My levels are low for other players on Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB, Windows

[flacoflaco]

Hello,
 
I’ve been on JamKazam weekly for several years now - excellent product!  I recently upgraded my PC and audio interface to a new HP with a fast processor and a Focusrite Claret 8Pre USB.  At first I had issues getting the latency below 20ms using the Focusrite ASIO drivers, but changing the frame rate to 2ms has solved that problem.  I continue to have problems with low volume being output to other players however (same guys I’ve been playing with for some time now).  All of my levels sound low to them.  I’ve got the preamps on the new interface cranked up to just below clipping and I’ve tried experimenting with various things.  I’m using all 8 channels on the interface, btw for acoustic drums.  In other programs, the audio interface sounds great, but in JamKazam the levels are low. 

Also recording doesn’t seem to be working properly.  I’ve noticed when I record, I only hear something if I have the monitoring levels up!  I’ve never seen this before, and thought this was controlled in the master mix widget.  Cranking up the monitors makes it so I can record, but normally I don’t want the drums in the headphones (already plenty of that at ambient level).  I’ve tried playing with the audio boost, master mix, and audio controller without much luck.  Everything seems connected (I can hear all mics independently) but it’s too quiet.  I’m running Windows 10 with all updates, latest JamKazam and latest Focusrite drivers.  Please help!
 
Thanks,
Flaco

[GDJ]

You have way more years on me with JK. But similar issue regarding getting the input level up. I have a MOTU 8 I/O interface and once the audio is passed to JK, the audio levels drop. What to do!

In the Audio Console (not booster), I started toggling the Pre/Post amp and compression checkbox settings, and makeup gain settings. Sure enough I noticed these settings were allowing me to control my input signal, and giving me more gas for my signal. Careful though, on the Monitor track it means you are boosting the overall mix for everyone. I say, just experiment with the makeup gain for your own input track.

[Chris Frost]

There seems to be so many ‘mixers’ in JK .... but little clear documentation or advice on what each is for. Plenty of advice like this on the forums (thanks GDJ - and others) .... but it is always for a specific point problem - and like these seems to involve careful experimentation and compromise between ‘the level that you hear’ and ‘the level that everyone else hears’.

I use Focusrite Scarlett 2nd gen (for Saxophone) - my gain is right up and yet others in a session say I am quiet (what gets saved looks about right in the DAW (not clipping or too quiet) .... but playing back a recorded audio track drowns everyone out.

I will see what adjusting these settings does - thanks for the tip

[GDJ]

You are correct. We are becoming the missing manual. At some point it would nice to consolidate this topic into a FAQ document stuck to the Help section. My take also is, not a lot  of folks explore the mixer. How i wish there was a manual. For now, we share what works

[flacoflaco]

You are correct. We are becoming the missing manual. At some point it would nice to consolidate this topic into a FAQ document stuck to the Help section. My take also is, not a lot  of folks explore the mixer. How i wish there was a manual. For now, we share what works

Even a block diagram of signal path and inputs and outputs would be very helpful.

[Chris Frost]

You are correct. We are becoming the missing manual. At some point it would nice to consolidate this topic into a FAQ document stuck to the Help section. My take also is, not a lot  of folks explore the mixer. How i wish there was a manual. For now, we share what works

Even a block diagram of signal path and inputs and outputs would be very helpful.

This is what I put together to try to help .... i doubt it is correct / complete - but a start

[GDJ]

I like the diagram Chris.  Thank you. Since JK has been around for a while, apparently the original resource help files went missing. From time to time I search the internet to see if other discussion boards have copies of JK documentation that gets into the details about the mixer console. I think we can agree, to some degree one needs to be technical to get things working and the console is another area that raises questions. Maybe it's the next help document since it may help with the input levels and balancing questions

good discussion.

[flacoflaco]

Update: Recording level problem is fixed! In the Power Mixer there is a switch that allows you to choose recording volume from the personal mix instead of the master mix. Seeing as I didn't know this hidden panel even existed, I have no idea how it was set (I've never seen it default that way). Another interesting note - sometimes the "Power Mixer" comes up and sometimes it's just the regular "Mixer"!

As for recording volumes, it didn't seem to have much effect when I changed things, but other users were able to increase their volumes for my instruments in Manage->Audio->Audio Console dialog. Thanks for the tip GDJ!

[GDJ]

Awesome. glad you got it figured out.