Trying to match volume of VSL and EastWest libraries (to include in my instrument templates)

[Ellicott]

This may be a simple problem, but I’m driving myself crazy trying to match different VST libraries so I can include the settings in my custom instrument templates using respective CC7 settings.

For example – VSL’s Synchon Strings are about 25% quieter across the board than most of EastWest’s string libraries. In Synchron, it’s easy – in the Perform window, I just pop up the selected instrument’s CC7 setting, and save that as part of the instrument’s template.

But even with CC7 at 127, VSL is still much quieter than EastWest. In the past, I’ve always solved this by going to Cubase’s EQ in Channel Settings, and pulling down the Gain Control percentage (this I do each time I open an EastWest instrument track, so it's saved in the project). But of course this reduces the EQ adjustment headroom, and I’ve read that it’s likely to distort the instrument’s characteristics.

Going through my EastWest manuals, tutorials and searching in forums, I keep coming up blank. There’s clearly a big gap in my MIDI knowledge -- Because I can’t figure out how to actually adjust the CC7 setting in Play -- so that I can save it as part of the instrument’s template.

Any direction or suggestions would be most welcome!

[manwilde]

More knowledgeable posters will surely come along, but I think you shouldn´t have any headroom problem in any modern DAW. I´d just insert a volume plugin after the VST raising or lowering volume to taste and save it all as a preset.

[Drew Stephenson]

That was my thinking but I'm definitely not in the knowledgeable category. I think I'd be setting things up so that each VSTi responded appropriately for the input dynamics, then stick a gain plugin afterwards to match the levels between the VSTis.

[Wonks]

I’d adjust the channel input gain setting for the different libraries, which will allow everything else to operate as normal. I’d start with the loudest libraries and adjust the gain so they are operating at your standard gain staging level e.g. -18 avg/-10 peak, then adjust the other libraries to match. I think you should be able to save the channel gains as part of the template.

The input gain (along with the channel HPF and LPF ) aren’t shown by default, so you’ll need to select them from the display options.

Unlike a lot of other DAWs, you don’t need a gain plug-in with Cubase to do this, it’s built-in.

[Drew Stephenson]

Yeah, that's a better way of doing things. ^^^

[Kwackman]

Is there a main output fader on the EW instrument interface?
If so would it work if you fade it down to achieve a nice level, then save that as an EW preset?

[Ellicott]

Thank you! As I suspected, these solutions are simpler than what I was contemplating. I appreciate the help.

[manwilde]