wow, I've been throwing the meter on the master and using the GarageBand gain utility and switching plugin windows. Super time consuming. I had no idea the meter can add gain. You just saved me a ton of time. Thanks.
Much faster! The meter likely uses more CPU power than the gain plugin, but unless you are doing it on a BUNCH of tracks, you likely won’t see any issue. And if you needed to- you could figure how much on the meter then switch it out for a gain plugin at the same db value- still much faster!
Colin, I just found your channel recently and from what I've seen so far, the content you are putting out is top notch. Just wanted to say thanks for all the work you're doing. Much appreciated.
Colin, dear Colin! I am blown away with your non-selfish aptitude towards teaching the skills you have acquired over the years of your professional career. Your skill in presenting the precious data in a precise manner that is well supported with an awesome audio-video recording is like unto the heavenly manna. My main work in GarageBand is to sing my vocals with a music track prepared by music composers. For this kind of work where I have to deal with only two tracks, should I do the gain staging you have described to both the tracks...the music track and my recorded vocal track? Thanks in advance.
This is a great question! I likely wouldn’t gain stage the music track because you likely aren’t doing much EQ or compression on it, are you? I would gain stage your vocal though!
@@TheBandGuidewouldn’t be important to get the levels right on a two track? Sunscreen they can be so loud from uploading from the producer? SOS! VIDEO FOR TWO TRACK RECORDING MASTER SENSEI! 😅
This is the best tutorial on gain staging that I’ve run across. I see it’s a couple years old but better late than never. Looking forward to going through some more of your videos.
Since i started recording music before the digital explosion i have been pretty awared of getting an optimal in-signal but as usual after watching your videos I raise my digital awareness of the options in garageband. Thanks! :)
Thanks again for the important lesson on gain staging. I've misunderstood the concept a bit, using an outboard mixer to set a hot level going into my USB interface into Garageband, so I'd have a hot level hitting the plugins when recording, but I see now that this is a more nuanced approach. I'll still use my analog Behringer outboard going in, but I'm going to bring the levels down a couple of db, play around with it and use my MV meter on individual tracks going in so I'm hitting as close to the sweet spot as possible without overdoing it, coming in with too hot a signal. Thanks again!
Previous to seeing this tutorial, I was gain staging using a simple 2 channel Behringer analogue mixer into my Focusrite 2nd Gen 2i2 by running the Right and Left out of the board into Inputs 1 and 2 on the interface, and selecting Line for both channels. However, I'm keen to sit down with the MV meter this afternoon and see if I can get better results gain staging my main tracks with the VU Standard and of course the Peak Standard for drums and other transient heavies.
can you touch on the use of vocal riders, whether you use them, how you use them, and at what stage in your mixing process you use them? love your vids!
Good morning Colin. Your tutorials are not only making us better at making music, but are effective in turning GarageBand also into a pro level application👍. Didn't even know that there was anything called gain staging till now! While measuring the signal of the snare, you have chosen the setting of VU Standard on the VUmeter whereas for the previous instruments the setting was init. Are both VU Standard and init the same?
can you make a gain staging video for logic. Or more specifically make a video for how to gain stage band practice so it sounds good through headphones through just the interface and mac
Hi Colin! Your videos have been very helpful to learn GarageBand. In your 6 step process, Step 1 Static Mix, you use the mvMeter with the "Peak" option in the master track to set the loudest part of your song. My question is, at which part of the process are you using the UV function as you have demonstrated here?
Collin, I 'm just starting to record my voice and am finding your content so helpful. Thank you for posting this incredible content. I do have two questions that you may have answered before. I am working on my vocals and generally drag in an already-existing mp3 or tracks from a track splitter. I am working on the gain from my mic when I do the vocals but how do I make sure that my vocals are at the right levels relative to the other tracks? How do I reduce the volume of the tracks? In this video, I see that you change the volume of certain tracks but from where do you do that? It doesn't look like you lower them in GB. I haven't moved up to having a sound interface other than my iMac/GarageBand.
