Audacity: Monitor and adjust input levels
Audacity
Demo summary
The demonstration shows how to enable 'Silent Monitoring' on the recording meter to check for clipping and adjust the gain slider to stay below -6 dB.
Step-by-step
- Click the small microphone icon on the recording meter.
- Select 'Enable Silent Monitoring' to see input levels before recording.
- Talk into the microphone as you would during the actual recording.
- Observe the meter to ensure levels do not enter the Red Zone (above -3 dB).
- Adjust the gain slider within the meter or on your hardware to keep levels below -6 dB.
- Click 'Disable Silent Monitoring' once levels are set.
Options
- Drag the meters to resize or reposition them for better visibility
- Double-click the slider icon to open a popup with a larger gain slider
- Adjust gain via the Audacity slider, an audio interface, or a microphone gain knob
Watch out for
- Recording in the Red Zone (above -3 dB) causes clipping or distortion that cannot be fixed in post-processing.
- Avoid recording levels that are too low, such as audio that never crosses -24 dB.
Tips
- Aim to stay below -6 dB during recording as a general guideline.
- Keep the Audacity gain slider at 100% and adjust levels via your audio interface hardware if possible.
- Prioritize talking from a proper distance to the microphone to ensure the best recording quality.
- Use a larger meter size to make reading levels easier.
Highlights
“if you can make sure the levels are okay there will be less headache after processing”
All demos from “Audacity Step by Step Tutorial for Beginners - 2026”
- 2:422:00Select and configure a microphone in AudacityThe narrator demonstrates how to use the 'Audio Setup' button to select a recording device, including how to rescan for newly connected hardware like the Scarlet 2i2 interface.Audacity· AI Audio Editor
- 4:500:33Enable the Device Toolbar in AudacityThe user navigates to the View menu and Toolbars to enable the Device Toolbar for easier monitoring of active audio inputs.Audacity· AI Audio Editor
- 9:482:00Monitor and adjust input levelsCurrentThe demonstration shows how to enable 'Silent Monitoring' on the recording meter to check for clipping and adjust the gain slider to stay below -6 dB.Audacity· AI Audio Editor
- 12:400:48Save an Audacity projectThe user demonstrates going to File > Save Project to create a local .aup3 file to preserve the recording session.Audacity· AI Audio Editor
- 13:580:15Playback recorded audioThe narrator demonstrates clicking a specific spot on the timeline and using the space bar to play back the recorded clip.Audacity· AI Audio Editor
- Watch “Audacity Step by Step Tutorial for Beginners - 2026” →
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