Distortion sound

turn down the gain at the mic pre, first plug in the mic then put the channel fader at optimum level, the 0 mark, then use the mic gain adjustment at the mic pre to set the level on the channel/ input meter, if recording using a digital platform keep the level as high as possible without going into red at all on the channel/ input meter, use the master fader to adjust listening volume and use the channel fader to make fine adjustments if needed but the point is to primarily use the mic gain knob to adjust the input level. If you are recording a loud instrument or cabinet with it then you may want to use the pad on the mic or the pad on the console/ mixer if after going through the above steps the level at input is still too hot, should be a switch on the mic or console wich says pad, if the mic has one then use the one on the mic instead of the one on console.