Can't hear my playback on recorded tracks

[gary g]

i use mics for all my instruments, as opposed to the direct input you can use for guitars, this should not be a problem, correct? my track level meter shows a good input level, but the stereo meters wont move unless i have the monitor level, track fader, and stereo fader up all the way, and even then, they show a weak signal, and i can't really hear the playback, what gives? do the stereo meters have to show a signal to hear the playback? Help... my machine is a DP- 24 SD

 

[Mark Richards]

First question:
Have you updated the firmware to the most current version for your DP-24SD?
If not, that's the first thing you need to do.

As a general rule:
(a) When tracking, the individual Track levels should show an Input signal between -24dBFS and -12dBFS.

(b) The Stereo Fader during tracking and playback/mixing should be set to and left at Zero-unity gain (that's all the way up).

(c) The Track Faders control only the signal going to the Stereo bus. The Track Faders should start at unity gain - that's the Zero position; and can be lowered as needed but generally should not be raised above unity gain.

(d) The Monitor Knob has no affect on the tracking levels/meters or the playback levels/meters, nor the levels of the Stereo Bus/Meters. The Monitor Knob only affects the level of the Stereo Bus's analog signal output that goes to your headphones or monitor speakers. So the Monitor Knob setting is irrelevant to your issue.

If the parameters (a) through (c) above are met, the Stereo Bus should show a signal level during tracking and playback/mixdown that averages between -24dBFS and -12dBFS, with occasional travel into the green.

There are threads in the Equipment Tips sticky that describes how to do a unity gain test and how to check signal flow to make sure your unit is passing a consistent signal from input through output to the stereo bus.

Hope this helps some.