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This is probably the most comprehensive gain staging tutorial in KZfaq

Finally, a gain staging video that talks about how, when, and why to gain stage, and does it in practical terms that are easy to follow and remember. Thank you!

Good news: I now know how to gain stage. Bad news: Now I gotta delete my bad mixes and redo them.

As someone with 10 years of experience, its amazing what I can learn everyday

Clarifying the important difference between GAIN/VOLUME really did it for me. You are a master at instruction! Thank you for making this concept so accessible! Subbed!

This is definitely the best gain stage tutorial I've seen. You explain everything so clearly.

This guy has the best gain staging tutorial on KZfaq

Finally someone explains this topic clearly, thank you so much for this videos, I am a fan of musician on a mission, keep doing this videos, you are awesome!!!

THANK YOU! This has truly demystified gain staging for me. This is detailed, easy to follow and understand. No fluff. All stuff.

Starting out the year tackling a mix for a super exciting track and this video was such a killer refresher. Keep up the good work guys! Cheers

After having watched a few dozen videos about gain staging, this one is by far the best one! The information is thorough, detailed and the examples spot on! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I love it!

The BEST gain staging video ever seen! Thanks for answering every single question I have in my mind for a long time.

I must have watched over dozens of gain staging videos and still did not know a lick about gain staging. Not so with your video. I now FULLY understand what gain staging is and how to do it. Thanks so much for your time in explaining this the right way. Subscribed.

You took (most) of the fear out of gain staging. Starting to really mix for real and this explanation is perfect! Thank you!

OMG thank you!!! You went over so much in the video in a clear cut way. This may be one of the best audio videos iv seen here on youtube. I will be checking out more of your video 100% can't thank you enough.

This is magic. I wish I knew this last year. You just changed the entire course of my production life.

I am only at the 17 minute mark of this video, and I already have a much much better understanding of not only gain staging but of all the tools used to do it. I really do have a much better understanding on how the different meters relate to each other. Thankyou and well done on a subject that is a mystery to alot of people. This video is a must watch for all of us who are trying to get there head around all to do with recording. 👍👍

Brilliant tutorial, answered all my questions and so helpful

Hands down the best gain staging video out there. Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us!

This is the most informative tutorial I have seen to date about gain staging. The tip about clip gain is key as I was using -3dB (normalised) but considering -6dB as the nominal waveform value. Thank you so much for the thorough answers here. Brilliant presentation. Subscribed.

Wow this explains why my mastering in Ozone would be clipping all the time when the mix was not. You cleared up a lot for me, thank you.

super helpful! Thank you for this great tutorial in 2021! Happy New Year!

Man, I was searching for something like this for ages. Excellent video and all my questions answered!

One of the best youtube-tutorials on gain staging. GS as it is. Proper explanation of the principles. I would advise it to all who want to understand this fundamental topic. Thnx from Kiev, Ukraine.

This immediately made a huge difference in my music. Thank you for all that you guys do. So clear, so concise, and sooooo helpful!!!

Comprehensive, straight to the point and easy to understand. Thank you for refreshing me on this!

Ah! What a relief to finally find a real complete guide on Gain Staging. I'm amazed to watch how efficiently all the minute details have been covered on the subject. Bravo! This is by far the best informative video on Gain Staging ❤❤❤

Thank you! A great video. Been looking for answers for a long time. Maybe the best gain stage tutorial I've found

Dylan, I have been trying to learn this for months. Today, I get it. I love your teaching method, speed, and style.

This is fantastic information! Thank you for explaining it in a way that also I who‘s just started out to produce music can understand it. Great job, just subscribed to the channel and looking forward to more great content.

Yes!!Happened to see this video on YT the other day while looking for something else and saved the link to check out-was I glad to hear Jake's voice-now I know I'm going to be learning a lot as I invariably do w/his excellent tutorials....

YES!!!!! Perfect!!! You have the best explanation online for gain staging period!!!

