CLIP GAIN vs FADER AUTOMATION

CLIP GAIN vs FADER AUTOMATION
#mixing #cubase #mixdownonline
The “Clip Gain” feature is a very powerful tool in Cubase. With this feature, you can adjust the track level before any processing. (Think about it like the gain feature on your favorite preamp, but directly in Cubase!)
In this video, I’d like to demonstrate how I apply this feature. But wait, there’s more! I also compare this feature with another tool that has a similar function, "Fader Automation" to show you the difference between the 2 approach.
If you have any more ideas on how to use these features, please comment below!
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[@MrVleker]

You keep on answering questions I never even knew I wanted to ask! These are very useful, thanks!

[@buckwhiteway9989]

Great job as always. You are terrific at explaining in a way everyone can understand. Thanks

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@alexanderfischer1293]

Thanks man. Awesome description of what each 'side/end' does. It took me a good while to understand it and I am always happy getting confirmation that the "picture" I have in my head is right :-) .

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome, Alex

[@danielvest89]

Great. Just on point and exactly what I needed! Thanks !

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@kurtwieting]

This is by far the best explanations NOW I understand it! TY !

[@mixdownonline]

Glad it was helpful! :-)

[@vsolic]

Very simple and to the point explanation. Thanks Chris!

[@mixdownonline]

Thank you Vlad!

[@starsandguitars2050]

I learn something every week. Thanks Chris!

[@mixdownonline]

Now, that's pretty cool :)

[@analogkid4557]

Great tip. I have used it but wasn't sure how it was effecting things. Thanks again, Chris!

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@sven7977]

Great tips for beginners who wants to improve their skills Chris! But for us more seasoned DAW-people - and for Cubase in particular - I think the more interesting next question after clipgain vs fader is clipgain vs PRE automation. For vocalists (especially for live stage recordings), I would automate the PRE to compensate for swallowed words and varying microphone distance. /E

[@mixdownonline]

Yes, I will talk about Clip Gain automation in a near future Cubase Tips video. Basically, Pre gain and clip gain will do the same, affecting the gain of the whole channel (Pre Gain) or an audio event (Clip gain) both can be automated :-)

[@MrVleker]

That Crossfade tip is also very useful, I watched a course on Cubase but it didn't cover that, thanks!

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@timjonesguitar]

Great video as always Chris!

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks Tim!

[@nelsonmoloi3767]

Hi Chris thank you so much that's very straight forward.

[@mixdownonline]

Glad you liked it!

[@Joshen-TheMysticKeys]

Hi Chris. Is there any way to edit clip gain like pro tools and many other Daws. Without chopping into new events

[@thomaskinzel3084]

Thanks Chris, love your videos!! Have you tried using the draw tool on a clip? It gives you the option to draw clip gain automation right on the waveform.

[@mixdownonline]

Ye and it will be part of a Cubase tips video planned for August :-)

[@thomaskinzel3084]

Chris Selim - Mixdown Online Thats awesome!!! Thanks again for all your amazing content. Go Cubase!!!

[@eds5709]

Very useful advice! Thanks Chris ;-)

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@subhanmandal6315]

hello i would really like ur help when i do volume automation i always use a plugin like freeg so i can get control over the whole automation with Cubase fader but the problem is it is not fast enough when i try to automate the a drum hit with realy near the wave spike it does not work i can hear the hit so i tried to reduce the level to 0 to test and then i see that i can hear the hit that means it some of the wave form is not muting that so i tried it with waves cla-2a its by reducing the gain to zero but still i can hear the drum hit if i automate it very near the spike.....but cubase fader volume automation works better.when i render using cla 2a it does mutes the part but i can hear it during play back...plzz help...note. i did reduce the spike detection range to 0 ms in automatiuon panel...i am using cubase 10.0.5

[@TheShaman]

Unfortunately the "Pre" section isn't available on Cubase Elements version 😅 for the moment i have to do it using the event fader

[@markoshun]

Hi, great info. Great explanation between clip gain, pregain and faders. Question, I had to watch again just to be sure but I didn’t see/hear anything about automation. I’ve automated the faders, but haven’t automated clip gain. When would it be useful to do that? Thanks

[@mixdownonline]

Yes, you can also automation the gain and also the clip gain which I will show in a near future Cubase Tips video

[@MichaelClearyBand]

Thank you! Is there a way to gradually affect the clip gain level? for instance you want it to gradually increase or decrease. thanks!

[@tubeman1983]

Add key frames for that, then adjust them how you want them 👍

[@tubeman1983]

Your videos are amazing! Well explained and so clear! Thank you! I work mostly with Audio for video. And I have been having: The dialogue audio at -12dB Background Music: -30dB And so on. Reaching all these levels adjusting the gain and leaving Channel Track Fader at 0 (unity). I think I've been doing it wrong. Do you think I should have all of my audio levels coming at -18dB (adjusting the gain, so they have a healthy signal level to work well with effect) and then correct the volume level let's say of the background music using the track faders? I hope it makes sense. Thank you! :)

[@mixdownonline]

As far as you're not peaking and you have headroom when you mix, you're good. I Pre-Gain mainly at the beginning of the mix, than it's all about Faders.

