a good indication on your recorder's meter, increase the gain as far as necessary but no further.

Setting the attenuator and gain controls in this way will optimize the noise and distortion performance of the preamp.

Now since this is a tube preamp with variable 'character' according to the gain setting chosen, then once you have mastered setting the gain in the technically correct way, you are free to break the rules...

When you see smoke coming from your recorder, that's when to stop!

David Mellor, Record-Producer.com

More resources:

RELATED ARTICLES

So You Wanna Learn How To Start a Record Label?
Well, you love music so much that you have decided you want to start a record label of your own. This can be a very exciting step and a fun one.

Piano Music, Perfectionism, and Self-Expression
Is your heart in the music? If so, it won't matter what you play so much as what is received through your playing. Do you still think you need to learn 43 chords to sound good or are you concerned with the joy of expressing yourself through this wonderful instrument called the piano? People who sound like they know what they are doing may indeed know what they are doing but does that mean you want to listen to the music?Let's look at pop music for example.

Learn Piano the Easy Way!
There are essentially two ways to learn piano - note reading or chords. For those who want to spend years learning how to play other peoples music, note reading is the way to go.

How to Play Piano Using a Few Chords
How many chords do you need to create a piece of music? Would you believe that it doesn't really matter and that whole pieces of music have been created using just one chord? For example, if you play a D minor 7 chord, you could use the bass note D to create a drone effect and anchor the whole improvisation. It could last for a few seconds or many minutes.

The Flower Garden and New Age Piano Music
If you've ever looked at a flower garden, not only its beauty may have captivated you, but also its overall arrangement.There may have been some tulips or roses combined with other flowers or plants.

Hip Hop Clothing
Celebrities now such as Outkast, a fashion wear can be a must have. Likewise gainful for celebrities included within the clothing lines world, which is how come we are in possession of these most up to date hip hop clothing lines on the market like, FuBu.

How To Play Piano Using Chord Symbols
Chord symbols (for example, Fm7, Cmaj7 or G6) are a type of notation used frequently in jazz and other areas of modern music to notate chord progressions and changes. This type of notation differs from that of classical music in that chord symbols don't show the function of a chord the way the Roman numeral notation does.

Music For Self Improvement
Would you like to pop in a CD and have a better quality of life, and even self improvement? There are three ways you can use music to accomplish this.Music For MotivationPut on energetic music, and even doing housework seems less like work.

Beginners Guide to Music File Formats
Are you confused by the various types of music file formats out there? Most of you would have heard of the popular MP3 format, but are you aware there are other alternative digital music formats like WAV, WMA, RA and MIDI? Some of these give better sound quality than MP3 (e.g.

Musicians Injuries: OUCH, It Hurts When I Play (But Please Dont Tell Me To Stop!)
This article takes a look at musicians' injuries. For an expert perspective, I interviewed Dr.

Top Rap Song
After months of email and posts, we've finally compiled and rated what you submitted as the top rap songs of all time. At first we tried to rank these, but we realized that due to the diverse nature of these songs it seemed unfair to do so.

Music & Emotions: Can Music Really Make You a Happier Person?
How many times have you turned to music to uplift you even further in happy times, or sought the comfort of music when melancholy strikes?Music affects us all. But only in recent times have scientists sought to explain and quantify the way music impacts us at an emotional level.

How to Become a World Class Expert in Just 20 Minutes a Day
Is it really possible to become an expert in some field in 20 minutes a day?When I first was exposed to the idea, I'll admit I was rather skeptical. But I heard the idea from a very wise man named Earl Nightengale whom I respected, so the idea intrigued me.

Motorhead Inferno
Motorhead-"Inferno"-Review by Les Lewellyn When David Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame release the sensational CD "Probot" this year it rekindled my metal tastebuds. For those of you not familiar with his project I'll explain.

How To Dress Up Naked Music On The Piano
What in the world is "naked music?"You know it when you hear it, but the words that describe it sound strange, don't they? We've all heard of popular music and rock music and gospel music and jazz music, but naked music?Naked music is simply the notes on a piece of sheet music. It's "naked" - not dressed up or arranged at all.

What All Do I Have to Know to be a Really Good Piano Player?
Many students ask me a question that goes something like this: "What all do I have to know to be a really good piano player?"The trouble with a question like that is that it ignores individual differences such as talent, motivation, freedom to practice, and a hundred other variables.How much did Mozart have to know? How much did Erroll Garner know? Mozart could play far better than I can when he was 3.

The Future for Independent Record Labels
Small independent record labels are facing a different fight today to obtain a share of the music industry. The best possible means in which small labels were able to get their CD's sold vanished in 2003 when Southwest Wholesale Records and Tapes closed the doors.

Origins of the Mathers Family
Eminem's roots can be found in Scandinavia through his mother Debbie Nelson and in South Wales through his father Marshall Bruce Mathers II.But Eminem has mostly Scottish blood running through his veins.

The Dos and Donts of Getting Your Child to Love Learning an Instrument
We all know that music can be inspiring, entertaining, and exhilarating. There are few things more enjoyable than listening to good music.

Everything I Play Sounds the Same
Many students want to create music that has a certain emotional quality. For example, I once had a student ask me to show her how to play something that sounded happy.