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Old 12-04-2017, 06:52 AM
Terry Wetzel Terry Wetzel is offline
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Default Mixer/Pro tools.

For the first time ever I have been able to successfully hook up my Mackie 24/8 mixer together with Pro tools 12! In doing so it occurred to me that this combination will require calibration of both the mixer and Pro tools. I know that PT's should be calibrated to -18 dB = 0. I assume the mixer, using a sine signal of 1khz = 0dBFS is correct but I'm not sure. Is this a correct assumption?
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Old 12-04-2017, 07:12 AM
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Default Re: Mixer/Pro tools.

No. The output of the Mackie if set to 0vu with 1khz tone should read -18 on the input of PT. -18 on PT equals 0vu giving 18db of headroom before 0dbfs. A 1khz tone at -18 out of PT should read 0vu on the Mackie.
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Old 12-04-2017, 11:30 AM
john1192 john1192 is offline
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Default Re: Mixer/Pro tools.

does this not depend on your Audio INterface ??? for example, mine is -16 !!!
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Old 12-04-2017, 01:51 PM
originalscottyg originalscottyg is offline
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Default Re: Mixer/Pro tools.

Both of the above replies are correct. And yes, it does depend on your interface. If you can post the exact models of your PT interface, and your Mackie mixer, then we can take a look. Is there a particular reason you want to use the Mackie with Pro Tools? Are you using it for tracking? Mixing?

A little background...
This is a topic that is pretty technical and can get a little complicated at first.

-18=0 is an incomplete statement. A more complete statement would be -18dBFS = 0VU = +4dBu.

dBFS is a digital signal level that only exists only in the digital domain and doesn't have an absolute correlation to any analog voltage. dBu is an analog voltage level referenced to 0.775 volts RMS (AC). So 0dBu = 0.775 Vrms, and +4dBu = 1.228Vrms.

The D/A converters are calibrated to match a specific digital level (anywhere from -14dBFS to -20dBFS) to a specific analog level (usually +4dBu, or 1.228Vrms, for line level balanced outputs). 0VU is a further calibration to match a specific analog level (+4dBu) to a reading on a VU meter (0VU).
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Old 12-04-2017, 02:24 PM
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Drew Mazurek Drew Mazurek is offline
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Default Re: Mixer/Pro tools.

I'm going to ask the obvious question.... why?

What do you hope to achieve doing this? If you think you'll be imparting any sort of analog "mojo" with the Mackie, I think you'll be disappointed.

If you need a clean mixer to blend mics together on their way to the DAW (a dubious endeavor these days) because your interface only has so many inputs, I suppose this would work, but I'd simply recommend you get another interface and not mess around with this.
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Old 09-17-2018, 08:46 PM
coleeddy coleeddy is offline
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Default Re: Mixer/Pro tools.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Terry Wetzel View Post
For the first time ever I have been able to successfully hook up my Mackie 24/8 mixer together with Pro tools 12! In doing so it occurred to me that this combination will require calibration of both the mixer and Pro tools. I know that PT's should be calibrated to -18 dB = 0. I assume the mixer, using a sine signal of 1khz = 0dBFS is correct but I'm not sure. Is this a correct assumption?
Thanks.
Can you tell me how you got your mixer hooked up with pro tools?! Thanks
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Old 09-18-2018, 08:55 AM
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Default Re: Mixer/Pro tools.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew Mazurek View Post
I'm going to ask the obvious question.... why?

What do you hope to achieve doing this? If you think you'll be imparting any sort of analog "mojo" with the Mackie, I think you'll be disappointed.

If you need a clean mixer to blend mics together on their way to the DAW (a dubious endeavor these days) because your interface only has so many inputs, I suppose this would work, but I'd simply recommend you get another interface and not mess around with this.
+1
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