7/2/2023 0 Comments Soundboard knobs![]() ![]() You need to do this with each plugin you use. It makes our judgement way less accurate. So if we don’t make the loudness level consistent from one plugin to the next, then we won’t know if the plugin is actually making the instrument sound better or just louder. Gain staging is important because our ears perceive loud sounds as “better” than softer sounds. So, basically, the level that’s coming into the channel is the same as the level coming out. Gain staging is the process of making the dB level of a sound consistent throughout the entire processing system. And that’s a good thing, because it’s so important! Gain staging is a term that gets thrown around a lot. So now that you know what gain means, what’s gain staging all about? Another word for volume, or how loud the output isīe aware: when you’re mixing, you’ll probably see all three of these being used!.So in today’s world, gain means three things: Overloading the guitar amp with gain so that the speaker can’t process the guitar cleanly.īecause of this, gain sometimes has a third definition – distortion. That’s how guitar distortion was created. Most guitars had both a gain knob and a volume knob, meaning that you could send a ton of gain into the amp, overload it, then keep the volume reasonably quiet with the volume knob. There was also the gain on a guitar amp, which turn up the level of the guitar. This turned up the level of the mic, which would change how the analog tech in the recording console would affect it. There was the gain on the microphone preamp. How loud something is AFTER processing doesn’t change the tone of the sound.īut how loud something is BEFORE processing definitely will.īack in the analog days, gain was used in two ways: It’s the volume level being sent into your plugins, preamps, and amplifiers. So the gain controls how loud something is before it goes through any processing. However, the more popular definition for gain is the decibel (dB) input of a system. For instance, the “makeup gain” function on a compressor is really just the output volume with a different name. You see this commonly on digital plugins. Sometimes, gain is just another word for volume. That’s led to some differences in definition: This is because the makers of our digital tech have simultaneously tried to copy analog gear while also forging ahead to make their own stuff. But in the advent of the digital age, “gain” has started to mean several things. In the analog days, gain was a very simple concept. Here’s the important thing: The volume does not change the tone of the sound. If you’re in your car, the volume is how loud you turn your music up on your speakers. If you’re using a guitar amp, the volume is how loud you set the amp. If you’re mixing, the volume is whatever level is sent from your channel to your stereo output (or whatever bus you’re sending to). Basically, volume is how loud something is after it’s been processed. Volume usually means the decibel (dB) output of a sound system. What Is Volume?īetween the two, the definition of volume is pretty straightforward. Until now, everyone has been teaching production totally backward.īut if you just want to learn all about Gain and Volume specifically, keep reading. We put together a brief training that covers a totally new approach to music production. I’m guessing you’re here because you want to make your mixes sound professional. Get industry-quality every time (steal this framework) Once you’ve finished reading, you’ll be making better mixes with more control over the tone of your instruments. Knowing the difference between gain and volume could change the tone of your instruments forever. They seem so similar! Does the difference even matter? “What’s the difference between gain and volume? They seem like the same thing.”Īnd they’re right to ask that. A question I’ve been asked a lot by my students is this: ![]()
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