Playback different from record.

If input monitoring, playback should be indistinguishable from recording except for the negligible contribution of the acoustic sound of the guitar in the room during recording. Any chance you had a second track echoing the input but not recording it? Louder almost always sounds 'better'.

So are you saying your security camera picked up the audio of your guitar via your studio monitors or guitar cabinet?
 

amiller
Keep in mind that the guitar lead is being recorded DIRECT from my Kemper. There are no mics involved. I'm monitoring the recording session and playback through the same exact setup. 

Ah but there IS a mic involved. Speaker cabinets too.


You're listening to the sound recorded by your security system. How did the security system record that sound? With a mic, correct? And how was the sound being produced in order for that mic to pick the sound up? It was playing through your reference monitors, correct?

If so, then there you go. It is almost inevitable that the audio you hear from your security system will sound different than it will when it comes right from the computer to your reference monitors. The fact that is sounds better on the security system makes the situation worth looking into.

So now you must determine what the combination of reference monitors and security mic as well as security mic placement might be doing to the audio. Is the security system mic in a corner of the room? A corner where standing low frequency waves might live? Standing low frequency waves that might make a guitar sound fuller perhaps?

Sounds like its time for experiments to me.

I'd check for something that causes phase cancelling in Sonar, thus thinning out the sound (bus routing? plugins? even odd things like e.g. AD2 causing unexplainable phasing when using parallel compression via Sonar buses ... yeah had that happen, still don't why ...)

Stick a mike in the room or right at the monitors, turn off input echo, and record it to second track next time and see what that sounds like.. I myself like a speaker in the signal path of my guitar.. not a big fan of direct and this might be what your hearing, boring old direct tone. The speakers are adding something good, in a way your studio monitors are now your amp cabinet. 

There are many variables here which we know nothing about.
 
First, try and define "sounds better". does "better" just mean louder?
 
What is the position of your video recorder in relation to your monitors? You could be picking up all manner of phase cancellations and reinforcements in fact I'd be amazed if you weren't.
 
If the video systems is relatively far away from your monitors, the room sound will come into play which will be picked up by the video mic.
 
How big is your studio? Is it treated? Do you have any bass trapping?
 
Unless there is a gain structure problem somewhere then personally I think you're chasing your tail on this one.