This is the best updated video since Rob made that tutorial! Thanks! Now I understand better! You made my day!

Staring January good I see!! Thank you, I can't believe you're putting tutorials this good for free.

This video has blown my world wide open, thanks so much for this tutorial!

I've been playing guitar and bass for well over three decades, played live plenty, and have been in professional studios numerous times, but I am new to home recording. This will help, thank you!

Cakewalk has a Gain knob at top of every channel - just like a physical mixer.

I mix virtual instruments with lots of plugins as I go along and wouldn't be able to listen to them gain staged evenly without going crazy, but it would make sense to set the few main elements to -18dBVU as a staring point. Thanks for the clear and instructive video.

Best video I've seen on this!! Well done!

I must have tried out about ten other videos on gain staging but this is by far the easiest to understand and apply. Wonderful explanation and helped me a lot with my mixing. Thank you!

I finally comprehend gain staging. Well done.👏🏽 Thank you!

Great video! Finally someone who explains this clearly and in a way that is easily understandable. Question: Once we start to add other plugins to each track do we just adjust the gain on the track further or does each individual plugin have to be adjusted? Also can any of the stock meter plugins in Logic Pro X be used for this method?

This is a fantastic video among so many effective videos on your channel. I have tough digital media for 20 years at the college level and I see the SAGE in you... you are a great teacher and communicator. I wish you the best as you share our passion. Keep up the inspiring work.

Fantastic. That was so easy to understand, finally someone actually tells you the levels to aim for and why!!!!!. I'm a fan.

This is is definitely the best video/tutorial on Gain Staging I've come across, blows the Izotope one out the water (which is still a very good video to check out in regards to their Mix Assistant feature). Answered 99% of my questions I had coming into this video (sort of answered the final 1%). For me I arrange the entire song out from start to finish of all MIDI related tracks (with very little, if any at all, of effects). Reasoning is to just get the idea down as fast as possible, so I don't do any Gain Staging during that period. Once I've exhausted all my MIDI Instrument Ideas and have the song structure laid out, I'll bounce all MIDI to Audio and start adding the Audio Samples I'd like to use in the project. This is where I get stuck on whether to Gain Stage at this point or wait, because in this point of the process I'm also adding effects and manipulating a few of the tracks depending on the genre (Dubstep bass for example). I do use Izotope Relay and Imager in correlation with their Mix Assistant feature which I love. The problem is (and this is where the Izotope tutorial falls short) there is no clear idea on when is the exact right time to use it, Izotope shows it in relation to doing the mix for someone else and not as if you're doing a personal project. I feel like I should be gain staging at the point of bouncing all MIDI to Audio files, but at same time feel it should be in my 3rd stage (which is where I start to add Vocals) after I've got much clearer image of the song and all the pieces to the puzzle have been laid out ready for mixing. Sorry for the length, hope it makes a bit of sense. Thank for the info, definitely gonna help.

Thanks man! You cleared my doubt what a great start to 2021 ❤️🔥

The finest presentation on the subject of gain staging I have yet seen - thank you So much!

Nice, I've learned a couple things here. Thank you!

This is one of the best explanations and demos of gain staging I've seen. You made it very understandable. Well done and thanks!

Been learning music production as a hobby for almost two years now. I finally get gain staging! Appreciate this

Thank you so much for this, they way you explain it and address every common misconception and doubts is superb.

Literally amazing!! Thank you so much for this awesome content that you guys are putting out! Kudos 🙌 any tips about gain staging between chains of plugins where they may alter gain? Would you be tweaking input gain and output volume along the way (from plugin to plugin) by soloing the track and using that VU meter on the master / mix bus?? (That’s going on my template today btw 😜)

In Logic, I usually do control my gain by using the input control of an EQ or compressor at the top of the plugin chain. The gain gets adjusted by the plugin input, and its output will be correct.

thank you for actually showing how you do it vs just talking about it. Makes a world of difference

I started sharing this with all of the producers and artists I coach. Comprehensive to say the least. Thanks!