Great video...thank you! I record with GarageBand on my new MacBook Pro. I tried to download the mvMeter2, but it would not let me download it to my MacBook (I suspect it did not meet requirements)....strange
I really apreciate all your tips, I had to start all again in my recent mix becouse of this, just wondering if you also check the green light of the fader it doesn't go over the midle of the knob of the fader wich is trasnparent, This is just and observation of another tip a got before. Thanks so much for keeping this chanel so helpfull...👌
So, I followed direction in your “static mix” and the very first thing you recommend and I came to intuitively was to set volume levels using the meter in “peak mode” to get all track volumes and master volume to close the the “sweet spot of -3 or slightly less to leave headroom for mixing. Now I see the gain staging. Shouldn’t this be done during the volume balancing stage? Because, as you mentioned, what if you’ve recorded a super quiet track that you nailed and want to keep. Wouldn’t you want to add gain at that point to get proper volume up to the “sweet spot” on the “peak setting”? And if so, how will that gain translate to the O (-18 db) sweet spot when you check that gain track, (or any of the other volume balanced tracks for that matter) on the “VU” setting? I will check to see if all the tracks are at or close to the “O” setting on the VU. Is this something that we may want to do in conjunction with the volume balancing stage? I really enjoy the vids! Very straight forward and easy to understand.
Great question! You should leave it on since the gain knob knob on the meter is setting the proper volume for the track before it hits the other plugins. You could also replace the meter plugin with just a gain plugin set at the same db to save CPU!
@@TheBandGuide i notice that the recording level slider often has to be set pretty high. So the gain you use here is an external plugin you have to download?
One question Colin: In your 6-step process for mixing, you have not told at which stage this Gain staging has to be made. Can you please tell us more in detail?
Great question! This is actually a process that should happen before you start mixing since it impacts the volume levels of your tracks and how they’ll be impacted by any plugins on them, etc. If you’re already far along with mixing a track- I wouldn’t worry about it! But something to keep in mind for future mixes
@@TheBandGuide If I want to gain stage before I record, can I use this MVMeter to do this? I want to be able to send clean tracks to a producer gain staged before I start adding effects. In other words, can the meter show my input level?
So I use GarageBand iOS and I don’t have the luxury of using a free VU meter but I do have the privilege of using the youlean meter so that I tried to get all my tracks to that measurable -24 DB or around there. So what game plug-in should I be using at the top of my chain for gain staging so that I can get to that measurable DB? From my understanding I do not want to use the compressor for that only after the gain staging I would use compression, so what I use like the overdrive plug-in or something so that I could increase or decreased the gain to get to that -24, DB?
hey bro thanks for this tip! However I downloaded the MVM2 Plugin for free from the site for MAC, and the plugin just wont show the Gauge meter, I can only see the config panel, any guide or help would be super appreciated, couldnt find anything online... and checked the manual.. I downloaded both versions... seems to be a bug or perhaps something Im doing wrong?
It has to do with how it hits the plugins. If the track was recorded really loud or quiet it hits the plugins really loud or quiet. Not always a problem… but can be
Thanks Colin. Very helpful information on a topic I knew nothing about. I've got a question: I've been drumming since 1964, but have over the years learned to play guitar and now leading worship. I have grandkids, who I am recording now in GB with a Scarlett 4i4 and a couple of them want to be drummers. Something I am wanting to do is to record my drums, not in loops but in individual hits (snare, toms, kick, various KZildjian and Paiste Signature cymbals, hit hats, djembe, etc), but have not been able to find a good description of how to do that in GB. Colin, if you wanted to save your snare sound in GB, how would you do it?
Thank you! That’s a good question 🤔 how are you hoping to record and use the individual hits? Will you record one hit then place it around into a drum part? Or will you record all the hits for a song broken out by individual hits?
Thanks Colin. Yes, I’m thinking I would like to be able to take individual hits, and place in a track, similar to what I can do now with the stock GB sounds.
Cool video, Colin! Quick question for you... how do you mix after gain staging? Because I originally thought gain staging was part of the process. Do you just put each instrument at the appropriate VU meter level, set the input sliders to zero and then balance it from there?
That’s a great question! Have you seen my video on the 6 steps to a pro mix? Basically I would do any gain staging needed before I actually start mixing then jump into that mixing process.
I have been working for several hours, and I cannot get this meter to work in GarageBand. I have the plug-in installed in a master track and in an individual track. But if I bring the volume down on the master track, the meter shows no change - still redlines, help!
That's correct, Chip- the volume fader comes AFTER the plugins on a channel, so pulling down the volume fader won't make any difference to the level seen by a plugin on that channel. I would check out this video explaining the volume at different stages in your GB: ruclips.net/video/eqSuLKoiRY4/видео.html
So after gain staging, do you turn up your tracks main volume? Because the volume in the headset sounds quite low? So I’m wondering if it was played off a phone or radio, would it be too quite?