[@mgmthegrand]

Hi All. Anyone know why pre-gain is not affecting the input level? When I adjust either the clip gain or the pre-gain, I can hear the level increase but for the pre-gain the input level remains the same on the mixer.

[@jrholmes79]

When I do a selection...I do not get a middle square option to adjust the gain on the clip...kind of frustrated, since I could do this process before upgraded to 10.5 by just processing and applying. I’m wondering if my download was not right.

[@jayteesgear]

you just RULE brother

[@mixdownonline]

Thanks!

[@sammytheman8994]

Thanks for this video man.. I notice when I move the gain on some parts of a track that it either loses its life kind of or makes it loud and flat sounding. Lol what the heck am I missing?

[@mixdownonline]

That's because you have some processing on your track like compression and stuff. When you clip gain an audio event, that will affect the gain going into any plugin inserted on that track.

[@kurtwieting]

I had a question: great video btw. (!) Situation: vocal is ideal first 2/3 of song sung at moderate levels with two compressors doing light/ moderate work. Last 1/3 of tune, vocal gets very ‘hot.’ Would it not be best to bring down vocal in clip gain to match or come closer to the first 2/3 of song so that the compressors are being utilized in a consistent manner? The compressors on the track currently are not able, with their moderate settings , to handle the louder vocal. I utilized a third compressor specifically for this part using a higher threshold so it would only kick in at this section. Unfortunately, the vocal character changes. What might you do in this situation? I guess one could utilize both techniques and tweak tweak tweak till it’s ‘right..’ 🤔

[@tonyrayjones1550]

Good advice Chris thanks as always ...hope to see you at Summer Namm in Nashville,!

[@mixdownonline]

Hey Tony, I'll by at NAMM tomorrow and Friday... Shoot me an email if you're planning to come during those days [e-mail]

[@tonyrayjones1550]

@@mixdownonline we will be there on Sat only

[@mixdownonline]

I might have to go back Saturday afterall but for a short amount of time in the morning

[@ethanrogers8426]

Great video! I love cubase for these purposes. Gain staging is amazing with cubase, I work in edm and ableton needs to take some notes because cubase is a daw destroyer. Pro tools with their dedicated plugins is a mistake and is what make me choose cubase as my studio daw. The future is with steinberg.

[@mixdownonline]

Yeah, Cubase is GREAT!

[@taiyabkamaal681]

Thank you!

[@mixdownonline]

Welcome!

[@ragingchimera8021]

Thanks Chris, very helpful. Question.... If I have a very dynamic vocal and I do not want to squash the heck out of it with a compressor I use the "pencil tool" to "draw" my clip gain structure on the track to even out the levels before running it into the compressor. This is a bit time consuming obviously but I feel I get better results.... But being new to Cubase I am wondering is there a better way to accomplish this?

[@mixdownonline]

This is a good way to go actually, whatever way you look at it, doing so takes time but worth it in some situations. You can also cut your audio event and lower or bring louder with Clip Gain those parts. With clip gain, you can also bring up an event opposed to the Pencil tool, but might have to cross fade a few events... Go with what you like best.

[@darrenfox5165]

You can also draw volume automation on the actual audio file for microscopic editing in addition to volume automation of the channel of course

[@mixdownonline]

Yes, you're correct...that is actually part of my new Cubase Tips video that I released this week :-)

[@MrTerryGene]

Hey Chris, How do you add the same plugin across multiple channels at one in Cubase? I know Option+Drag will do one at a time, but I can't seem to fine the answer anywhere. Thanks

[@mixdownonline]

You can Insert several plugins at the same time by selecting several channels and Click on Q-LINK on top of the Mix-Console. This will link these selected channels for the time Q-LINK is active...From that point, insert a plugin and the plugin will be inserted on all selected channels. That will not work if you Drag a plugin from another channel on these selected channels though

[@verdi260]

Chris thank's again for pretty known but useful video. Jan

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@heliosorio]

Is the clip gain destructive? Is there any loss of information if you change many times??

[@ShonnMorris]

Chris, your videos are like gold! My question is; is there a way to set the sensitivity of the clip gain? In Cubase, I find that I have to move my mouse a huge distance compared to when I do it in ProTools which seems much more sensitive.

[@mixdownonline]

Good question, the gain sensibility will change according to the vertical size of the track. If you size down the track the sensibility will decrease... hope that helps

[@ShonnMorris]

@@mixdownonline I think so. So if I size up the track to a very large size, it becomes more sensitive? Also, I have some vocal tracks where there is no pan slider. How did that happen?

[@ShonnMorris]

@@mixdownonline Nevermind, solved the panning issue.

[@mixdownonline]

The Pan was probably deactivated! Happy you solve it!

[@rocksrrpcodm]

Thanks Chris

[@mixdownonline]

You're welcome!

