ProTools HD Omni and Rupert Shelford Channel not getting enough gain

[cristtiah]

Hi I just recently purchased a Rupert Shelford Channel for recording vocals and I put it in LINE IN on the HD Omni. Although the Shelford is almost hitting peak I cant get enough gain from the HD Omni to get a good recording. Any settings I need to adjust on this? I did +4dBu and -10 dBv both doesnt give the gain that I need. Thanks for anyone who can help.

[Darryl Ramm]

Lots more details needed… What does “not enough gain to get a good recording” mean? … What input Level, dBFS do you get? How are you telling the Shelford is “almost hitting peak”? What gain settings is on the Shelford? Are you testing with no filter, no eq, and no compressor?

What mic? How exactly do you have everything connected? What exact output, exact input, connected by what exact cable?

You should be going out the XLR line output into one of the Line In TRS inputs, are you using a correctly wired balanced XLR to TRS cable? (Check with a multimeter).

You can also do stuff like use signal gen driving an Omni output to drive the preamp and confirm its gain. Check the VU output meter makes sense with the Pro Tools input level etc.

[dominicperry]

dodgy cable? unbalanced cable?

[cristtiah]

I can see it in the VU meter(peaking), gain is at 48 yep tested with and without filter,eq,compressor. I have a mogami TRS cable going in the LINE IN. On the HD Omni meter its barely hitting -12.

[cristtiah]

I just bought a new mogami balanced cable

[cristtiah]

I also have an apollo x4 and its working fine there hooked up -6db output of Shelford as it suggested.

[Darryl Ramm]

Originally Posted by cristtiah

I can see it in the VU meter(peaking), gain is at 48 yep tested with and without filter,eq,compressor. I have a mogami TRS cable going in the LINE IN. On the HD Omni meter its barely hitting -12.

TRS cable? You mean XLR to TRS cable? Again, what exactly (connection socket type/name) do you have connected to exactly what? Pretend we are not there and cannot see what you are doing.

I especially want to know you are not sending the signal into the front panel 1/4" phono inputs on the Omni that are single sided TS/DI only (and so will ground one side of the sexy balanced transformer coupled output from the Shelford). You need to use the back panel 1/4" TRS sockets, try them all to see they work the same.

Shelford meter or LED might just be a little sensitive.

-12dbFS? input? (ie not accidentally measuring post fader?). I am not sure why that would necessarily cause a problem, you have 1000dB or so of digital gain at your disposal. If I wanted to know more what is going on I would measure the gain of the Shelford driven by signal gen, compare levels see with the VU meters etc. may also lets you confirm the Shelford clipping indicators seem OK.

[TVPostSound]

Originally Posted by cristtiah

Hi I just recently purchased a Rupert Shelford Channel for recording vocals and I put it in LINE IN on the HD Omni. Although the Shelford is almost hitting peak I cant get enough gain from the HD Omni to get a good recording. Any settings I need to adjust on this? I did +4dBu and -10 dBv both doesnt give the gain that I need. Thanks for anyone who can help.

Dont drive yourself crazy, there IS an issue with the line in on the Omni HD.
Ive brought it up here twice, emailed support no response from Avid.

The line in is shy by 8 to 12 dBs.
Tested with different mic pros and cables.
Then I used an oscillator as proof.

[TVPostSound]

Run this test, set a tone generator to 1K on a mono track, run a cable from the line out to line in, on a mono track in input. That will confirm the line in has an issue.
Make sure the output voltage is 1.228Vrms.

[noah330]

I have an Omni with a pair of API preamps going into the Line in jacks. No issues. If there's an issue it must not be on all Omnis.

Darryl is one of the most knowledgeable people on here so you're in good hands! He's helped me out a bunch of times :)