EP 08 | What Is The Gain Knob For On A Live Audio Console?

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Get gain right and everything else falls into place. Really!
Even though managing levels is one of the core concepts in live audio its still widely misunderstood. Today I hope to unpack exactly what the gain knob does (and how it affects the device its attached to) and how to use it properly.
We'll cover:
Is it "bad" if your gain is super high?
What levels should you be shooting for?
Should you use a pad?
And much more!
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[@mauriciogonzalez3429]

God bless you. These videos have been very good guidance. I'm about to start my audio tech studies after doing this for over ten years. Your channel has been very helpful thru out the process.

[@samjones3009]

Brilliant explanation. Thank you for sharing!

[@chubiyojoachegbulu7561]

This is good. It's never boring to learn this over and over.

[@FOHGeek]

Or to be simple, gain knobs are used to "normalize" or "unify" level of different incoming signals in accordance to a standard (0VU or -18dBFS) before letting them into the following processing chain.

[@jonajazz97]

Gracias Michael !

[@johnmatt5660]

Michael, thank you for sharing your experience with the community. I use an A&H GLD-80 that has a Trim adjustment in the preamp configuration. How is the Trim different than simply setting the Gain accurately?

[@MatthiasKlingner]

Gain is the analogue amplification, before the signal get's converted to the digital domain. Trim is just a "digital offset". Because the trim is just on a digital level, you can change it independently just on your desk, without affecting anything else, that uses the same signal. (Like another channel, that uses the same input, or even another mixing console, that uses the same stagebox and input, for example for a separate monitor or broadcast mix) The gain is an analogue circuit on the stagebox or local desk input, that gets remote controlled. So if two desks use the same stagebox with the same inputs, if you would change the gain on the stagebox, both desks would notice the difference in level. (which you normally don't want). So maybe in short: Use the (analogue) gain, to get your level to a good working level, so the analogue-digital converter can work in its best range. Use Trim in special cases, where you need to change the level at the beginning of your channel strip, but without wanting to change the level hitting the AD Conversion. (Because you don't want broadcast desk to notice your level change, for example.)

[@theroman1009]

thanks for the great lessons

[@feuerraider4533]

i think forgot to delete your first introduction. After about 2 min there is a second introduction😅😂

[@vikrantwalawalkar]

😂

[@theberndog]

@ 2:16 lol yep

[@videyo098]

Too much coffee = word salad

[@theroman1009]

second