Question

Win 10, Studio One 3, Studio 192 Interface, Studio Channel.

When recording electric guitar directly into an input of interface (Studio 192, line input 2, mic preamp at 0), the input levels shown are strong and even clipping.

However, when viewing the recorded event (and of course also listening), the level is very low.

Why would the input level meters show close to 0dB but the recorded result is very quiet?

How do I get a good, strong signal recorded without clipping my inputs?

A similar thing happens with my PreSonus Studio Channel. When recording vocals, the recorded event will be fairly quiet when Studio Channel's meter is in mid-range. Only way to get the volume to be strong is to have the Studio Channel's meter slammed in the red. In this case, there seems to be no audible distortion or clipping in the final recorded result, although the Studio Channel's meter is pinned in the red at time of recording.

Answer 1

I've exactly the same problem, haven't figured it out yet...I'm using the emulated output of my Blackstar amp using the instrument input. hopefully somebody can help with this....?

Answer 2

I'm also getting clipping using the Blackstar emulated output on both my Blackstar amps. I can't use any high gain sounds or push the valves/tubes at all. Always end up reamping with amplitude which is really rather not do because of all the processing power it takes on my computer...

Wonder if there's a cheap attenuator I can put in between to fix it...

Answer 3

A person could die of old age waiting for the Presonus team to answer a simple question!

Answer 4

Im having the same problem. Only it started when I upgraded to version 4; version 3 was fine. My song files still play at regular volume this issue only applies to sources coming from a line input on the Audiobox 1818vsl.

Answer 5

I'm having a similar problem.  The input levels on the front of my Audiobox are set to zero and the signal from my guitar still clips.  I was using a Jackson with active EMGs so tried a Strat with passive pickups to reduce the signal - no difference.  I've been recording at home for a while but never tried mixing down until now.  The mixdown volume levels are really low and quite frequently clip.  I have read on multiple forums that the Audiobox USB 96 has a very common problem in being overloaded by guitar signals and the answer seems to be: get a different audio interface.  Has anyone found a solution to this or should I buy a Focusrite instead?  Hopefully PreSonus will reply soon..........................