If i go with this method, i don think i can sample SiX mains, hear OT (SiX in 5/6) and NOT record it without also recording whatever the OT is putting out, yes no? Ive messing with it for awhile with no luck.
yep. You’re diverting the OT to Bus B - then just “Monitoring” Bus B through the monitors, NOT the Mains. I’ll do a better description later, got some work I’ve got to get on to asap…
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I hath persevered thank you bruce! Its working and so far working well! You da man.
Sam
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Just got a Six installed and wondering about the meters / levels. Do you people usually stay in green / or is venturing into the orange fine / advisable?
Do what sounds best to you.
Ah yeah, I meant to respond to this, but fell asleep. I used to stay in the green when I first had my SiX, because I thought that’s what you’re supposed to do. However, @circuitghost convinced me to push things, and I am comfortable in the orange zone. With the stuff I typically run into it, orange is good, red is probably too hot. As HoldMyBeer mentioned, try things out and figure out what sounds best for your needs. The SiX will gladly take what you put into it.
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Yeah, totally. It has so much clean headroom, it is hard to push it too far. I even had mixes sounding good getting into the red, but that depends on the source material and the type of sound you are going for.
When ever DI’ing a guitar or Bass I always keep it in the Orange (ch1/ch2), but don’t let it peak into the red.
A clean Bass guitar in the orange zone is a textbook perfect studio tone.
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Thanks! So far wasn’t having any trouble pushing into the orange - just wanted to make sure I wasn’t biting myself in the behind with some bad habits that would surface as a problem later 
This instruction video from SSL themselves explains the preferred gain structure involving the SiX
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Sure they can guide but I can do what I like with mine! Pushing into the red and slamming with the compressor is a serious sound
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Thanks for sharing
Another thing to keep in mind is (iirc) the faders on the SiX have the most play/sensitivity around 0 dB. So setting the channel gain such that the fader lives around 0 dB for desired volume will allow for more precise changes in levels while mixing.
My mains go out to a Zoom H2N which can’t handle anything above 0 dB so my main meters never go into the orange. I feel like I’m missing out on the color show 
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I record to a Zoom H1n+ and I’m orange all the way.
Apparently, I’m doing it wrong then, which is fortunate I didn’t know before because I really like the results 
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Totally possible I’m missing something about how it all works! Let’s learn together 
If I send anything over 0 dB to my zoom then a little red light illuminates telling me I’m clipping. And, as expected, that file exhibits clipping when played back on a digital device. Do you know if you have the limiter engaged on your Zoom? That would prevent clipping (and is probably a good safe-guard for me to turn on). I certainly haven’t heard any clipping in the tunes you’ve shared
Anyone have any wisdom to chime in with?
As I recall, the limiter on the Zoom H1n isn’t really something you want to turn on. I mean, for something meant for recording interviews, we can’t really expect it to be musically astounding.
Edit: I often have wondered myself how circuitghost manages to push all that sound into an H1n! 
Good to know about the limiter! I was thinking more of a “oh shoot I loved this take but it was coming in hotter than expected, glad the limiter could save it”. But it’s probably best to just be diligent about my levels before recording
Now we have a mystery on our hands! I’ve definitely had the crossing thought when seeing his pictures of the SiX pushing all the way into the orange
Well, for what it’s worth, here’s how I go about it, right or wrong -
I tend to let my source gear (usually the Blackbox) output at around 70-80% of their maximum gain. I feed it into the SiX and adjust gains to make sure the input channels play around at lower orange levels, but still orange. I push the master output to almost touch the red, but only almost.
This usually gives a very hot signal. I hook the Zoom into the master SiX output, no limiter, and let the track play on repeat while adjusting Zoom input until it never blinks red - but always dangerously close when music’s at its loudest.
I don’t know the theory behind this, this is just the way I’ve found the most pleasing results to me.
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Thanks for sharing! All makes sense to me until this aspect. I have three standing assumptions:
- the Zoom recorders can not handle level over 0 dB without clipping
- the Zoom recorders do not have a trim/cut function, they can only add gain to the incoming signal
- the SiX as you described is sending a signal hotter than 0 dB
Seems like you should get clipping 
someway I’m thinking about this must be off. Maybe the cables from SiX to H1n are reducing gain in some way?
I don’t know the theory either but my brain loves understanding systems before diving into the creative side. FWIW, I shoot for my peaks to be at -6 dB into the Zoom recorder but often feel like my mixes aren’t loud enough (probably other stuff to blame there)
I’m all about this. Not trying to say you’re doing it “wrong” simply trying to understand why it works
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I wouldn’t know it just does. Or maybe it doesn’t but I’m just getting away with it so far.
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What is the dBU to dBFS alignment of your Zoom? That is quite important to know if you want to know at what level the SiX will start to clip your Zoom. It is covered in that SSL video a little higher up.
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