{ "version": "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1", "title": "Black Sun Audio | Recording, Mixing, and Mastering Studio", "description": "", "home_page_url": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com", "feed_url": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/feed.json", "user_comment": "", "icon": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/media/website/BlackSunAudio_Logo_v3_White_600px-2.webp", "author": { "name": "Quentin Høegh Nicollet" }, "items": [ { "id": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/blog/how-to-record-di-guitars-at-home/", "url": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/blog/how-to-record-di-guitars-at-home/", "title": "How to Record DI Guitars Properly at Home", "summary": "A DI track is the raw signal of your guitar, recorded before any amp or effect. It lets you – or your mix engineer…", "content_html": "

A DI track is the raw signal of your guitar, recorded before any amp or effect. It lets you – or your mix engineer – choose and change the amp sound later, through an amp simulator or by reamping into a real amp. But there's one thing a DI can't change: the performance and the guitar itself. Here's how to record DI guitars at home that will still sound great when the gain goes up.

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1. Get the guitar ready before you press record

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A high-gain amp or plugin magnifies everything in the DI – including tuning problems, dead strings and fret buzz. Sort these out first:

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2. Use a real instrument input

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Passive guitar pickups need to see a high input impedance, typically around 1 MΩ. Plug into your interface's instrument / Hi-Z input or a proper DI box – not a line input, which loads the pickups and makes the guitar sound dull and lifeless. Keep the chain short: guitar, one good cable, interface. Leave pedals out of the DI path unless they're part of the sound you want to commit to.

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\"Diagram:
Instrument (Hi-Z) input: full, clear tone. Line input: dull and lifeless.
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3. Set levels with plenty of headroom

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Record at 24-bit (or 32-bit float) and your project's sample rate – 44.1 or 48 kHz is fine. At 24-bit there's no benefit in recording hot. Aim for peaks around −12 to −6 dBFS on your hardest-hit chords and never let the meter clip: a clipped DI is a ruined DI, whatever happens to it later. Set the gain while playing the loudest part of the song, not the intro.

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\"Level
Aim for peaks between −12 and −6 dBFS on your loudest chords – and never clip.
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4. Kill the noise at the source

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Hum and buzz that are barely audible on the clean DI become loud once a distorted amp is added. Before you record:

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5. Monitor through an amp sim – but record the clean DI

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You play differently through a distorted sound than through a clean one, so monitor through an amp simulator with a low buffer size (or your interface's direct monitoring). Record the clean DI on the track, with the plugin only for monitoring. If you like your amp sound, print it on a second track too – it shows the mix engineer what you were going for.

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\"Diagram:
Monitor through the amp sim, record the clean DI.
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6. Play it the way it should sound in the end

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Editing and mixing can tidy things up, but they can't create a tight performance. This is where great guitar tracks are really made:

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7. Organise and deliver

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Name your tracks clearly (\"Gtr Rhythm L\", \"Gtr Lead Solo\"), write down which guitar and pickup you used, and keep your best takes. When you send the session for mixing, include the DI tracks and, if you have them, the amp-sim versions. My guide to exporting tracks from your DAW walks you through it step by step.

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Quick checklist

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Recording bass too? Read how to achieve a great bass DI sound. And when your DIs are ready, I can turn them into a finished mix.

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Further reading

\n\n", "image": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/media/posts/19/featured-di-guitars.jpg", "author": { "name": "Quentin Høegh Nicollet" }, "tags": [ "Home recording", "Guitar" ], "date_published": "2026-11-07T10:00:00+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-11-13T11:59:17+01:00" }, { "id": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/blog/how-to-export-tracks-for-mixing/", "url": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/blog/how-to-export-tracks-for-mixing/", "title": "How to Export Your Tracks from Reaper, Logic, Cubase, Pro Tools or Ableton", "summary": "Sending your song to a mix engineer? The most important step happens before any mixing: exporting every track as its own audio file, correctly.", "content_html": "

Sending your song to a mix engineer? The most important step happens before any mixing: exporting every track as its own audio file, correctly. Done right, the mix starts straight away. Done wrong, it costs time, money and sometimes a whole re-export. Here are the rules, and how to do it in the five most common DAWs.

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The rules, whatever DAW you use

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\"Two
Export every track from the very start of the song, silence included.
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Finally, check your export: create an empty project, import all the files at the very start and press play. If it sounds like your song, you're ready to send.

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\"Export
The settings that matter, whatever DAW you use.
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Reaper

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  1. Select all the tracks you want to export.
    2. \n
  2. Open File > Render (Ctrl+Alt+R on Windows, Cmd+Option+R on Mac).
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  3. Set Source to Stems (selected tracks) and Bounds to Entire project.
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  4. Choose WAV, 24-bit PCM and the project's sample rate. Give the files a name pattern that includes the track name.
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  5. Click Render.
    6. \n
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Stems rendered this way include each track's effects. For dry files, bypass the effects first – or use File > Consolidate/Export tracks, which exports the audio without track effects or volume.

