recording help ?

[Dazzer40]

I am recording with Ableton live 9 -  Windows  10 - 2 monitor speaks - hd500x  straight to laptop usb .  I have noticed the sound is different when I listen back on recording  . when I play  back the guitar part which I use heavy distortion it sounds like fizzy or over the top distortion sound in the recording. So if I hit record and start  play my guitar it   sounds right  but when I play it back on the recording  the guitar sounds different .

[DunedinDragon]

I suspect the problem lies in what you're monitoring when you record.  I imagine you have source selected  when recording so you avoid any latency and hear what's coming out of the 500x, so you're not hearing what's really going "on tape" when you're recording.  You should be able to configure Ableton to playback the signal that's being recorded rather than from the source when you are recording on that track.  But that could also produce some latency.

 

In all likelihood you have the input gain on the Ableton channel too high which is causing it to clip.  If that's the case you can leave it monitoring the source and just lower the recording input gain so the signal is at the correct level.  Try setting your gain on that channel so it peaks at about 6db below 0 or unity (-6db).  That should ensure a good signal.  You can always adjust it up for playback, but once it's recorded overmodulated  you can't fix it.

[Brazzy]

I set up using headphones from the pod this way I hear what I'm recording. Good tips from the 2 before me.