carrotsails Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 When I record what I play on my Casio Px-5S, the sound is really low. The listener must turn up the volumne really loud in order to hear it. I haven't been able to figure this out. Why is this happening and how can I control the volumne the recording has? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc2k Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 I was wondering about this myself.I was thinking that as newb, there might be some best practices for recording I'm not aware of. There are volume settings for the stage settings, the tones and a master volume so maybe there is a best way to set these. I asked about it here but didn't get an answer yet: http://www.casiomusicforums.com/index.php?/topic/6006-best-practices-for-volume-settings-when-recording-using-the-px-5s/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted June 30, 2014 Share Posted June 30, 2014 The volume of the recording is based on the stage setting. Piano stage settings have a very wide dynamic range and are much lower than stage settings with lots of layers of sound and drums. Many parameters of a stage setting effect recorded volume. Zone volumes, tone volumes, master effect levels. You have to be extremely careful. The recorded sound can easily run into distortion from clipping when many layers are present in a stage setting. Also, the playback volume of the recorded sound is adjustable here..... System settings>sound generator>audio volume. The master volume knob won't affect the recorded sound. The master effects outputs will. Pay mind to the signal chain going backwards from master effects. If the master eq and compressor output levels are high but the volume is still low, then step back to zone volumes and then tone volumes. Personally, I never worry about low volume level on the recordings. If I want them normalized, I run the file through audacity and run the normalize effect. The PX-5s noise floor is so low, that boosting a low signal never introduces noise. At least I never have heard any. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrotsails Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Can you tell me how to adjust the settings on the piano so the recorded volumne is normal aka how I listen to it on the piano? I am not on a stage. I'm simply in my room and the only thing being recorded in the piano playing. I don't want the listener to have to adjust this volumne at all. I want it to be normal to them as they play from piece to piece, whether the piece before or after mine is mine or not. I don't have to adjust sound settings when I listen to songs on Youtube and I don't want someone to have to do so with mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrotsails Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 So, if 'stage setting' is an actual setting on the piano, please let me know where to find it and how to adjust it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 To clarify, "stage setting" is not an actual setting itself. It is a term used to label Casio's memory system for all settings on the keyboard. A single "stage setting" is something like 0-0 Concert Grand. They contain all tones, effects, control settings, levels and more. I can't add anything more than what I covered in my post above about volume levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrotsails Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Ok. That is what a stage setting is. Except, I still have no idea what the answer is to adjusting the recording volume. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Perhaps this will help. The recording input level is set by the factory and is not adjustable. As I mentioned above and in the other thread, the recorded volume level you hear is based on the stage setting. In other words, how the entire stage setting is setup....from the tones used, zone volumes and effects levels. If it's a simple stage setting with only piano, the level will be low. If it's a multi-zone stage setting with many sounds, the level will be louder. The playback volume of the audio files can be adjusted. Press system settings>sound gen>audio volume>adjust to 127. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrotsails Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 When you say the playback volume of the audio can be adjusted, is this adjusted before I make the recording? I want to record visual and combine both the audio and visual and post to Youtube, so I want to make sure the volume is at the acceptable level for the listener without them having to make adjustments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Just keep in mind that the PX-5S USB recorder is a convenience device and not meant to replace a professional recording environment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrotsails Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 ok, that's fine. But, I bought a digital piano to be able to record what I play. Like this person: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAVIZe5lKow. He recorded what he played with the piano and combined it with the audio. So, there must be a way to do it. That's what I'm here to find out how to do with my piano. However, the volumne is sooooooooo low at first I didn't think anything was recorded, but when I turn it ridiculously up, then I can here the playing. There MUST be a way to correct that. It would seem wholly counter-productive to make the piano record only for the recording be unusuable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 Well while the recording volume may be low, it is certainly usable for demo purposes. I have done a ton of recordings on the flash drive and uploaded them directly to SoundCloud or used them in videos with no boosting what so ever. Are your internal volumes set too low? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrotsails Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 How do I know if my internal volumes are set too low? Maybe that is the answer I'm needing. I am assuming, of course, the internal volumes and the volume of the keyboard while I am playing are two different things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 There are ways to internally boost the volume of the keyboard that will affect the volume of the USB (unlike the master knob) -- You do need to be careful doing this so you don't get internal clipping, esp. during louder playing. Work backwards through the signal chain and make small boosts here and there - I have found it can boost the output 15-20% without distorting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrotsails Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 ok. thank you. How do I internally boost the volume of the keyboard then? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 When you say the playback volume of the audio can be adjusted, is this adjusted before I make the recording? I want to record visual and combine both the audio and visual and post to Youtube, so I want to make sure the volume is at the acceptable level for the listener without them having to make adjustments. Make the adjustment any time you wish. I would set it to maximum which is 127 and leave it there if it's not already set to that. ok. thank you. How do I internally boost the volume of the keyboard then? Zone volumes and tone volumes. Press edit>stage setting>zone edit>mixer edit>volume>set to 127. Exit out. Press edit>tone>amp edit>volume>set it to 127. Exit out. At this point, you can make the audio recording. 127 is the maximum volume of these 2 levels. You will have to make a test recording and see if there is clipping. If it distorts, come back and reduce the levels until it no longer clips. Keep in mind that what you have done above is edit a stage setting. These edits will be lost if you change to another stage setting without saving them. Just a heads up in case you want to save this boosted version of the stage setting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrotsails Posted April 20, 2015 Author Share Posted April 20, 2015 Great. Thanks. I will give this a try. How does one save the stage setting, to be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Saucier Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 I have homework for you. Watch all of the videos Mike Martin has done on the PX-5s. Here.. http://sc3900.wix.com/px-5s#!how-to-videos/c9k5 One of those videos has a section on saving stage settings in detail. To get you going for now, press write>stage setting. You can rename, choose a new location or simply overwrite the current one. Use the navigation buttons and yes no buttons to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Display Name Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 ^^^ THIS! ^^^^ If you watch just one of those videos each day (they are an hour or so each) you will be a PXpert within a weeks time. PRO TIP: Watch the videos with your PX-5S turned on and in front of you so you can follow along. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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