User manual RANE RANEGAIN DATASHEET

[. . . ] (This allows you to set the maximum signal level through the system without making yourself and others stark raving mad. ) Set all gain/level controls to their off or minimum settings. Defeat all dynamic controllers such as compressors/ limiters, gate/expanders, and enhancers by setting the Ratio controls to 1:1, and/or turning the Threshold controls way up (or down for gate/expanders). Use no equalization until after correctly setting the gain. CONSOLE/MIC PREAMP GAIN SETTINGS A detailed discussion of how to run a mixing console lies outside the range of this Note, but a few observations are relevant. [. . . ] Therefore set it for as much gain as possible without excessive clipping. A little clipping is not audible in the overall scheme of things. Test the source for its expected maximum input level. This means, one at a time, having the singers sing, and the players play, as loud as they expect to sing/play during the performance. Or, if the source RaneGain GENERATOR & TRANSDUCER is recorded, or off-the-air, turn it up as loud as ever expected. Set the input mic gain trim so the mic OL (overload) light just occasionally flickers. This is as much gain as can be taken with this stage. Any more and it will clip all the time; any less and you are hurting your best possible S/N. (Note that a simple single mic preamp is set up in the same manner as a whole mixing console. ) OUTBOARD GEAR I/O LEVEL CONTROLS All outboard unit level controls (except active crossovers -- see below) exist primarily for two reasons: · They provide the flexibility to operate with all signal sizes. If the input signal is too small, a gain control brings it up to the desired average level, and if the signal is too large, an attenuator reduces it back to the desired average. · Level controls for equalizers: the need to provide make-up gain in the case where significant cutting of the signal makes it too small, or the opposite case, where a lot of boosting makes the overall signal too large, requiring attenuation. Many outboard units operate at "unity gain, " and do not have any level controls -- what comes in (magnitude-wise) is what comes out. For a perfect system, all outboard gear would operate in a unity gain fashion. It is the main console's (or preamp's) job to add whatever gain is required to all input signals. After that, all outboard compressors, limiters, equalizers, enhancers, effects, or what-have-you need not provide gain beyond that required to offset the amplification or attenuation the box provides. With that said, you can now move ahead with setting whatever level controls do exist in the system. Whether the system contains one piece of outboard gear, or a dozen, gains are all set the same way. Again, the rule is to maximize the S/N through each piece of equipment, thereby maximizing the S/N of the whole system. [. . . ] Set the Input control to barely buzz the RG Transducer, then back it down a hair. Now set the Output control also to just buzzing. For Rane digital audio products, like the RPM 26v Multiprocessor where input A/D (analog-to-digital) metering is provided with the RW 232 software, setting the input level gain is particularly easy and extremely important: Using the maximum system signal as the input, open up the Input Trim box and simply slide the control until the 0 dBFS indicator begins lighting. [. . . ]