Recording Basics: Levels & Mic'ing
Before any mixing or editing happens, a recording has to actually be captured well — and that comes down to gain staging, mic placement, and giving yourself options with multiple takes.
Setting input gain
Input gain controls how strong a signal is before it's recorded. The goal is simple: set it so the loudest peaks sit comfortably below 0 dB, the point at which digital audio clips and distorts. Too low, and quiet passages get buried in noise once you turn things up later. Too high, and your loudest moment turns into a harsh, crackling mess that can't be undone after the fact. The sweet spot leaves headroom — a safety margin between your peaks and the ceiling.
Mic placement and the proximity effect
Where you put a microphone changes the sound as much as which microphone you use. Move a mic closer to a voice or instrument and you'll typically get a more direct, present sound — plus a bass boost known as the proximity effect, which is why radio announcers sound so warm and deep right up on the mic. Move the mic farther away and you'll capture less bass boost but more of the room's natural reverberation.
Close mic'ing: direct, present, boosted bass from the proximity effect.
Recording multiple takes
Very few performances are perfect start to finish, so producers routinely record several takes of the same part. That gives two options later on: pick one take outright because it's the best overall, or comp together the strongest sections from each take into a single, better-than-any-single-one final performance — a topic covered in the next lesson.
Common questions
What is input gain?
The setting that controls how strong a signal is before it's recorded. Too low buries detail in noise; too high causes clipping.
What is clipping?
Distortion that happens when a signal's peaks exceed 0 dB. Avoid it by leaving headroom below that ceiling.
What is the proximity effect?
A bass boost many microphones produce as a source moves closer — warmer and more direct up close, less bass and more room sound farther away.
Why record multiple takes?
To give yourself options — pick the best take outright, or comp together the strongest sections of several takes into one final performance.
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