Running a mix through outboard preamps

[charlievela]

I know the practice of running a mix through a set of preamps for color is nothing new. Recently I decided to give it a shot and started running my mixes through a pair of SCA n72s. I'm very pleased with the fullness it adds to my mixes. My question is this:

is there any recommended way to calibrate the level of the preamps for recallability? I've been using a 1khz sine wave at -10db before the hardware insert and adjusting the gain till I get as close as possible to -10db. Would white or pink noise be better? Also I seem to get differing peak levels on each channel when the rms is matched and vice versa, curious.


Please discuss

[Faderjockey]

That's pretty much what I do..
I've been using one on drum buss and another on 2buss behind a D-Box.
Are you padding it?

[charlievela]

Not yet, but i've got a couple of inline -10db pads i could try out. I had just been setting the pres to their lowest gain setting.