Hi everyone, I've been lurking around here for a while and I've absorbed a lot of information from everyone here. I bought an X8 back in December, and I've been very happy with it.
I've been running the stereo outs of the X8 to a set of KRK RP5 monitors, and nothing was connected to my computer. Just a week ago I bought a Presonus Firebox so that I can record (acoustic guitar, vocals, X8) on the computer. Now the RP5s and the X8 are going through the Firebox.
I started to record some piano tracks as audio in Adobe Audition (will upgrade sequencer and computer in about two months hopefully). I haven't really noticed this before, but after recording piano as audio tracks, I noticed that the left and right outputs are uneven. It's almost always the left channel that's louder. I can see this on the wave tracks. But it seems that it's mainly a bunch of the acoustic pianos that exhibits this. At worst, there can be a difference of about 6 decibels.
Examples of patches that do this are the Ultimate Grand, Dark Grand, and most of the other acoustic pianos.
I've tried switching the cables (so that L output goes to R input, and R output goes to L input) to see if it's the cables. The Left output is still louder, so it's not the cables.
I've tried changing the patches to other instruments, and for most of them, they are almost balanced, such as bass, flute, EP, etc., with only 1 or 2db differences. I think that also rules out the Firebox as the culprit.
I haven't concluded whether this really bugs me that much or not, so, is this just how some of the acoustic piano sounds are?
Has anyone else experienced this?
Uneven stereo output on acoustic pianos?
Re: Uneven stereo output on acoustic pianos?
Are you by any chance playing in the lower register of the Piano? These are "stereo Piano patches, meaning the lower register will appear louder from the left, the upper louder from the right, middle...should be about even. Creating a stereo field of a real piano.
I actually like the way Roland pans most of their instrument patches, I playing with a Motif es rack and was missing the "panning effect" that Roland programs on some of the stock patches.
I actually like the way Roland pans most of their instrument patches, I playing with a Motif es rack and was missing the "panning effect" that Roland programs on some of the stock patches.
Re: Uneven stereo output on acoustic pianos?
Thanks for replying! I completely understand what you're saying, and it does make sense. I tried testing that out also. For certain patches, going to the upper registers lessens the uneven a little. But for some other patches, the left output is almost uniformly higher.
It's not that big of a deal; I'm just wondering if this is normal. Also, is there a way to edit the panning and stereo output of individual patches? The Fantom is my first workstation, and all those 3-letter terms (LFO, TVT, or whatever it may be) confuse me, so when I go into the patch edit screens, it can be daunting. The patch edit portion of the manual is the part that I find hardest to absorb.
It's not that big of a deal; I'm just wondering if this is normal. Also, is there a way to edit the panning and stereo output of individual patches? The Fantom is my first workstation, and all those 3-letter terms (LFO, TVT, or whatever it may be) confuse me, so when I go into the patch edit screens, it can be daunting. The patch edit portion of the manual is the part that I find hardest to absorb.
Re: Uneven stereo output on acoustic pianos?
I would expect the left hand channel to have a higher volume on piano sounds. If you think about it, lower register piano notes sustain longer than higher notes, therefore at any given point there's more likely to be more sustained lower notes playing than higher notes due to the longer sustain times. I'm sure you'd get the exact same reult if you put a pair of microphones in front of a real piano.
)
Dave
:: http://www.drstudio.demon.co.uk/ :: http://www.myspace.com/daveboulden ::
"Musicians fall into three categories: those with a physical block, those with a mental block and those with a wooden block". Unfortunately, I'm in the 1st category!
)Dave
:: http://www.drstudio.demon.co.uk/ :: http://www.myspace.com/daveboulden ::
"Musicians fall into three categories: those with a physical block, those with a mental block and those with a wooden block". Unfortunately, I'm in the 1st category!
Re: Uneven stereo output on acoustic pianos?
That makes sense Dave...
As for panning patches, there is a "Pan" dial on the "Mixer" screen to adjust pan for each track.
As for panning patches, there is a "Pan" dial on the "Mixer" screen to adjust pan for each track.
Re: Uneven stereo output on acoustic pianos?
Thanks guys!
Before I got the firebox, I just ran the outs straight to the monitors, and I never really noticed this, so it's no problem at all. I was just being anal when I started seeing the audio tracks.
Now back to making some music!
Before I got the firebox, I just ran the outs straight to the monitors, and I never really noticed this, so it's no problem at all. I was just being anal when I started seeing the audio tracks.
Now back to making some music!
Re: Uneven stereo output on acoustic pianos?
I just discovered this same issue and am very confused. Using the analog outputs on the Fantom X8 results in the left channel being significantly louder. Doing so on SPDIF results in an almost even balance between left and right.
Re: Uneven stereo output on acoustic pianos?
Is this happening for all patches or just pianos as in the original post? If it is all patches, then it would seem to be a problem with the Fantom. If I recall correctly, the SPDIF outputs are always at maximum amplitude while the analog outputs are subject to the gain adjustment of the level knob. So it is possible that the gain is low in one channel.