Thanks for the informative video, Colin! I have a question: do you (or anyone else) know why Garageband would crash immediately after opening the mvMeter2 plugin? I’m running macOS Sierra version 10.12.6 and GarageBand version 10.3.2. In the Graphics/Displays section it lists the chipset model as Intel HD Graphics 4000, and it says that Metal is supported. I emailed TBProAudio about this problem and they never replied. Thanks for any help!
Hey Colin, really useful info as always. Unfortunately the MV Meter won't work on my laptop as my graphics card isn't compatible - do you have any suggestions for free alternatives I might be able to use?
Hey Matt! One of my students on here said they emailed tbproaudio about the same issue and tbproaudio sent them to a link to download a legacy version that should work with your computer!
Thanks, Joe! It really applies to anything you will be doing much processing on or that’s really prominent in your song. So some midi tracks might benefit/require it (lead/prominent tracks) while others won’t (background pads/synths/etc)
Sometimes I have to restart my computer after installing new plugins in order for them to show up. It will be at the bottom under “Audio Units.” Also, be sure you have “Enable Audio Units” selected in your preferences
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‼️ Download the free 6-Step PRO MIX Checklist here: www.thebandguide.com/6stepPROmix ‼️
I’ve watched several videos explaining gain staging, but this is the first one where I actually feel like I understand it. Thanks Colin!
Awesome! Always my goal 🙌🏼
wow, I've been throwing the meter on the master and using the GarageBand gain utility and switching plugin windows. Super time consuming. I had no idea the meter can add gain. You just saved me a ton of time. Thanks.
Much faster! The meter likely uses more CPU power than the gain plugin, but unless you are doing it on a BUNCH of tracks, you likely won’t see any issue. And if you needed to- you could figure how much on the meter then switch it out for a gain plugin at the same db value- still much faster!
Colin, I just found your channel recently and from what I've seen so far, the content you are putting out is top notch. Just wanted to say thanks for all the work you're doing. Much appreciated.
Hey thank you! That means a lot.
Colin, dear Colin! I am blown away with your non-selfish aptitude towards teaching the skills you have acquired over the years of your professional career. Your skill in presenting the precious data in a precise manner that is well supported with an awesome audio-video recording is like unto the heavenly manna. My main work in GarageBand is to sing my vocals with a music track prepared by music composers. For this kind of work where I have to deal with only two tracks, should I do the gain staging you have described to both the tracks...the music track and my recorded vocal track? Thanks in advance.
This is a great question! I likely wouldn’t gain stage the music track because you likely aren’t doing much EQ or compression on it, are you? I would gain stage your vocal though!
@@TheBandGuide Thank you. You should be right. The music track already has all its required engineering. I am blessed by your works.
@@TheBandGuidewouldn’t be important to get the levels right on a two track? Sunscreen they can be so loud from uploading from the producer? SOS! VIDEO FOR TWO TRACK RECORDING MASTER SENSEI! 😅
This is the best tutorial on gain staging that I’ve run across. I see it’s a couple years old but better late than never. Looking forward to going through some more of your videos.
i often come back and watch this video over again when im in album mode and it's helped me tremendously. Thank You.
Your videos are always game changing for a beginner like myself! Thank you!
Since i started recording music before the digital explosion i have been pretty awared of getting an optimal in-signal but as usual after watching your videos I raise my digital awareness of the options in garageband. Thanks! :)
I had never even heard of gain staging but will be doing it now. Thanks 😊
Hey you're welcome! 🙌🏼
Thank you for another invaluable demo Colin. I will apply this to my mixes. Best regards; James
Thanks, James!
thank you very much,"the Band Guide "
Thanks again for the important lesson on gain staging. I've misunderstood the concept a bit, using an outboard mixer to set a hot level going into my USB interface into Garageband, so I'd have a hot level hitting the plugins when recording, but I see now that this is a more nuanced approach. I'll still use my analog Behringer outboard going in, but I'm going to bring the levels down a couple of db, play around with it and use my MV meter on individual tracks going in so I'm hitting as close to the sweet spot as possible without overdoing it, coming in with too hot a signal. Thanks again!
Great tutorials, I am always learning. Clear explanations and easy to understand keep on the great job
Thank you!!
More wonderful info , cheers Col 🙏
Thanks, Lee!
Your content is amazing! Keep up the great work!
Thank you!
Cheers Colin! Excellent!
Thanks, Tim!
Cool subbed
Previous to seeing this tutorial, I was gain staging using a simple 2 channel Behringer analogue mixer into my Focusrite 2nd Gen 2i2 by running the Right and Left out of the board into Inputs 1 and 2 on the interface, and selecting Line for both channels. However, I'm keen to sit down with the MV meter this afternoon and see if I can get better results gain staging my main tracks with the VU Standard and of course the Peak Standard for drums and other transient heavies.
can you touch on the use of vocal riders, whether you use them, how you use them, and at what stage in your mixing process you use them? love your vids!
❤ well done m8 said a teaches me to be better x
Take a shot, every time he says "super". 😂😉
Seriously, this is an essential subject you touched on!
😂 that would be a dangerous game with this video!
Good morning Colin. Your tutorials are not only making us better at making music, but are effective in turning GarageBand also into a pro level application👍. Didn't even know that there was anything called gain staging till now! While measuring the signal of the snare, you have chosen the setting of VU Standard on the VUmeter whereas for the previous instruments the setting was init. Are both VU Standard and init the same?
can you make a gain staging video for logic. Or more specifically make a video for how to gain stage band practice so it sounds good through headphones through just the interface and mac
Hi Colin! Your videos have been very helpful to learn GarageBand. In your 6 step process, Step 1 Static Mix, you use the mvMeter with the "Peak" option in the master track to set the loudest part of your song. My question is, at which part of the process are you using the UV function as you have demonstrated here?
Collin, I 'm just starting to record my voice and am finding your content so helpful. Thank you for posting this incredible content. I do have two questions that you may have answered before. I am working on my vocals and generally drag in an already-existing mp3 or tracks from a track splitter. I am working on the gain from my mic when I do the vocals but how do I make sure that my vocals are at the right levels relative to the other tracks? How do I reduce the volume of the tracks? In this video, I see that you change the volume of certain tracks but from where do you do that? It doesn't look like you lower them in GB. I haven't moved up to having a sound interface other than my iMac/GarageBand.
Great video...thank you! I record with GarageBand on my new MacBook Pro. I tried to download the mvMeter2, but it would not let me download it to my MacBook (I suspect it did not meet requirements)....strange
I really apreciate all your tips, I had to start all again in my recent mix becouse of this, just wondering if you also check the green light of the fader it doesn't go over the midle of the knob of the fader wich is trasnparent, This is just and observation of another tip a got before. Thanks so much for keeping this chanel so helpfull...👌
So, I followed direction in your “static mix” and the very first thing you recommend and I came to intuitively was to set volume levels using the meter in “peak mode” to get all track volumes and master volume to close the the “sweet spot of -3 or slightly less to leave headroom for mixing. Now I see the gain staging. Shouldn’t this be done during the volume balancing stage? Because, as you mentioned, what if you’ve recorded a super quiet track that you nailed and want to keep. Wouldn’t you want to add gain at that point to get proper volume up to the “sweet spot” on the “peak setting”? And if so, how will that gain translate to the O (-18 db) sweet spot when you check that gain track, (or any of the other volume balanced tracks for that matter) on the “VU” setting? I will check to see if all the tracks are at or close to the “O” setting on the VU. Is this something that we may want to do in conjunction with the volume balancing stage?
I really enjoy the vids! Very straight forward and easy to understand.
Great video ! Once I gain staged a track using the mvMeter2 Plugin should I leave it on or can I remove it from the plugins ?
Great question! You should leave it on since the gain knob knob on the meter is setting the proper volume for the track before it hits the other plugins. You could also replace the meter plugin with just a gain plugin set at the same db to save CPU!
@@TheBandGuide i notice that the recording level slider often has to be set pretty high. So the gain you use here is an external plugin you have to download?
@@TheBandGuide That's a cool advice ! Cheers
5:52 is the knob you're using increasing the input or the output gain?
What’s the name of the track off Goldbrick Champion that’s in this video? I adore the lyrics!
On My Way by Broke Royals!
What the difference between gain staging vs static mix?
Why can’t I open the meter anymore?
So before even mixing should I check my drum mics and make sure they are hitting around -6 on the peak meter?
Yesss I saw him comment to do all that level checking before you start mixing! If you still needed this 10months later😂😁
One question Colin: In your 6-step process for mixing, you have not told at which stage this Gain staging has to be made. Can you please tell us more in detail?
Great question! This is actually a process that should happen before you start mixing since it impacts the volume levels of your tracks and how they’ll be impacted by any plugins on them, etc. If you’re already far along with mixing a track- I wouldn’t worry about it! But something to keep in mind for future mixes
@@TheBandGuide If I want to gain stage before I record, can I use this MVMeter to do this? I want to be able to send clean tracks to a producer gain staged before I start adding effects. In other words, can the meter show my input level?
So I use GarageBand iOS and I don’t have the luxury of using a free VU meter but I do have the privilege of using the youlean meter so that I tried to get all my tracks to that measurable -24 DB or around there. So what game plug-in should I be using at the top of my chain for gain staging so that I can get to that measurable DB? From my understanding I do not want to use the compressor for that only after the gain staging I would use compression, so what I use like the overdrive plug-in or something so that I could increase or decreased the gain to get to that -24, DB?
I downloaded the Mv Meter but I can't find it.
Are there any vu meter for iPad garage band?
hey bro thanks for this tip!
However I downloaded the MVM2 Plugin for free from the site for MAC, and the plugin just wont show the Gauge meter, I can only see the config panel, any guide or help would be super appreciated, couldnt find anything online... and checked the manual.. I downloaded both versions... seems to be a bug or perhaps something Im doing wrong?
What is the difference between, on a recorded track, increasing the gain and just mixing it in louder?
It has to do with how it hits the plugins. If the track was recorded really loud or quiet it hits the plugins really loud or quiet. Not always a problem… but can be
Thanks Colin. Very helpful information on a topic I knew nothing about. I've got a question: I've been drumming since 1964, but have over the years learned to play guitar and now leading worship. I have grandkids, who I am recording now in GB with a Scarlett 4i4 and a couple of them want to be drummers. Something I am wanting to do is to record my drums, not in loops but in individual hits (snare, toms, kick, various KZildjian and Paiste Signature cymbals, hit hats, djembe, etc), but have not been able to find a good description of how to do that in GB. Colin, if you wanted to save your snare sound in GB, how would you do it?
Thank you! That’s a good question 🤔 how are you hoping to record and use the individual hits? Will you record one hit then place it around into a drum part? Or will you record all the hits for a song broken out by individual hits?
Thanks Colin. Yes, I’m thinking I would like to be able to take individual hits, and place in a track, similar to what I can do now with the stock GB sounds.
Cool video, Colin! Quick question for you... how do you mix after gain staging? Because I originally thought gain staging was part of the process. Do you just put each instrument at the appropriate VU meter level, set the input sliders to zero and then balance it from there?
That’s a great question! Have you seen my video on the 6 steps to a pro mix? Basically I would do any gain staging needed before I actually start mixing then jump into that mixing process.
@@TheBandGuide I'll try that! Thanks. :)
I have been working for several hours, and I cannot get this meter to work in GarageBand. I have the plug-in installed in a master track and in an individual track. But if I bring the volume down on the master track, the meter shows no change - still redlines, help!
That's correct, Chip- the volume fader comes AFTER the plugins on a channel, so pulling down the volume fader won't make any difference to the level seen by a plugin on that channel.
I would check out this video explaining the volume at different stages in your GB: ruclips.net/video/eqSuLKoiRY4/видео.html
So after gain staging, do you turn up your tracks main volume? Because the volume in the headset sounds quite low? So I’m wondering if it was played off a phone or radio, would it be too quite?
As many thanks are not enough to show you my appreciation for all these beautiful lessons. I am truly your fan.
🙌🏼 I appreciate your support!
So if I'm getting this right this won't effect the output volume of the tracks, or do I have to adjust that if i'm for example raise the gain volume?
Thanks for the informative video, Colin!
I have a question: do you (or anyone else) know why Garageband would crash immediately after opening the mvMeter2 plugin?
I’m running macOS Sierra version 10.12.6 and GarageBand version 10.3.2. In the Graphics/Displays section it lists the chipset model as Intel HD Graphics 4000, and it says that Metal is supported.
I emailed TBProAudio about this problem and they never replied.
Thanks for any help!
Hey Colin, really useful info as always. Unfortunately the MV Meter won't work on my laptop as my graphics card isn't compatible - do you have any suggestions for free alternatives I might be able to use?
Hey Matt! One of my students on here said they emailed tbproaudio about the same issue and tbproaudio sent them to a link to download a legacy version that should work with your computer!
@@TheBandGuide great idea, I'll drop them an email. Thanks!
great video....thanks ...one question...does this apply to midi?
Thanks, Joe! It really applies to anything you will be doing much processing on or that’s really prominent in your song. So some midi tracks might benefit/require it (lead/prominent tracks) while others won’t (background pads/synths/etc)
should you gainstage from the preamp?
When you are recording, yes! Aiming for this on the VU meter when you are recording is the best way to start
I downloaded it and have no idea how to add it in garage band
Sometimes I have to restart my computer after installing new plugins in order for them to show up. It will be at the bottom under “Audio Units.” Also, be sure you have “Enable Audio Units” selected in your preferences
-15 dbs, ok