Tone Level

[<Deaf>]

Question for you guys...

Ihave a tape I'll be seding off to a duplication house. I need to put bars and tone at the beginning of it.

Do I set the tone level at the average volume of the piece (even though when talking levels go above this some times) or at the highest level that is reached in the piece?

Thanks!

 

[photogguy]

Tone should be set at 0db, unless it's digital, then I forget what it should be set at.

 

[<Deaf>]

Well, I know that 0db is for analog and -20 is for digital.

Maybe I'm asking the wrong question. Then should my audio have -20 be the highest point, or have -20 be the average but have it jump over that some times at it's high points?

I already have the audio set, I just want to set tone so that it matches my audio.

 

[photogguy]

Is your tape that you're sending a digital tape or an analog tape? If it's a digital tape, set your tone at -20db, which is where your audio should be "averaging" when you edited your stories. If your tape is analog, set your tone at 0db, which is where your audio should be "averaging" when you edited your stories.

 

[Dedline]

ya photogguy has it right. If your higher levels creep over your tone level, you should still be okay as long as it's not outrageously hot. I did that with a tape I had mass dubbed for sale. Came out fine. If you ever had a VHS deck with LCD audio levels, watch star wars and rambo peak over the average 0db point. (or commercials for that matter!)

 

[tvdood]

Set your tone at whatever "ZERO" is for this particular project, then, make sure that the AVERAGE level of your piece is "ZERO". It doesn't do any good to even put tone on a tape if there isn't some reference point. In most cases, audio should average evenly above and below "ZERO".

 

[photogguy]

Originally posted by tvdood:
Set your tone at whatever "ZERO" is for this particular project, then, make sure that the AVERAGE level of your piece is "ZERO". It doesn't do any good to even put tone on a tape if there isn't some reference point. In most cases, audio should average evenly above and below "ZERO".

That's why you set the tone to 0db on the mixer, then on the tape deck. That way, when they set the levels on their playback decks, they set them to 0db. That's why they set that up as the industry standard...if you hear tone, it should be at 0db.

 

[konman]

in any case, make a note what level is your tone

 

[Tippster]

Originally posted by photogguy:

...That's why you set the tone to 0db on the mixer, then on the tape deck. That way, when they set the levels on their playback decks, they set them to 0db. That's why they set that up as the industry standard...if you hear tone, it should be at 0db.

Unless, as stated above, you are using DVCPro or Beta SX. In those formats -20dB is the new Zero.