The “volume at 100” theory is something that some folks believe reduces the noise level produced by the QC but I haven’t found that to be the case. I usually run at 50 to 70 with a very low noise floor. If you find that your QC produces less noise at 100 then turning down the input level on your monitors would be one way to keep your volume in check. Let your ears be your guide.
I would blast my eardrums if I put up the volume past 10
I’m not even talking about noise floor at this point - just using the QC as my audio interface for non-recording tasks such as listening to iTunes or watching YouTube videos
how are the levels from the QC signal path itself? Is it just the external feed from the computer that is so loud? If so, those signals need to be attenuated from their source-
What level are your monitors’ Output? Can you turn those down?
I have to turn down the Main Vol knob on the QC when using Headphones , but never all the way to “1.” Sounds like other feeds in your chain somewhere (or the monitor level itself) is too hot
(edit: I see on Discord that you rewired everything and are using a monitor mixer/controller. That’s what I do too, seems to give the most flexibility. I’m also aggregating interfaces on Mac which can get confusing)
The noise would be introduced through lowering the volume on the QC, only to boost it back up with gear further down the chain. Running an amplifier extremely loud to compensate for a QC with low output is going to introduce unnecessary hiss.
I think their advice is that at 100, it’s at unity, it’s not going to be overdriving whatever amp you plug into.
I generally run at about 80, because it’s nice to have an easy access volume knob on my desk, rather than reaching for the amp tucked away underneath. Gives me a bit of headroom if I’ve had a few beers and feel like doing some damage.
OK just added in the Genelec hardware monitor volume controller (which required ethernet to the sub, from the sub to the monitor, and from monitor to monitor, plus USB, plus cable for volume knob hardware LOL)
I then turned the QC up to 100 and can control the monitors via the Genelec hardware volume knob - now, my casual listening level is -40dB (per the Genelec software indicator) but, I do not hear any sound at all from the monitors, say, if I am listening to music or watching YouTube, until I can faintly hear sound coming through at around -64dB
Controlling it this way has certainly cost me a lot of volume but, perhaps it is for the best in the long run (I just want it to work so I can record guitar and use it to hear playback of my compositions in Logic Pro)
I am a composer, not an engineer, and this has left me with a heightened respect for audio engineers
So, after accomplishing the foregoing, I thought it was time to play my guitar (passive humbuckers) through the QC.
I plugged my guitar into Input 1 of the QC and strummed as hard as I could, setting the Input 1 gain so that the hardest strum barely hit the red (this had me setting the QC Input 1 gain at +9.0dB).
However, in order to actually hear the guitar through my monitors while scrolling through QC presets at a level that was louder than the actual strings themselves in the room, I had to turn the Genelec monitor volume all the way up to -15dB.
Now I am even more confused than before. Why is it that casual listening to YouTube and/or music is great at -40dB but to even hear my QC processed guitar over the actual strings in the room I have to crank it up to -15dB?
At this point, I am beginning to regret picking up my guitar again after all these years. Maybe it’s a sign from the music gods that I was meant to just compose orchestral pieces with MIDI in the box.
This question/problem might be better suited to some sort of Genelec user forum? Unless someone here happens to use that system…
As an aside, probably don’t run your guitar input at +9dB. That is the equivalent of adding a boost pedal in front of the QC, so all models/captures will react as though you have a boost in front. That is certainly an option, but you’ll have more flexibility by using the various OD/boost pedal models instead. You don’t need/want the input to be anywhere near red. Guitars are very quiet, and amps (and therefore models) are designed with that in mind.
Finally, it’s actually an incredible time to pick your guitar back up. The QC is an unbelievable bit of equipment. It can essentially be every amp ever. Stick with it, figure out your monitors, because it’s so worth it.
Hmmmm - well from all the videos I’ve been watching about setting up the input gain on the QC, it is recommended to dial it up until it hits the red then dial it back a bit
Yes. Default (±0db) is unity gain without boosting or cutting the signal. That replicates your guitar plugged into the real life equivalent of the modeled effects / amps. It’s ok to boost the input gain, just keep in mind that the signal hitting the blocks then is hotter than one would expect in real life. Like the previous comment stated it’s like putting a boost pedal set to +9db before your actual pedalboard / amp.
That info on default unity gain was very helpful. For some reason I had it at +4.7db, bringing it down to 0db had little to no effect on my tone and I was able to adjust master accordingly. Thanks SpinalTap and DavidRSTV.
Back to the shed.
Tube Amp in the room tone or tube amp picked up by a microphone (or a DI signal) and listened back through studio monitors / FOH? I ask because models do replicate the second and not the first and a lot of people tend to compare their tone to directly listening to an analog rig standing in the room.
