how much gain is to much gain?

[holesinhappy]

hey guys I use alot of distortion, I'm the typical alt rock outfit but my gain levels live sound great, but when recording.... They seem WAY over the mark... hard to hear changes, it sounds like running a fuzz peddle into an amp on a lead channel with gain at 15 lol.... I was wondering what people do for distortion? Not to mention I don't mic, I record direct due to bad grounds in my house. I do it to eliminate hum... any suggestions will be much appreciated! Thanx

Love IS
Danyael
The Used Guitar Guy

 

[Sonixx]

...Not to mention I don't mic, I record direct due to bad grounds in my house. I do it to eliminate hum...

this does not make sense to me. actually connecting to pieces electrically is more likely to create a ground loop than by using a mic.

I'm the typical alt rock outfit but my gain levels live sound great, but when recording....

secondly, I presume the tones you like are through your cab/speaker and recording is direct? two totally different beasts. if you must go direct, then look into cab emulation/convolution.

and of course, the obligatory reduce the gain when tracking, which IMO is casting a wide net that may or may not be necessary.