Amazing way to kick off the year. Thank you for deep dive.

Thanks a lot for the video! IMO it made more sence in the old days when you'd mix on an analogue console and had to make sure it doesn't clip too hard or oversaturate. Nowadays it seems a bit redundant because you can saturate/limit/distort each track individually during recording or sound designing. BTW different plugins start distorting the signal at different input values as they are calibrated differently. So instead it would make more sense to me to quickly adjust the input gain of the first plugin on each track, be it channel strip, compressor etc. If your plugin distorts the input signal too much, lower the input gain until it doesn't. That's it. Make sure it sunds nice to you and don't bother too much about the meters on individual tracks. In regards to this topic I strongly recommend watching Mix With The Masters' Inside The Track 39 with Jaycen Joshua in which he literally says "Never look at the meters".

Thanks for all the detailed examples of “how to...” as well as the reason for doing it a certain way. Very practical!

I feel I went from a gain stage novice to a master. Didnt know about vu meter and now I get it totally!! THANKS!!

Awesome! I dont know the technical side but it would be great if modern audio interfaces had a visual VU meter built in so you could gain stage whilst tracking

There’s an advanced setting where in the mixer you have prefader and post fader views. This is where I gain stage. You’ll know when you’re in prefader mode because the vu meter will be on the left of the fader. Hope this helps.

I really thought I understood gain staging. I had no idea how little I knew. What a fantastic tutorial.

After watching several tutorials, yours is the only one that makes perfect sense to me! Excellent work. Thank you!

Thank you so much for making this video, I learnt a lot. During the 13min mark "Why can't I use my DAW's volume meter?", did you manipulate the volume fader to make the meter go -18dB or did you adjust the gain to make the volume meter around -18dB? There was one put in that section where it felt like you just cut and pasted and the meter suddenly became -18dB. Hope you will reply, thanks!

I’d forgotten I’d watched this video before and that vocal just killed me again.

Amazing! So straightforward and a great explanation for new producers and engineers

Oh man i wanted this video for a long time ❤️ Life saver

I really like your video it is laid out very nice. I think there are a few small areas where you are overlooking some things. In most DAWS busses have more headroom than individual channels so that summed channels don't clip. This includes the master bus. For me in protools, something hitting -5db is at -15 when sent to the master bus. You are having to push your tracks louder because the vu meter is not in line with the tracks. I'd think you'd want your tracks to meter in the sweet spot on its channel, not the master bus. Whatever your VU meter reads in line on the channel is what you send to a plugin on the insert, not on the master. That's why your levels are so low when trying to use the daw meter, the master has more headroom. IMO the daw's meter is still a decent approximation for gain staging, not it doesn't respond the same, but it also shouldn't be so off. I understand using the master bus speeds up the process, but I think you are unknowingly altering your results. Anyway that's what I think. I am no expert. Maybe there is something I am missing. Let me know what you think.

Great video thanks - so when you gain stage pre-mix - you probably have a lot of FX etc going on a track - do you then turn them off before you gain stage - and then turn them on afterwards ?

This is best and most clear video explanation about gain staging. Good stuff! ✊🏽

Happy new year boys! And thanks for all the great tutorials

Thanks for the video. I hope you won’t mind me offering a different view. Your method doesn’t take into account that most producers will arrive at a mix with a balance that they have already worked hard on and won’t want to lose. I would advise that preferable to individual gain adjustment, you select ALL the tracks and during the loudest part of the song apply a single gain adjustment to them all at the same time. I personally aim for around -18 LUFs overallto start, knowing that by the time I get to the end of the mix it will go up and be close to my final -14 LUFs destination. Thanks for all of the great content

I enjoy this for speaking to gain staging for individual channels, and their relationship to plugins. But I’d love to see a follow up that addresses the issues that will come from stacking so much channels with that much gain. Your aux busses and 2 buss would certainly clip with cumulative levels adding up. Any chance we see the follow up? Thanks for what you do!

