Making (audio) gains

Post date: 2018-01-18 04:32:30

Why is my recorded audio so quiet, and how do I solve this?

I've decided that if I want to be recording more music, I need to fix the issues I have with my current setup so that I don't get frustrated with it. The major hurdle that I have right now is that everything I record is incredibly quiet. I feel like there must be something wrong with the setup, but if this is normal and I just need to get over it then I would also appreciate hearing that.

The current setup:
-Shure SM-57 mic (recording either vocals or acoustic instruments)
-Electric guitar plugged straight into audio interface
-M-Audio Fast Track Pro
-Windows 10 PC running Reaper or Cubase

I will usually adjust the gain on the audio interface until I can hear noise in the line and then back it off slightly. Playing back the raw audio in the DAW is barely perceptible and requires either really cranking levels or adding levelers/maximizers/etc. to get something that sounds "normal." Even if I push the gain on the interface to the point that I'm saturating the input it still sounds quiet on the computer (noisy and saturated, but quiet).

So what gives? What am I missing that's making this so difficult?

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