Mpc level when recording into the daw (dumb question)

This might found like a dumb question, but I've always wondered how high the level of the mpc should be when recording it using a daw (Pro-Tools).

Also is recording one track after another during the 'stereo outs' the best idea.

I guess the whole question is how should I set the levels in the MP before I touch the levels in PT

a lot of people seem to think the stereo outs are better than the mono outs in some of the modles of mpc, but i dont know how much of that is hype or whatever.

you should try to record in to protools pretty much as loud as you can without ever clipping.

Record with most of your track in the green, peaking into the yellow on your PT meters.

What sirpark said...

What interface are you using?

Usually on the interface, their should be a level meter. this meter let's you know if your input gain is too hot, or not enough.. (usually by green yellow red. red is too much or hot, yellow is a healthy amount and green means something is happening but can have more signal sent in)

If pro tools soft monitors, you want to make sure the faders in pro tools are set to 0 db. This is usually the default fader position. That way you should get the loudest signal to tape(harddisk into protools) if you use the meter of your interface. and it should match in protools.. Once it's all recorded in protools then you can mix it. Metering is the important thing here when recording in...

It doesn't matter where the Pro Tools fader is when recording, the fader only affects the monitoring level through the Pro Tools mixer, not what it is recording onto the track.

Go by the meter on the Pro Tools track, set the gain on the interface so you are getting good strong levels without clipping.

If you want to get really scientific with it, I have a PDF on level optimization using a multimeter by Bob Katz.

Using a 1kHz, -20dBfs sine wave, you can set all your levels to Unity gain (0.775 Vrms). This will give you the optimal signal to noise ratios throughout your signal chain. This will be good for baseline settings, but as Lamp stated, experimentation is key.