a little help

[JGunnerG]

Hey all, i had a couple of questions maybe someone could answer for me. Fist of all on my recording meter with no instrument plugged in, im picking up a signal and it hovers around -45. YOu can hear it in the recording, but i want to get rid of it. Any ideas?
Also, when i plug straight into the soundcard, how can i hear the signal before i record so i can tweak a little bit on the instuments side before recording? One more, i just plugged in my acoustic guitar to the soundboard through the 1/4 inch to the soundboard, the the recording meter clips and stays at clipping with the guitar volume all the way down. Any ideas on how fix these things?
If it helps as of now i have soundblaster live (soon to be upgraded as soon as i have the money to do so) and im also going through my old stereo (im getting some nearfields also....eventually)

[TimOBrien]

The SBLive is a noisy, gaming card.

But make sure you go into the Windows Audio Mixer and turn off ALL other inputs except the LINE-IN (and ONLY record from the line-in port!). Having multiple inputs opened on an SBLive will almost always raise the noise floor to annoying levels.

ALSO make sure you TURN OFF (uncheck) the "What You Hear" input that loops sound through the gaming effects. This will cause echos and loops that could be making your guitar screech.

Be sure to read the manual and check out the troubleshooting sections at audiominds.com too....