Midi drum track too quiet to hear properly...

[lmv]

I just remembered you can also do this to control gain:

[Ally007]

Try the age-old trick: bring every track down to silence. Bring your drums up to 0dB or -3b.

Bring every other track up while listening to the drums, slowly, one-by-one, until you've balanced the whole song in relation to the drums.

Useful tip! Thank you, W.

[Ally007]

I just remembered you can also do this to control gain:

Certainly, you can do that with audio clips, but the track I was struggling with was a midi track (velocities set to 100%).

[Ally007]

Yes, my mistake. Sorry. I just checked and it's an LV2 plugin so yes, it's Linux.

Readjusting the other tracks probably is the better idea, but you can always get some third-party gain plugins. For example,

https://plugins4free.com/search?term=gain

Thanks. However, I suspect that a gain plugin would have no effect on a MIDI track. I could be wrong.

[Ally007]

...

[elcalen]

However, I suspect that a gain plugin would have no effect on a MIDI track. I could be wrong.

It would go after the instrument plugin and affect the outgoing audio's volume. But you are in fact already using a gain plugin, that's pretty much what Waveform's own volume and pan plugin is. The only possible difference would be that a different plugin might have a different adjustment range (since Waveform's volume plugin doesn't actually go very far on the above 0 side).

But like we've already said, simply raising the volume would only make sense if the level is actually well below peaking, which might not be the actual issue here. It's best practice to keep levels below 0dB whenever possible.

[DRMR]

it's an LV2 plugin so yes, it's Linux.

While perhaps much more prevalent there, LV2 is not specific to Linux.

[Peter Widdicombe]

PS - silly question. Does the drumkit "bounce" in the track audio output meter on the right? I would expect it would be 50-80% of scale; although there are some settings that can change that (like hold time, RMS or peak...).

[Ally007]

PS - silly question. Does the drumkit "bounce" in the track audio output meter on the right? I would expect it would be 50-80% of scale; although there are some settings that can change that (like hold time, RMS or peak...).

It's okay, thanks, Peter. I simply reduced the volume of my other tracks and all is ok now. Thanks...

[Ally007]

Same here - volume levels all as anticipated. What are you/have you used to trigger the notes? As long as your music is 4/4, the built-in loops are decent. If not... sadly, no 3/4 or 5/4 time in MtPDK2 loops, and no way to create your own (??)

In case you haven't tried it, the Modo Drum plugin by IK Multimedia has some 3/4, 6/8 and 12/8 grooves and fills included. I also like it, because I don't have to use TW's MIDI Note Names utility, and don't have to open the plugin every time I launch a TW project, as I do with PDK2.
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/mododrum/

[Ally007]

I thought I had solved this issue, but it seems not... Today, I wanted to record a guitar track. I wanted to play the instrument in time to a midi drum track that I had previously laid down. I find that if the input gain controls on my audio interface are set high enough to get an optimal guitar recording (i.e. not quite high enough to cause clipping in the recording), then it's so loud, coming from my studio monitors (or headphones), that I can't hear the drum track properly, even though the midi drums velocity is set at 100% and the drums track volume is +6 dB. Is there a way to reduce the volume of the guitar alone (as I hear it, while it's being recorded), without reducing the gain on the audio interface? It seems that the only way to do that is to swithc off direct monitoring on the audio interface, which is far from ideal.

[pough]

The track you're recording onto should have a volume plugin at the end before the level meter plugin. It won't affect recorded volume.

If you are using the monitor of your recording device you will need to use its controls to set the volume you're hearing.

[Ally007]

The track you're recording onto should have a volume plugin at the end before the level meter plugin. It won't affect recorded volume.

If you are using the monitor of your recording device you will need to use its controls to set the volume you're hearing.

Thank you... The volume plugin you refer to does affect the guitar volume I hear while recording it, but only if I switch off direct monitoring on the audio Interface. I guess I may have to do that. By 'recording device' do you mean my audio interface? Its output gain affects the heard volume of everything coming from the DAW, unfortunately (not just the track being recorded).

[elcalen]

Well, yeah, changing volume inside the DAW obviously only affects audio going through the DAW.

Your interface doesn't happen to have a separate volume control for the direct monitoring? If not, I guess one thing you could try is turn up the master volume in Waveform and then turn down the output on your interface to compensate...

[Ally007]

Well, yeah, changing volume inside the DAW obviously only affects audio going through the DAW.

Your interface doesn't happen to have a separate volume control for the direct monitoring?

No, unfortunately not; I wish it did. I'm using a Behringer UMC202HD.