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Logic Pro

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  1. Choose File > Export > All Tracks as Audio Files.
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  2. Set Save Format to WAV or AIFF and Bit Depth to 24-bit.
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  3. Tick Bypass Effect Plug-ins for dry tracks, and Include Audio Tail so reverb and instrument tails aren't cut off.
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  4. Leave Include Volume/Pan Automation off, unless your mix engineer asks for it – Apple's own guide notes that exporting without automation is generally preferable for processing elsewhere.
    5. \n
  5. Set Normalize to Off, pick a folder and click Save.
    6. \n
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Cubase

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  1. Set the left and right locators around the whole song, from the very start to just after the last note.
    2. \n
  2. Open File > Export > Audio Mixdown.
    3. \n
  3. In the channel selection, choose the channels to export. Cubase Pro and Artist can export several channels in one go; in some editions you may need to export them one at a time.
    4. \n
  4. Choose Wave, 24-bit and the project's sample rate.
    5. \n
  5. Name the files and click Export Audio.
    6. \n
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Pro Tools

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  1. In recent versions, select the tracks, right-click a track name and choose Bounce (Track Bounce).
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  2. Choose WAV, 24-bit, the session's sample rate, and Offline for a faster-than-real-time bounce.
    3. \n
  3. Make sure the selection runs from the very start of the session to the end of the song, so every file has the same start and length.
    4. \n
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On older versions without Track Bounce, select every track from the session start to the end, use Edit > Consolidate Clip, and then export the consolidated clips as files from the Clip List.

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Ableton Live

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  1. In Arrangement View, select the whole song from bar 1 to the end.
    2. \n
  2. Open File > Export Audio/Video.
    3. \n
  3. Set Rendered Track to All Individual Tracks. Check that Render Start is at the very beginning and Render Length covers the whole song.
    4. \n
  4. Turn Include Return and Master Effects off for mixing.
    5. \n
  5. Choose WAV or AIFF, 24-bit (or 32-bit), the project's sample rate, and turn Normalize off.
    6. \n
  6. Click Export.
    7. \n
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Before you hit send

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\"A
What to send: one file per track, your rough mix and your notes – tested in an empty project first.
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Recorded guitars or bass at home? Have a look at how to record DI guitars properly and how to get a great bass DI sound. Ready to have your song mixed? Here's how I work, and the prices.

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Further reading

\n\n", "image": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/media/posts/20/featured-export-tracks.jpg", "author": { "name": "Quentin Høegh Nicollet" }, "tags": [ "Mixing prep", "Home recording" ], "date_published": "2026-11-06T10:00:00+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-11-13T11:59:17+01:00" }, { "id": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/blog/how-to-get-a-great-bass-di-sound/", "url": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/blog/how-to-get-a-great-bass-di-sound/", "title": "How to Achieve a Great Bass DI Sound", "summary": "In heavy music, the bass DI is often the backbone of the whole low end – the clean, solid foundation that a distorted bass…", "content_html": "

In heavy music, the bass DI is often the backbone of the whole low end – the clean, solid foundation that a distorted bass sound is layered on top of. And a great bass DI isn't made in the mix. It's made by the strings, the instrument, the levels and, above all, the way you play.

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1. Strings decide the tone

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New roundwound strings are bright, punchy and full of sustain – that's where the \"clank\" comes from. Old strings sound dull and thuddy, lose their intonation and are hard to make cut through a dense mix. For a modern rock or metal sound, put on a fresh set before the session, ideally a day before so they settle in, and stretch them so they hold their tuning. Stainless-steel strings generally sound brighter than nickel. If you want a vintage, round thump instead, older strings or flatwounds can be the right choice – just make it a decision, not an accident.

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2. Set up the instrument

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A DI hides nothing. Have the intonation checked so notes are in tune all over the neck – especially on a low B string – and get the action and neck relief right. A little fret noise can add to the clank, but random buzz on some notes and not others is a problem you'll hear on every listen.

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3. Active pickups need a fresh battery

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A tired battery in an active bass can cause distortion, lost output and a thin, choked sound – often before the bass stops working altogether. Put a new battery in before the session and keep a spare in your case. Most active basses switch the battery on when a cable is plugged in, so unplug the cable when you're not playing.

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\"Three
Before you press record: new strings, a fresh battery and a checked setup.
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4. Input and levels

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Use your interface's instrument / Hi-Z input or a good DI box – an active DI suits passive basses well. Record at 24-bit (or 32-bit float) at your project's sample rate. Bass has big peaks, especially on hard-picked or slapped notes, so leave room: aim for peaks around −10 to −6 dBFS and never clip. Unless you really know your compressor, record without compression and leave it for the mix – you can always add compression later, but you can't take it off.

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5. Your playing style is your tone

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\"Bass
Where and how you pluck is part of the tone.
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6. Don't expect to fix it in the mix

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Editing, EQ and compression can help a good take sound great. They can't turn an uneven, noisy take into a good one – and every fix comes at a cost: edits can be heard, noise reduction dulls the attack, heavy compression flattens the groove. Play it the way you want it to sound in the end. If a take has string noise, buzz or sloppy timing, record it again. That extra half hour in the recording saves hours in the mix and gives you a better result.

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7. Tune, and tune again

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Bass strings drift as they settle and as you play hard. Tune before every take, and check the tuning against the guitars – a bass that's slightly out against the rhythm guitars makes the whole low end sound blurred.

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8. Always keep the DI

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Even if you record through an amp or a bass sim, record the clean DI on its own track at the same time. It gives your mix engineer the option to blend, reamp or rebuild the sound later – and in modern heavy mixes, the DI is often blended under the distorted bass anyway.

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\"Diagram:
Record the clean DI alongside the amp or sim.
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Quick checklist

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Recording guitars as well? Read how to record DI guitars properly at home, and when you're done, export your tracks the right way. If you'd like me to mix it, get in touch.

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Further reading

\n\n", "image": "https://www.blacksunaudio.com/media/posts/21/featured-bass-di.jpg", "author": { "name": "Quentin Høegh Nicollet" }, "tags": [ "Home recording", "Bass" ], "date_published": "2026-11-05T10:00:00+01:00", "date_modified": "2026-11-13T11:59:17+01:00" } ] }