We look at one little recording trick that many people overlook – and it’s hurting the quality of your demos
Whether you’re demoing songs for the rest of your band or putting tracks together to be professionally mixed, the simplest of tweaks to your pre-amp settings can make the biggest difference.
Most of us guitarists are guilty of recording with our amp sims on, and not checking the
levels before we hit that big red record button. That hurts your guitar tone.

The Sweet Spot
Finding the sweet spot on your audio interfaces preamp settings to maximise bit-depth can elevate your recordings to the next level. Bits are all the little elements that make up the sound waves you see on your DAW, and we want these to be the best they can be.
What you want to do is record your DI at a level that has enough headroom for distortions and effects to be added, but not mousey-quiet. That’s why peaking at no higher than -6db is ideal.
Trial and Error
When recording your DIs, the louder your guitar is, the quieter the noise that the recording will pick up around it. That means a quieter recording will pick up more noise. Go too loud, though, and the results won’t be pretty.
To get that perfect level, you should first record a few chugs, or a loud section in your song. You shouldn’t pick any harder or softer than you usually would to ensure accurate results ahead of tracking. Afterwards, check the decibel meter during playback to see where it peaks. Keep on tweaking until you are in and around that all-important -6db mark at its peak.
What this does is capture your playing with the highest quality whilst still leaving space for distortions and effects to bump your signal afterwards.
If your recordings are too quiet, they’ll struggle to cut through the mix or lose quality as they’re pushed to be heard. If they’re too loud, you’ll have the tonal equivalent of the St Anger snare drum; it’ll be super harsh and unlistenable, and no one wants that. Not even Lars.
Find that sweet spot, and let your demos shine.
Recording advice
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