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Audio Analog Input Settings on KonaLHe
I have been trying to find a happy way of digitizing analog audio from BetaSP. According to my expert from Kona, the control panel should be set to +24 dBu FSD with the check box for locking audio levels to unity switch on. We’d like to see 0 dB tone on the Beta hit -12 dB in Final Cut Pro, but the recommended setting places it way down at -24 dB, far too soft for our needs.
Disabling the unity lock and adjusting the gain in Final Cut Pro doesn’t get us high enough. Plus there is a bug in the FCP interface that make this control somewhat unusable. Short of really cracking up the levels up in a mixer, what can I do?
Thanks all.
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5 Replies
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This is great use for an analog mixer. If you have one, use it. Zero out the tone from your beta tapes to -12 in FCP.
You shouldn’t have to mess with the gain inside osx/fcp.
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G5 Dual 2Ghz <> 4GB RAM <> FCP 5.04 <> Kona 2
ATTO 42XS <> Huge Systems 4105 Fibre
OS 10.4.2 <> QT 7.0.3 -
Thanks Jeremy,
My problem is that we have to completely crank up the mixer to do this, by a full +12 dB. Doesn’t that seem like a lot?
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This doesn’t seem right. Are you using the analog inputs of the Kona? Try turning the input from +24 to +18. If you do crank the mixer, is the signal clipping through the mixer? how low or high are the audio signals coming off of the tape?
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G5 Dual 2Ghz <> 4GB RAM <> FCP 5.04 <> Kona 2
ATTO 42XS <> Huge Systems 4105 Fibre
OS 10.4.2 <> QT 7.0.3 -
No, it’s not right at all. Here is exactly what we are doing.
Tone on the Beta tape is at 0 dB according to the deck’s internal meters. Using the trim pots on the mixer, this is adjusted to exactly 0 dB according to the Mackie’s own meter. This is then sent to the analog XLR inputs on the K-Box.
When the Kona ControlPanel is set to “+24 dBu FSD”, analog 0 from the mixer comes into Final Cut Pro at -24. When the ControlPanel is set to “+18 dBu FSD”, analog 0 from the mixer comes into Final Cut Pro at -18. I’ve tried this on several systems and always gotten the same results.
Yes, we can set the Kona to +18 and get a little extra level, however it is Kona’s conviction that this setting is for European systems only. They go so far as to reset this setting back to +24 each time the computer is restarted.
Yes, we can boost the signal coming from the mixer, but like I said, at the “+24” setting, we have to raise it +12dB. The Mackie does not max out at +12 over 0, but I can’t imagine that this is good for the quality of the signal. Using the “+18” would mean we’d only need to add a +6dB boost, but this strikes me as less than ideal, and equally annoying. I should be able to place analog 0 anywhere (within reason) on the digital scale. Other products don’t seem to have this limitation.
Thanks again for your reply.
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I know it seems counter intuitive but trim up on the input channels and get yourself some more level using the mixer. I ignore the -20 db thing. Have you ever tried to make a dvd at those levels? It’s almost inaudible. When mastering out to digital tape (whatever format) I usually set my tone to -12.
I’m sure my method is probably “wrong” but people should be able to hear the expensive video they paid for, no? That’s how I feel about it anyway, your mileage may vary.
Jeremy
———–
G5 Dual 2Ghz <> 4GB RAM <> FCP 5.04 <> Kona 2
ATTO 42XS <> Huge Systems 4105 Fibre
OS 10.4.2 <> QT 7.0.3
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