[@OnKeyboards]

Hi Chris, in Cubase pro 10, some audio parts are called "file" in the info line and I can set their gain. Most of the parts, however, carry the name of the track and have no part gain. Are they regions? Should I convert them into separate files, so they would have gain controls too? Edit: Okay, I've discovered Audio --> Dissolve Part and that seems to do the magic :-)

[@mixdownonline]

Yes, you found it!

[@deanmccormick7347]

Great, but why is it not in the EDITOR when the region has been double clicked?

[@TheDrumhead54]

Great tip! Can you explain more on Crossfades someday?

[@mixdownonline]

Sure

[@ThomsenTower]

Thanks. What would be the difference between using clip gain and “audio processing” (I think that is how it is called.)?

[@mixdownonline]

Clip gain will affect the gain only...and Direct Offline Processing can be used with any processing available (plugins) Hope that helps

[@ThomsenTower]

@@mixdownonline Thanks for your quick answer, but no, it does not help. If I have an audio file and through Audio/Statistics, for example, I see it has an integrated loudness of -11 LUFS. I may want to lower this to -18 LUFS. If I do it by subtracting 7 LUFS through direct offline processing, it falls in volume, but Statistics also show it as -18 LUFS. If I do it through clip gain, or pre gain for that matter, it falls in volume, but Statistics remains unaltered. The audio remains unprocessed. Also, while I am at it, if I use clip gain I see the waveform shrink. If I use the Pre gain, it does not. Confusing. My Q is if any of these alternatives affect the quality of the audio. Thanks!!

[@mixdownonline]

LUFS is a measurement useful in mastering, irrelevant in a recording and mixing imo... It measures the average loudness of a track, . . The reason you don't see a change is that Audio/Statistics analyzes the audio event as it was created, clip gaining it down will not change the file itself until you bounce it to a new file and then analyze that new bounced audio track. If you want to know the amount of LUFS of your track when you clip gain, use the LUFS meter off the Control Room if you use Cubase Pro. But again, no use to work with LUFS in recording or mixing, use DBFS or VU

[@ThomsenTower]

@@mixdownonline Thanks for your reply. I do not want to waste more of your time. But I must say I think you are wrong on what you say about LUFS. There are Integrated, Short Term and Momentary loudness measures. I find them all useful. Regards!

[@mixdownonline]

I know that and don't get me wrong, I love LUFS when mastering but never use it when recording or mixing... I don't need to mesure loudness of a track when recording and mixing...

[@klaytongaldino5261]

Hello Chris! Can Gain clip automation be replaced with "Input filter - Pre gain" automation? Would it be the same?

[@mixdownonline]

Yes, for sure :-)

[@klaytongaldino5261]

Chris Selim - Mixdown Online Cool! Thanks for responding, your KZbin channel is awesome.

[@jakeMFbacon]

How did you make the HC, LC, Gain etc a knob instead of a bar?

[@mixdownonline]

I will answer in a Q&A video. Which Cubase version are you working with?

[@jakeMFbacon]

@@mixdownonline awesome, thank you Chris. I am using cubase 10.5 pro

[@marciomeneka]

Hello Chris, I'm a producer here from Brazil and user of cubase 10 pro. I often record shows live, have in a project 10 music on a track. I would like to know how I can export these separate songs, creating unique projects for each song, and mixing them separately. I did not find an easy way to do this in cubase. Thanks Chris

[@mixdownonline]

I did produce a lot of live recording in Cubase, I will add to my list and produce a video on this. :-)

[@marciomeneka]

Thanks Chris, I started to follow your videos, they are sensational. I'll wait anxiously@@mixdownonline

[@AndreasDevig]

Chris, where can I contact you for the possibility of mixing/mastering my album? Also, in your "MIX YOUR VOCALS - How to use volume AUTOMATION" you say you start out the vocal mixing process with automation, but here you say that it comes later?

[@mixdownonline]

Yes you can, my schedule is full for the rest of 2020 but you can reach me at [e-mail]...I'm starting to book 2021

[@daddydanny5588]

gr8 vid ... bt why dont u do practical comparision :))

[@TaoStein]

Jump to 2:40 for how to increase or decrease clip gain

[@giulioboobzilla]

U should hav shown clip gain wit pencil tool

[@mixdownonline]

Yes, I could've but I'm gonna keep this one for my next Cubase Tips video coming in August

[@matrixate]

Video starts at 2:33 and ends at 2:44

[@sideast]

Headroom is your friend ....

[@teddym2808]

I just wish every DAW in existence copied pro tools' way of doing clip gain (not needing to split clips) and drag and drop midi to audio.. then I wouldn't be so attached to it.

[@teddym2808]

Just made a video showing what I mean if anyone is interested.. BTW there are no crossfades required here, this method of clip gain does not create any kind of clicks or pops.. which really goes to show how much time you save when lots of edits are required. You can also render it to the clip via key command or right click. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnOkqn6aiMxmkKM

[@mixdownonline]

In Cubase, you can use the Pencil Tool and draw a clip gain curve also but that feature is limited imo and the way PT works in that regard is pretty cool... Thanks for sharing your video :-)

[@teddym2808]

@@mixdownonline the pencil tool in cubase is useless for clip gain.. you'd have to be a masochist to use it.