How to solve the "OVER" problem?

[64Guitars]

What I've been doing lately is.............find where I can Jam IT....Whammy IT, Chord IT hard!!! and NOT get a "over", then I bump it down yet Another notch.....maybe it has something to do with my style of playing, but this is the SAFETY ZONE!!!!!!

Yes. It's impossible to precisely set the optimum level because our playing dynamics are continually changing. So, to avoid clipping, it's a good idea to factor in a safety margin. But we should still try to set the optimum level, then back it off just a bit, as you described. What we should not do is just set the level at some arbitrarily low value. That might avoid clipping, but it will also take all the punch out of our recordings and possibly introduce noise. So always set the input sensitivity as high as possible without lighting the OVER indicator, then back it off just a bit for safety. The same idea can be applied to recording levels. Set the level so that it peaks in the top three segments of the IN level meter, with the topmost segment (0dB) lighting very seldom, if ever. Then reduce the level slightly as a safety factor.

[hewhoiscalledj]

and if it still seems impossible, you can introduce the LIMITER effect into the chain with a very conservative 0 or -1 setting. this does affect the dynamics of the song, but not necessarily in a horrible way. i mainly only suggest doing this if you are recording heavy distortion and lots of it.

that or have someone adjusting levels as you record... in the analog world, this is called "riding the faders"