Track meters only show recorded levels of tracks. Not mixdown levels

[Lasvideo]

Ive bumped into something with my new DP24 SD that feels like a deal breaker for this purchase. Ive been thru many video and print tutorials and none seem to address this issue.

In the mix down section of the users manual it says....
"The track meters on the display show the recorded signal levels of the track. Therefore, these meters dont change when the track faders are adjusted".

As someone who has mixed audio in many software and hardware products, I find this a severe handicap in the mix down process. I want to see the various levels as I live mix down for a variety of reasons . How do folks deal with this limitation?

 

[Mark Richards]

From a recent thread post:
" [In Mixdown mode and Multitrack mode] The stereo master bus meter will display the combined output signal of all tracks, and if you solo an individual track, the stereo master bus meter will display the output signal of that track [being soloed]."

So, a possible stop-gap solution. (Searching on "solo" may turn up others??) Over the years I've learned to just rely on my ears, the relative fader positions, use the solo button, and watch the stereo master bus meters for overall peaking issues.

 

[Lasvideo]

Thanks Mark. I was aware of the stereo bus meter showing the combined signal.

Interesting work around. But if I am rolling on a live mix down where I am varying the mix with the faders, solo wont really help. All track meters need to be displaying playback levels. And of course I would be checking that stereo bus meter as well..

UPDATE.. After extensive research I realize I just bumped into one of the limits of this sort of system as opposed to DAWS and dedicated hardware systems like the Avid . Thats cool. It is what it is...which in most respects is still amazing and awesome to me. For my simple needs it should be just fine.

 

[Mark Richards]

Ok. Well, here's how I set up a recording and mixing session to address that limitation:
Tracking
*All faders and the stereo master fader are set to Unity Gain.

*I set my monitor level to produce an 80dB SPL at my listening position.

*Since none of the faders impact recording level, my goal at this stage is to record each track to a close approximation of the level/balance I want it to have in the final mix. That means paying close attention to where mics get placed vis a vis the source, watching for safe recording levels on the track meters, etc. (developing this takes some planning and practice - this is where tracking/mixdown sheets can become very helpful).

Mixing
*The monitor level stays set to produce an 80 dB SPL at my listening position.

*The track faders start at Unity Gain, the stereo master fader stays at Unity Gain.

* Where needed I tweak the individual track faders down from Unity Gain to get my final balance for the stereo master. The individual track fader positions become my visual points of reference, making the stereo bus meters and my ears the only other references I need.

*Add effects, EQ, etc. to the individual tracks as desired.

*I only solo individual tracks if necessary to confirm how the track fader position correlates to the soloed track as shown on the stereo bus meter. (Obviously this is done before recording the actual stereo master.)

*I do a dry run (or several) to practice the Mixdown if it's necessary to make tweaks to individual track levels as the Mixdown progresses, relying on memory for the changes (or notes if things get complicated), and using the fader positions as my visual reference points. (The other good reason for tracking/Mixdown sheets)

I was the owner and chief audio engineer of a commercial recording studio, and went through the same thing with my DP-24 that you've experienced. It was a WTF moment realizing the track faders didn't control the recording levels, and on playback the track meters didn't reflect the fader positions. The above process was how I adapted.

 

[Dominik]

It's the same problem with the 2488. I also can't understand why Tascam only shows the recorded level and not also the mixing level of the tracks. Very sad.
But I think about a meterbridge. I started to build one which works perfect. The only thing I have to do now is to hook it up to the internal fader inside the machine.
Then I would see the mixing level on my meterbridge.

 

[Lasvideo]

Ok. Well, here's how I set up a recording and mixing session to address that limitation:
Tracking
*All faders and the stereo master fader are set to Unity Gain.

*I set my monitor level to produce an 80dB SPL at my listening position.

*Since none of the faders impact recording level, my goal at this stage is to record each track to a close approximation of the level/balance I want it to have in the final mix. That means paying close attention to where mics get placed vis a vis the source, watching for safe recording levels on the track meters, etc. (developing this takes some planning and practice - this is where tracking/mixdown sheets can become very helpful).

Mixing
*The monitor level stays set to produce an 80 dB SPL at my listening position.

*The track faders start at Unity Gain, the stereo master fader stays at Unity Gain.

* Where needed I tweak the individual track faders down from Unity Gain to get my final balance for the stereo master. The individual track fader positions become my visual points of reference, making the stereo bus meters and my ears the only other references I need.

*Add effects, EQ, etc. to the individual tracks as desired.

*I only solo individual tracks if necessary to confirm how the track fader position correlates to the soloed track as shown on the stereo bus meter. (Obviously this is done before recording the actual stereo master.)

*I do a dry run (or several) to practice the Mixdown if it's necessary to make tweaks to individual track levels as the Mixdown progresses, relying on memory for the changes (or notes if things get complicated), and using the fader positions as my visual reference points. (The other good reason for tracking/Mixdown sheets)

I was the owner and chief audio engineer of a commercial recording studio, and went through the same thing with my DP-24 that you've experienced. It was a WTF moment realizing the track faders didn't control the recording levels, and on playback the track meters didn't reflect the fader positions. The above process was how I adapted.

LOL! thanks Mark. Its good to know Im not the only person to be surprised by this metering kerfuffle. Luckily Im retired and this is just for my home studio. If I had bought this for a commercial enterprise, I would be shipping it back today. But since it s just for my home studio I will use an approach similar to yours to work around it. There are so many good features about the DP24SD, Im not sure I could find anything better for the same price point. Zoom R24 Im sure has its own set of challenges.

Finally, Im reminded of sage advice the chief audio engineer (at the high end video production facility I worked as a CMX/Avid editor at ( https://www.facebook.com/tom.daigon ) once shared with me. He said at one point in the mix session he would close his eyes (ignoring the meters) and LISTEN to the mix. And make adjustment only on that experience. He felt the track meters could be a distraction times . I like the philosophy and will remember that as I adjust to the Tascams design idiosyncrasies.