diff --git a/beets/config_default.yaml b/beets/config_default.yaml
index 032a457ff..c8696ecf9 100644
--- a/beets/config_default.yaml
+++ b/beets/config_default.yaml
@@ -61,6 +61,6 @@ match:
     medium_rec_thresh: 0.25
     rec_gap_thresh: 0.25
     max_rec:
-        partial: low
-        tracklength: medium
-        tracknumber: medium
+        partial: medium
+        tracklength: strong
+        tracknumber: strong
diff --git a/docs/reference/config.rst b/docs/reference/config.rst
index fc85e2b97..95af534ab 100644
--- a/docs/reference/config.rst
+++ b/docs/reference/config.rst
@@ -363,13 +363,16 @@ To define maxima, use keys under ``max_rec:`` in the ``match`` section::
 
     match:
         max_rec:
-            partial: low
-            tracklength: medium
-            tracknumber: medium
+            partial: medium
+            tracklength: strong
+            tracknumber: strong
 
 If a recommendation is higher than the configured maximum and the condition is
 met, the recommendation will be downgraded. The maximum for each condition can
-be one of ``none``, ``low``, ``medium`` or ``strong``.
+be one of ``none``, ``low``, ``medium`` or ``strong``. When the maximum
+recommendation is ``strong``, no "downgrading" occurs for that situation.
+
+The above example shows the default ``max_rec`` settings.
 
 .. _path-format-config: