Gain Staging Tutorial

[@SeedtoStage]

Check out my webinar where I create a track in Ableton Live from start to finish: courses.seedtostage.com/

[@alperen5742]

Bro you are a guru. I have become subscriber and hitted the bell. Please tell us whatever you know because we need all of them.. Thank you :D

[@Noldy__]

Why doesn't the video have scroll control? 😭😭😭😭 cause I miss a point and can't go back to it, then my browser refreshed and I now I have to rewatch from the beginning?

[@collins_channel8643]

im 3 minutes in and have learned more than i have in 10 plus years using ableton. this man is godsend

[@dariopandzic1344]

Maybe audio isn’t for you then my guy

[@collins_channel8643]

@@dariopandzic1344 It wasnt! that's why I switched to your mom 🧠

[@stephenfegely]

True

[@markuskopter]

Came here for another take on gain staging. Went with lots and lots of practical mixing advice. Thank you!

[@discombob93]

Same... feels like Ableton really leaves you for dead on the reasoning behind why all the little features and filters that appear on their plugins between versions to help the engineer. This video provides some good context.

[@niteesh.mp3]

Man, I've struggled to understand gain staging for the past couple of years that I've been producing my own music. This tutorial is just what I needed. More power to you and thank you!

[@sqguitar]

Dude, you are a LEGEND. Caps lock there to imply that the more I understand your tutorials (drive), the better results I get (output). Pure magic bro :)

[@yvancarbuccia6596]

I really love these tutorials, pretty underrated. You make me look at ableton in a different way

[@SeedtoStage]

you can always share my vids on social meds if you think they deserve it ;)

[@SHLDMusic]

Yes always great examples! Thanks

[@ganderson87]

"This is where you can use all the knowledge you've GAINED..." I see what you did there! Great video!

[@Shymusik]

You have helped me a LOT, from Sound Design to getting a good guitar tone and now here, hope ur channel grows a LOT!!

[@RandomNoiseMusic]

You just made me realize that my gain staging problem is very similar to my diet problem, its all about what i feed in! Seriously though, very few people in this community are able to explain and articulate these concepts the way you do. You are such a great educator and source of inspiration! 🙌

[@DJAF-g8j]

For some addition context, here's a brief explanation of linear vs non-linear effects in Ableton Live 11 Suite version: Linear effects are processing tools that operate in a straightforward, predictable way. Examples of linear effects include EQ, compression, and volume adjustments. These effects change the level or frequency content of the audio signal in a consistent and proportional manner. So, if you boost a frequency band using an EQ, the boost will be applied equally to all parts of the signal that fall within that frequency range. Non-linear effects are processing tools that can create more complex and unpredictable changes to the audio signal. Examples of non-linear effects include distortion, delay, and reverb. These effects can add harmonics, alter the timing of the signal, or create complex reflections and resonances in the sound. Unlike linear effects, non-linear effects can produce very different results depending on the input signal and the settings used. They often introduce some level of randomness or variability into the signal, making them more difficult to predict or control. So, linear effects are more straightforward and predictable, while non-linear effects can introduce more complexity and variability into the signal.

[@Artek604]

Thanks for this! I'll bookmark it to use next time I see someone reducing gain staging to just moving the track faders, which happens all the time... Also, great choice of examples to prove the point!! One of the best - if not the best - videos on gain staging I ever saw! :)

[@ELISHACAEZ]

I’ve never seen a video where the entire time I’m being fed new information… But then I saw it was Seed to Stage and well, That’s just what I expect from this awesome channel

[@ELISHACAEZ]

It's been a year and I'm back. I'm a hired Audio Engineer now who does this shit to feed my family. This video literally helped me learn gainstaging all over the place and now I can use any piece of equipment with the mindset of remembering my Signal Flow and doing things chronologically as far as what we are hearing on the speakers. It's like a Loop because it's literally the First thing I learned when I was being taught how to use real guitar effect pedals by my guitar teacher, the Order of Effects Matters! It's the same thing I use every day, and it's the heart and soul of engineering and not getting lost. Had to come back to check how it works in Abelton again, I've been using a lot of different equipment lately!

[@jb-vocalab7355]

This Guy Is Really Experienced, Honest & Full Of Knowledge Technically, Logically & Humble Hearted......Love u dear......god bless u......really gone crazy to stick to yr channel

[@wesleyolson2624]

Just finished watching your webinar. IM LOST FOR WORDS, I was following along and applying what i could to a song im working on currently. I have to say to make a song myself is very rewarding but the way youre helping me make it shine is mind blowing. When i can get your paid course i am getting it 100%. You gave me a completely new direction of inspiration to producing music, i cant thankyou enough youre a legend for real.

[@thesageofvisonaryroots]

Boss Battle! I love it. Came on here for a lesson on equalization and got so much more out of it. These videos have resparked my interest in audio engineering. In 1993 I graduated from ARTI's audio engeering program on Long Island post high school (I was also parenting a toddler). It was really difficult to work in the field because of the hours, so I did sound at shows for friends instead on the weekends. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

[@bongopro4401]

They aren’t boring concepts , I see that u talk abt minor details that are important without spending too much time and going straight to the point, u love to break down the details and I can dig it

[@kravvall4869]

The amount of information in this is insane

[@MichaliSarris]

Your channel is absolute gold for me, I'm trying to pick up producing with Ableton, a Push 3 and MiniFreak. Already saw a bunch of videos from you which helped me so much. Definitely going to watch the webinar too and might join a course in a couple of months. Thank you very much!

[@Henrytnk]

Literally the best tutorial on Gain Staging I've ever seen. Thank you so much!

[@SnazzyBoxx]

Thanks for telling us *WHY* with everything. It makes the info stick better. Best vid on gain staging

[@stefanbregenzer]

Best Ableton tutorials out ther. They're informative and very often show creative options I haven't thought of before. This inspried me to sit on my drums and twist the knobs in Ableton more than once!

[@zaimusic_150]

Man! I’ve always seen your videos in my recommend and even checked out a couple, I thought I was already subscribed but i WASNT. I am now! I’ve come away with more understanding from this video than any other video on gain staging. so thank you!

[@the-unconcious-mined]

Subscribing to your channel is probably the smartest (or luckiest) thing i've ever done in my 40yr music career. no cap

[@DRMegaone]

Cheers brother.Thanks for the training. No need to roll your eyes fam, everyone has a reason for their workflow setup.

[@Sergio-ee8xd]

who would've known I would of found probably the best video on gain staging I've ever seen in a simple channel. really random, wish more people could see this especially knowing how many terrible gain staging video there are out there

[@Mattysworld1]

Top notch content - well done and thank you. So clear, well explained, well-paced and supportive

[@ricardoayala8222]

Hands down the best gain staging tutorial I’ve ever come across!

[@brennden3232]

Awesome dude, subscribed. Thank you for describing things the way you did. I'm not in school for audio engineering or production so videos like these help me out a ton compared to plain text. I'll be studying up on your videos. Thanks again.

[@JacksonMade_Music]

this was fire. First time hearing linear and nonlinear effects and it totally makes sense to me.

[@jbtrumpet]

You are easily my favorite audio education station. Thanks for the hella informative videos!

[@trevoryearwood6377]

Brilliant stuff man ! (as usual) Thanks for this. I'll dig into your courses when gigs start up again. Cashless for a year now. Cheers !

[@Aroused_Pineapple]

Great tutorial, clear and well explained

[@neoconnor4395]

Dude, you rock. You're becoming one of my faves.

[@brendancarmona4521]

I came back to this with more knowledge than before and now I understand this so much better thank you. Also your earthcry set at secret dreams was amazing! I was vibing hard on a hammock lol

[@slowhaunt]

Nice! Love the section on balancing the limiter.

[@kharithagoddess6591]

Best tutorial on gain staging I’ve ever seen. Wow

[@ghoullyman]

Brother I just wanna say thank you this code was so helpful to me like seriously I’ve read countless books on this . I understand the mixing part but not gain staging etc and how to get my audio to sound good and this has helped me do just that thanks again . New sub also

[@mitchdodgemusic]

So many fundamental concepts, absolutely loved this video and even though some might be basic concepts // but it’s great for anyone also needing a refresher!

[@hurnmusic]

What a great video! I’ve seen so many gain stage tutorials on yt that just give complete misinformation! Nice work dude! :)

[@paullawson8610]

Got randomly directed to your channel by KZbin learnt loads thanks bro I've subscribed

[@bubonic06]

you're a legend man, these tutorials are so good!

[@ignaciosilvaolivares4181]

what a tutorial! thanks for so specific and detailed info, i had been looking for something like this. Greetings from Chile!

[@aloahe4807]

this is sooooo good omg.. you are a perfect audio teacher The Bass sounds so awesome

[@danieklerr]

Consistently, you bring good, practical knowledge to the people. I appreciate you.

[@kingyonkobeats411]

You're truly a great teacher! Thank you so much!

[@BenCaesar]

This is a moment of clarity

[@Mr.Meowgical]

I had a bag of dots before watching this, and you just connected them for me.

[@jakob_mierscheid]

Super super understandable. More useful than most videos in this niche. Keep it up!

[@millioregano]

Thanks for the tutorials. Youre knowledge and teaching skills helps so much!!

[@korallsthlm]

Great and important video many fail on! Just a tip to any one, using a VU meter can be a smarter option than just looking at the peak meter because the vu is more accurate to the overall sound. So if you have a VU aim for around 0db of VU and if should be good. ☺️

[@Jamusictv]

I feel like gain staging is the elephant in the room of mixing. Good stuff bro 🤙

[@DGame33]

That was very useful to me. Thank you❤

[@georgefenning4844]

Excellent. The First ..maybe the only …clear explanation. Cheers

[@borapora]

Excellent tutorial.

[@1rem1Art]

Excellent tutorial, thank you!

[@kinsmanifesto1]

Thanks for the knowledge!

[@altberg__]

Pure Gold. Thank you!

[@gooneybird808]

dude you are the best I will be taking your courses thank you

[@Kruse1]

Yep, haven't seen this explained elsewhere.

[@signaltouch7413]

you are the best instructor out there thank you for making this video

[@antidegenerates7449]

Great teaching skills

[@e_gad]

thank you g!

[@matboi]

Thank you audio jesus!

[@SumMischief]

This was so good. I now have a better understanding.

[@danlook8732]

Love your videos as I’ve learned quite a bit from them. Pretty much my go too for Ableton! Do you have a video on how to fix phase problems with 808s as That is what I’m currently struggling with. Thanks!

[@mattmatters153]

Dope. Appreciate this refresh/reaffirmation+tips. ✌🏽 and ❤️🌊

[@jripjrop9893]

thanks for these! Questions: how do I know if I should be adjusting the gain built into the plugin or use the gain in ableton? When should I use the output slider? What should I aim for with the dark green and light green volumes before master? thx!

[@LayersOfSilence]

Wow, thank you so much, now I’m think twice before «let’s crank up dat drive knob”

[@mimisaiko]

Thanks for sharing all this good stuff! 🤯🤯🤯

[@esaricharles]

Very nice!

[@goligoodgood]

this was so helpful, thank you!!

[@RGStorchai]

Love your channel, it's very useful!!! ❤❤❤ I'm curious, when u group plugins in rack, meters are disappear. Is it only a visual thing, or it starts works with peak between plugins differently?

[@lukeannis5844]

Thank you for this! Why no makeup gain on the master compressor?

[@rossco78]

Really good tutorial. Thank you.

[@franmaga28]

Great tutorial man! A few questions tho, in the last part (Glue Comp before Limiter) 1: shouldnt you compensate the output of the glue comp after compressing so it goes to the limiter with the same volume that before the compressor (but now with the peaks reducted obviously)? And 2: would it be useful to activate the soft clip button of the glue comp? what would it do to that signal chain and how would it affect the limiter behaviour? Hope this arent dumb questions bro, subscribed!

[@SeedtoStage]

1: The limiter has its own gain control so turning up the gain using the glue comp or the limiters input gain is functionally the same thing. 2: Softcliping makes for a more audible distortion and coloring of the sound due to introducing the clipping more gradually. This isnt the desired effect when the goal is transparently increasing a tracks overall loudness such as in this case.

[@franmaga28]

@@SeedtoStage Thanks!!!

[@sethschaeffer]

So helpful. Thank you!

[@rivella99]

9:00 Could you achieve the same result with no makeup in the compressor but setting the drive of the saturator to 16 dB? Or do these 2 knob effects differ from each other?

[@SeedtoStage]

In this case yes they would be essentially doing the same thing. Increasing gain before the clipping stage of the saturator. But bear in mind that each plugin is different and when you get new plugins be sure to research what is what as drive, gain, input, etc could mean totally different things plugin to plugin.

[@nicerinohighrollerino8307]

great video, man exactly what i was wondering about recently

[@autofocus4556]

The true Ableton Sage.

[@StuartwasDrinkell]

Thanks for all your vids youre my ableton guru

[@mingezo2921]

This is a great video

[@mattgraham1203]

Awesome, thanks so much!

[@richardchant7357]

Hi, correct me if I am wrong, but with the drive knob on the saturator, you mentioned that it’s an input knob, and you mentioned that they are the same thing as volume or gain but just named differently, and that if you drive 8db in you use the output gain and turn it down by -8db to balance the volume. Sorry, but that doesn’t seem to be the case as a drive knobs acts as an amplifier knob. Your adding textures to a sound and not just literally adding dB to it. If i have a sound, put a saturator on, turn up the drive by 4db, the sound will clip about 2.45db over. Which tells me that in order to create a nice balanced gain stage i only need to turn down the output gain by -2.45db and not 4. Same thing with the drive knob of abletons filters. If I add 3db on that, the volume will only exceed about 1db higher, not 3, which tells me that it’s not just a simple gain / volume knob. It adds textures and amplifies the sound. Can someone explain if I have that incorrect? Thanks

[@markuskopter]

You can test this yourself: Setup two tracks with the same audio signal. On the first track, use only a Saturator with Drive set to +12 dB. On the second track use a Utility followed by a Saturator, leave its Drive at 0 but set the Utility to +12 dB instead. Do both tracks sound the same? (You may even do a null test.) Then Drive is just adjusting the input level for the Saturator.

[@sabboumusicc]

Thank you so much !!!

[@the-unconcious-mined]

what track were you working on here? love it!

[@Carefullyprepared]

Great advice mate, keep it up! 👌😁

[@alfredomanzano8436]

I don´t understand why the gain indicators between plugins disappear when you create a group, is annoying

[@2morningz]

And why can’t they be the full height of the device strip?

[@serhiytorba]

cool video about gain staging

[@creations1775]

What is the different between gain staging & mixing

[@englewoodmusic]

Right off the bat this was helpful

[@xelagil]

thatnk you for these toughts

[@gasparlucas92]

Awesome content!

[@whnzmmr]

Thank you bro!

[@Nykronds]

this video is very helpfull bro thank you!

[@lennartlennart2264]

Thank you sir!

Very informative and useful. Thanks!!!

[@rekanlanksbd]

why didnt you add makeup gain in the last compressor that u put before the limiter. i could see 4 db gain reduction which makes me usually add 4 db makeup. can u please clarify. would really appreciate it

[@FathysalamaOfficial]

Great information

[@andrewjohnson2256]

thank you for this

[@verdean11]

I was wondering if you have seen the way Illangelo mixed The Weeknd's After Hours album in Ableton? It was the first time I saw someone using Ableton effects chains instead of Return Tracks.