Utility plugins for volume boost

[MarkH]

Logic, Ableton, and Cubase have "Utility" plugins to boost the audio signal of an external input. For example, if I have a Moog Voyager connected directly into my sound card the audio signal is a bit low because the Voyager is unbalanced. Inserting a Utility plugin allows me to increase the volume input. Does PT have a plugin like this?

Thanks,
Mark

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by MarkH

Logic, Ableton, and Cubase have "Utility" plugins to boost the audio signal of an external input. For example, if I have a Moog Voyager connected directly into my sound card the audio signal is a bit low because the Voyager is unbalanced. Inserting a Utility plugin allows me to increase the volume input. Does PT have a plugin like this?

Thanks,
Mark

I'd first take a look at the back of your Voyager (I have a rack mount one). There's a switch to change the outputs from balanced to unbalanced. Second - turn up the volume on the Voyager from the front panel. You want to get as high a signal as possible (without overloading the a/d converter).

Remember that once a signal is in the computer anything you do is not actually going to boost the signal coming into the a/d converter. All you'd be doing is mucking about with the ones and zeros already in the computer. You could use a Trim plugin on the PT track that is receiving the external audio.

Truthfully if you're using a built-in soundcard (especially on a laptop) I'd ditch that and get a real external audio interface that will do justice to the Voyager output. It's too good of a synth to strangle with a crappy internal audio interface.

[MarkH]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately only the Voyager rack has the ability to do balanced output. The synth is only unbalanced.

I'm using an Orion32 sound card. It has 32 balanced inputs on 4xDB25 but it doesn't offer Mic/Line gain input like some other interfaces would. Balanced audio input is typically around -12dB which is where I think it should typically be?

Antelope does have an MP32 that will front-end the Orion32 with 32 Mic/Line inputs (4 can also be Hi Z) and the software allows you to control the gain, phantom power, etc, on each of the 32 channels. Perhaps that is the best way to go.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by MarkH

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately only the Voyager rack has the ability to do balanced output. The synth is only unbalanced.

I'm using an Orion32 sound card. It has 32 balanced inputs on 4xDB25 but it doesn't offer Mic/Line gain input like some other interfaces would. Balanced audio input is typically around -12dB which is where I think it should typically be?

Antelope does have an MP32 that will front-end the Orion32 with 32 Mic/Line inputs (4 can also be Hi Z) and the software allows you to control the gain, phantom power, etc, on each of the 32 channels. Perhaps that is the best way to go.

How about using a DI box? Radial has a couple of passive units that might work for you. There's the JDI Duplex:
http://www.radialeng.com/jdiduplex.php
and the JDI Stereo:
http://www.radialeng.com/jdistereo.php

The Radial stuff is built like a brick.

[MarkH]

The Trim plugin is my short term fix. I think the long term fix is buying an Unbalanced -> Balanced converter. They are the same size as a DI box and cost about $40. Thanks!

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by MarkH

The Trim plugin is my short term fix. I think the long term fix is buying an Unbalanced -> Balanced converter. They are the same size as a DI box and cost about $40. Thanks!

Those things are a cheap fix. Better to go with a true di; you'll get better sound.