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Audacity: Monitor and adjust input levels

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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

  1. Click the small microphone icon on the recording meter.
  2. Select 'Enable Silent Monitoring' to see input levels before recording.
  3. Talk into the microphone as you would during the actual recording.
  4. Observe the meter to ensure levels do not enter the Red Zone (above -3 dB).
  5. Adjust the gain slider within the meter or on your hardware to keep levels below -6 dB.
  6. 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”

  1. 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.AudacityAI Audio Editor
  2. 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.AudacityAI Audio Editor
  3. 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.AudacityAI Audio Editor
  4. 12:400:48Save an Audacity projectThe user demonstrates going to File > Save Project to create a local .aup3 file to preserve the recording session.AudacityAI Audio Editor
  5. 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.AudacityAI Audio Editor
  6. Watch “Audacity Step by Step Tutorial for Beginners - 2026” →

AI Audio Editor

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  9. 3:060:12Normalize audio in AudacityThe user shows how to navigate to the Volume and Compression menu to apply a -1 dB normalization to the selected audio track.Mike Russell
  10. 3:180:32Apply Compressor settings in AudacityThe demonstrator configures the Audacity compressor by adjusting threshold, makeup gain, and ratio settings to flatten the vocal dynamics.Mike Russell
  11. 3:500:09Second normalization pass in AudacityA second normalization step is demonstrated to bring the compressed audio back to the target -1 dB level.Mike Russell
  12. 4:080:17Apply Limiter in AudacityThe user demonstrates applying a limiter effect with a -5 dB threshold to chop off high-end peaks and finalize the audio levels.Mike Russell
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