In a recent tutorial, we looked at gain staging in DAWs, a subject that lots of people are talking about and on which opinions vary significantly. One area in which managing gain properly definitely makes a significant difference is proper matching of gain into and out of plug-ins.

Plug-ins that emulate analogue hardware are a special case and are not addressed here but even with purely digital processes, it is important to match gains. Not because of the effect it has on the sound but because of the effect it has on the listener. This isn’t about avoiding clipping, hopefully, everyone understands that is bad. This is about using gain to help you make good mixing decisions.

Watch the free video tutorial to see it demonstrated.