Tutorials?

Level is noticeably lower than Song2New and duller in general. Also noticed your stereo field seems narrow. Assuming you want your guitar mono and in the center, have you tried panning your drums wider?

Yes, louder, better stereo field, more of a "in your face" feel to it. So, yes ... better

Did you check out the Redplate?

Better fidelity for sure. High Definition? Well, that's a word I'd be very careful with. Hi Def to me means pristine quality, deeply detailed sonic landscape, the ultimate fidelity. Some folks might hesitate at calling any Rock Hi Def but our Forum might be able to point to some magnificent "Hi Def" guitar recordings. First thing comes to mind is Jeff Beck's latest offerings with an orchestra. Love to hear others suggestions on this, think I'll start a new thread.

Take your time on the Redplate stuff. BTW, check out the cleaner versions, too. Get back to me when you can.

In my career as a video editor I worked a lot with HD video, but never with HD audio.

Ha! I worked as a Pro Audio rep for years and you just know manufacturer's Marketing Depts can't resist a good buzzword. Anything for sales.

Phil, are you still connected to the same inputs of the Tascam?

"Ha! I worked as a Pro Audio rep for years and you just know manufacturer's Marketing Depts can't resist a good buzzword. Anything for sales."

Very true.

It might help to think of -10 and +4 as the size of the pipe, as in -10 won't accommodate as much signal as +4. One advantage to +4 balanced is better noise rejection. But that doesn't matter much in terms of sonic fidelity (unless you're in a noisy environment) because your KPA output can be set to work with either (and almost any) level. You can use the KPA XLR outputs into mic level inputs if you set the KPA output level between -22 to -32. Adjust as needed. Regardless of which input level connection you choose, try to get your levels CLOSE to zero on your loudest sections. But don't stress on hitting zero exactly, peaking a little shy of 0 won't hurt your tone at all.

As long as your DAW's recording input is seeing good input level and nothing else in your signal is overloaded or starving, it doesn't matter much how you got there.

Cool!

Yeah, I think you'll get a lot better results that way. Things are meant to plug into other things in specific ways, and sometimes (even though on the surface everything LOOKS to be fine), it can have a huge impact on the tones. Learn the boring basics while you have fun recording

Use the +4 level. That is often referred to as "professional level", where -10 is "consumer level" (think stereo sets and TVs etc). As I understand, it is not only a matter of level, but also impedance, which CAN have an effect on tone. If you connect a CD player to your tascam, use the -10 setting. For professional stuff (as in "used for MAKING music), it's almost always +4.

I would strongly advise against setting the levels as close to zero as possible. Record in 24 bit depth instead!! The noise floor is so low that it will NOT be a problem to go low on the levels When recording, I shoot for about -12 to -18 on the DAW level meters. DON'T risk ruining the perfect take because you got enthusiastic and played a bit harder in that one section of the song

Many plugins work better at this level (minus 12 to minus 18 below zero on the daw meters), even if things are not "clipping" as such.
Funnily enough, this is a high enough level that if you were recording on analogue equipment, you would probably be ABOVE zero on the recording console's meters. But I digress

When I set out to mix a song, I always play through with the master fader down. I can then see where each track peaks, and I will put a trim plugin on EACH track to bring it down to maybe -18 before putting any other plugins on. This keeps all plugins at optimum level (there are some plugins that are sensitive to "too high" levels), and I don't clip my master fader when all tracks are running.

Just good ole boring tidy recording technique

You know what? I stand corrected.

Michael_dk is probably right about input levels and his recommendations seem to be good conservative studio practices. Better to err on the side of caution. Digital splatter is ugly stuff.

I'd debate that it would be very hard to tell the difference between a track competently recorded thru -10 input as opposed to +4 (assuming noise is not an issue) but that's just my opinion. Would be an interesting test though.

Sorry for going off on a tangent there, Phil

In short:
- Connect the KPA from the XLR to the "line in" inputs on the back of your tascam, and set LEV to "+4"
- Open up your DAW, and start a track with the kemper as the input
- Have the fader of that track set to zero (i.e., don't adjust it! :-))
- Play for a bit as you normally play
- Adjust the output of the KEMPER so that the PEAKS of the signal are around lets say -12 on the METER of that track while playing*. This is, I think, done in the menu you get by pressing the "master" button. Find the knob corresponding to the OUTPUT of the Kemper you have connected (the XLRs). Refer to the kemper manual.
- You're done!

*) you may have to turn something like "input monitoring" ON for the track, if you see no meter movement while playing, and this might mess with what you hear in the headphones. But it is important for setting levels. Just turn it off afterwards.

It's important to do it this way (or equivalent), because once the signal reaches your Tascam, you can't do anything to fix it afterwards if the signal is too hot. This is also how you set levels for any other tracks (vocals etc).

My interface has input metering LEDs right on the front, as well as in a control panel application that comes with it. I would go by these rather than the DAW to set my levels, but I don't think the Tascam has these. It has clip LEDS on the front, but these only react when you are JUST below the clipping threshold, so I don't think these are too useful.

Be aware that if you clip the signal on the way in, that won't necessarily be evident in the DAW - especially if you turn down the faders. But it will still be on the recording.

I don't think clipping on the way in is your problem, really (the sound you complained about was most noticable in the decay of the last chord). I just tell you this because it is recording basics - and very important

I think the main problem (if it's not with the Kemper or the profiles) is that you use the mic inputs turned down to zero, and they are not built for that kind of signal. Turning down the level of the Kemper may still help, though, so try that until you get the proper cables.

"LEV" is tascam's label for choosing between the two different line level "conventions". It derives from level, yes.

- regarding your question about the tracks not being loud enough to monitor when recording... Can you explain a bit more about what you mean, in detail - and how you monitor?

Re. where you set the level on the Kemper.

The output volume can be controlled by the "master volume" knob, if it is linked to it. Or you can set it individually.

I have it setup where the master volume knob just controls the headphone level on the kemper, and if I used the XLR outs, I would then adjust that within the "master" submenu:

- Press the "master" button
- Scroll to page number two from the beginning
- The first knob from the left controls the XLR output volume - I THINK refer to the manual.

to the top right and the top left, you see two "buttons", showing "Main out link" (left) and "Headphone link" (right). These indicate whether the "Master volume" knob on the Kemper controls the "main volume" (e.g. XLR) and/or the headphone volume. So so the "Master volume" can turn both up or down, or just one or the other if you prefer that.

I hope this makes sense and doesn't just muddy the picture

I prefer to link the master volume to headphones ONLY, and then control the XLR level from within the submenu, so the level going to the recording software doesn't accidentally get changed between takes etc.