recording levels

[colorado_57]

I use Reaper. I have a master drum folder I use to control overall volume. Under it is a Jamstix track and 8 other tracks - kick, snare, etc. My question in JS in the kit what is the optimal level to send to Reaper? Do I max the volume on all kit pieces? I have them all set at about 3 o'clock now. I set the actual volume in Reaper but what is the best way to max headroom. I don't use midi so the "midi volume" is set by the brain. So what is the optimal volume?

Also the Min dynamics slider: when not using midi should you slide it all the way to the left, right or leave it in the middle - or it doesn't matter?

[Ralph @ Rayzoon]

I use Reaper. I have a master drum folder I use to control overall volume. Under it is a Jamstix track and 8 other tracks - kick, snare, etc. My question in JS in the kit what is the optimal level to send to Reaper?

Mix levels are highly subjective so I'll leave it to others to comment.

Also the Min dynamics slider: when not using midi should you slide it all the way to the left, right or leave it in the middle - or it doesn't matter?

This slider controls how low the drummer will drop dynamics based on song power. If you use medium to low song power, changing the slider will have an effect. This only affects velocity of the drums, not play rules based on velocity.

[dysfunction]

It's digital. You don't have to worry too much. With analog you lose some quality by having the signal too low because analog equipment has a certain constant noise level, so if the signal is too low you'll have a less-than-optimum ratio of signal to noise. With digital the only thing you have to worry about is having it too high, which causes clipping, and when mixing at higher bit depths even that worry goes away. So I'd recommend mixing with plenty of headroom- there's absolutely no point maxing the volume of the drums.