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What is Gain Staging?
Gain staging is the practice of setting healthy levels at every step of your signal chain — from input, through plugins, into the master.
- Every plugin has an input level. If you feed it too hot, it can distort or behave unpredictably.
- Aim for peaks around -12 to -6 dBFS on individual tracks. Way below clipping.
- Leave headroom on the master — peaks under -6 dBFS so your mix has room to breathe.
- 0 dBFS is the digital ceiling. Hit it and your audio clips and distorts (the bad kind).
- Check meters as you go. Quiet, clean tracks beat loud, distorted tracks every time.
Gain staging isn't sexy, but it's the difference between a mix that's easy to finish and one that fights you.
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