This is by far the best explanation of gain.

Your explanation is fantastic,exactly what I needed Thank You. Looking Forward to follow your channel seriously !

The only question I'm left with is: am I best gain staging my tracks as I go along or once I've created my track removing all my plug ins and starting again? I've always processed and mixed as I create the track. It's the way I was taught in college and everyone I have ever worked with has also done this

Thank you for a very informative video. Just one question; isn´t it also important when you have a chain of plugs, that the output level of the individual plugs is about the same as the input level (in case the plug alters the level)?

Perfect. Answered the few questions I’m having at this moment. Thanks

Oh my god .. you totally changed my life with this tutorial.. so thankful . you will be my favorite you tube channel ever .subscribed, liked it and ringed the bell for more :)

The compressor has an input gain control. You don’t need to add a gain plugin in. Just turn the input gain on the compressor up. You are adding a redundant plugin.

This goes for recorded material. Its very helpful to use VU already during recording as you would do on a analogue console or a tape-recorder...

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much.

Thank you for taking your time to create such a valuable tutorial

Im mixing as I go and I've always gainstaged to -12 dbfs. I'll definitely try this out instead :)

What do you do after gainstaging when the plug-ins you add are making your samples/instruments louder?:)

Even before getting into the video, I knew this gonna be great !!

Wonderful! You and your brethren are really helping to shorten my newbie learning curve. Thank you!!!!!

Gain staging is a must do for tracking.. once it's in the box, it's true that plugins have sweets spot and boosting tracks to -18dbfs is a good idea. But the downfall is, if you have more than 30-50 tracks every faders on your daw will be down to avoid peaking the masterbuss. Not a problem until you want to make automations and you realise the precision of faders aren't that great around -20 to -50 db while being better -10db to + 10db . At least that is for most DAWS. You had a good idea with this video, it's just that it doesn't apply to every project. I usually record full band, with guitar dubing and tons of vocals, so I always make the DAW gain staging so that every tracks volume fader sits around 0db. Then when I want to do automations, it's easier to be accurate to what you want to hear.. Nice Voice over btw ! ;)

Two questions: how do you/do you need to gain stage reverb sends etc? Also, when u add a plug-in that may change the gain do u simply use the VU meter once again to note and subsequently correct changes? Thx! Bob Peace

dude , clean and clear and straight to the point... NO ONE HAS EXPLAINED IT LIKE YOU

Best explanation that I have ever heard. Thanks!

Nice video! I have a related question. If the plugins chain is very long, does it make sense to also check the dBVU before the last plugin(s) to keep having the sweet spot? e.g., I have compression, saturation, and something else which adds (gain?) volume to the chain's output, should the VU be checked again so that my last plugin is also getting a sweet spot gain? thanks a lot!!!

How’s the gain stage applied to subgroup processing? What’s the sweetspot level for a subgroup and its plugins?

I have been hunting for the answers, now I have found it. Will look back to my mixes. Thank you so much. I owe you!

wow, thank you so much, this is real great man! thanks for all the effort you put in your videos. this one really helped us!

This video was very helpful, but I'm super confused about the part where you said -18 dbfs is equivalent to 0 VU and then purposefully contradict yourself by showcasing the snare hits, which were peaking at 5 dbfs while hitting 0 VU. When you say -18dbfs = 0VU, are you actually referring to the AVERAGE level and not the peak value? And if that's the case, wouldn't a dbfs measurement like RMS theoretically be more accurate and appropriate to compare with VU?

FINALLY SOMEBODY IS TALKING ABOUT THIS!!!!!!

Wow!!! this was so helpful!!! Thank you!!! Simply amazing. You eased my mind on mixing. I can now concentrate on mixing and having fun.

Thank you thank u 10q so muchhh!!!! Dylan Spine really did well in terms of explaining certain terms and the video editing is so pleasing to watch and easy to understand 😁 people are so amazing, they never fail to impress me…