Last weekend we had a gig and I recorded the concert using the USB connection. It wasn’t the first time I had recorded the mix using USB, and it has always worked very well. The sound was clear and dynamic.
However, the last recording was not very good. The sound was quiet and I had to turn the volume up to maximum to hear anything. Do you have any idea what could be causing this?
I am using the latest firmware 1.2.2. The other recordings were done with the previous firmware.
I did the update before playing and recording the show. I will try to increase the output level with my software. I use Harrison Mixbus. Hope, that works
Aha, thank you. No, I have no backup of the show file. I think the problem ist generally, that the output level ist reduced. So I will try to increase it.
I edited the recording and increased the output level. Now it sounds normal again.
Mark pointed me to an article that describes how to adjust the level for USB recordings in general.
Generally speaking, the USB level is reduced by 18 dB on all Allen & Heath mixers.
The article can be found at this link.
I have now listened to all my recordings on the USB stick that I use in the CQ 20. Most of them are low in volume. However, not all of them. Some are at normal volume. I can’t say why that is.
I also wonder whether reducing the output level leads to a reduction in dynamics.
Unfortunately, you misinterpreted that, and it’s not described that way in the linked article.
The 18 dB is the headroom, which is present in USB recordings just as it is in the mix you’re recording, e.g., your Main output.
It allows you to play unexpectedly high levels through your PA or record to USB without clipping (digital clipping).
If you were to set your Main output so high that the meters almost reach the maximum, your recorded levels would also almost reach the maximum.
But an unexpectedly louder signal would cause both the Main output and the recording to clip.
But the article also describes several ways you can change the situation in your case if you’re sure you’ll never need that safe headroom.
No, it’s the identical dynamic of your recorded source.
With appropriate audio software, you can also subsequently make your files louder (normalize) without changing the original dynamic range.
Oh - now i saw that the recommendations there are more relevant for other consoles.
In your case CQ there would be another good option if you happened to have two Out mixes (stereo) left.
If not, then it would probably be best to edit your recordings afterward (normalize).
Not quite. )
The recording level isn’t lower, but practically the same as the output from which it is generated.
With both, you have 18 dB of reserve (headroom) for unexpectedly high levels.
If such surprises never occur in your program material and you want to record “louder,” you can also increase the level of your recording output accordingly – e.g., to +12 dB.
This would give you only 6 dB of reserve, but a significantly louder recording.
If your main master is currently at 0 dB and you set it to the maximum +10 dB, your recording will already be 10 dB louder.
In this case, you would only need to reduce the sound systems connected to your Main outputs by 10 dB to get the original live volume back.
If you had another pair of stereo outputs available, you could set them up with a corresponding (post-fader) mix only for your recording and easily achieve a recording level up to 20 dB higher.
(You could even optimize your recording mix in this process, but that would be another topic.)
