This video is the single greatest explanation for gain staging that has worked for me after watching countless other videos on the subject. I appreciate so much that you didn’t skip any details or make assumptions about what your audience knows (ex - what does VU stand for?). You’ve actually illustrated two things to me - one is the subject of this video, but the other implicit one being, building a mix around the key elements of the arrangement and keeping that perspective throughout the process. Your approach has also inspired me to think less and do more; like how changing gears when driving a manual transmission car becomes after a while. Thank you!
Thanks for a very informative session. I used to work in analog studios for years and have been in the digital world for over twenty years now and I had forgotten just how great the VU meter is. The visual of it puts everything into perspective. Since I started using the VU meters again my tracks are more consistent and natural sounding. Thanks for reminding me of the power of the VU meter and what it can do to produce great mixes.
Excellent tutorial, I will try your technique at -14 dbfs. Gain creep has always been a problem with my mixes. My biggest issue thus far has been reverb it sounds good on my monitors but way over what I think is acceptable in say a car test or small speakers . I will search your channel for a video on reverb. Your approach is uncomplicated and simple Bravo !
Your channel just got a new fan and a new subscriber! Excellent teaching, excellent content, excellent topics, excellent speaking voice and tempo in your lessons. What a gem! Cheers from a certified high school/college teacher of music, SAE alumni, producer and general geek.
This was a better explanation of using a VU meter and gain staging than any of the other videos I've come across. I realised I was doing all this incorrectly because other channels over complicated the process. Thanks!
This was so amazingly helpful. I've watched dozens of videos on mixing, but never did I get such useful information, it may actually have saved a mix I have been working on for weeks. Thank you!
Sara, a VU meter is in my shopping list and next mix will be accordingly. One thing though about clipping that seems to be forgotten quite often is that “clipping” on each channel is actually not going to cause any clipping in the sound, according the massive headroom 32 bit processing gives. Not to be confused with having 0 at the master bus that will be causing clipping.
This was very informative. I recently bought the waves VU meter plugin but was confused on the calibration aspect. This cleared it right up. You also answered the question on how to start setting the gains and ballparking each element. Thank you!
Finally!!! I now know what I was doing so very wrong trying to gain stage everything. I was gain staging my kick to 0VU and then trying to bring everything else in. My mix was averaging way too hot with my peaks clipping 0db. The -7VU on the kick was the missing piece for me. Sara, you get three hearts! 💖💖💖
I was using VU Meter from waves pack but I was like a robot, all I knew was that I needed to set my instruments to some level. Unfortunately I was mixing at -11 and this didnt give enough headroom for my mastering enginner. I looked up your video and now I understand everything about it. I mixed it "right", but with the wrong set on my VU, now I'm mixing at -15. At least it was easy to solve the problem, I just did a -6db on every instrument and then it was perfect mix! Thanks for the explanation. I can now mix my own music tracks and this will help me a lot for understanding more and more about music
This is a really great tutorial. There were still things that I've been strugging with about gain staging and this cleared them up. The struggle was largely that I was seeing it recommended that you hit processing plugins from instruments at between -3 to 0db VU. As such I'd been aiming for this as the output to 2 buss both before and after processing. This lead to a VU level which was far too high. If I understand correctly, you gain stage individual channels for processing at -3 to 0db VU, but then aim to hit the 2 buss at a lower volume determined by a kick at -7db. I tried this, and whilst it ends up with pretty low levels (I'm calibrated at -18dbfs which I will probably now be able to adjust) the overall level, space and balance is amazing. And oodles of headroom to spare. By all means tell me if I've misunderstood something, but otherwise, this was awesome. Thanks!
This is what I was wondering as well. Set everything at just under 0db......set kick at around -6db, and place everything around that kick, bass being first and staying just above the kick number. That would bring everything down lower than originally staged, but end result would keep the total mix at around -18db to -14db. In the past, I've just gain staged everything at -18db, including kick, then mixed, and gain staged my mix bus a final time at -18db. Maybe not perfect, but miles cleaner than when I first started and new nothing about gain staging lol.
Sara, thank you so much for your instruction on metering. I'm a music producer/artist that enjoy recording my own projects. I'm fairly new to audio engineering. I've only been certified in AVID Protools as a User and quickly discovered that I was a novice in the finer points of Audio Engineering. I appreciate your lesson in gainstaging. I've gone back over one of five songs that I've been producing over the past five months and discovered that my gainstaging needs additional work. I haven't had any clipping on my submix bus or master bus due to my diligence in watching the dbfs meter. However, going back and properly gainstaging ,with the VU meter, has made my mix pop more in the bass and drum area. Thank you so much. I'm a new subscriber!!! Also thanks for the unity gain tip.
thanks alot you're a great teacher!!!!! ,I had no idea how to gainstage properly and ended up squashing my mixes to bits with the limiter ,I can't thank you enough!!!!!!!
This my first time meeting you and im really amazed , u are one of a kind .the world needs more female producers...im impressed about this tutorial ...im From Ghana ,west africa
Ok! been messing around with staging for awhile now and your simple explanation of setting the Kick and Bass/Drums and then everything else around that cleared up my perspective. Thanks.
Oh my goodness! This video is outstanding, the clarity of the explanations, the process and the information transmitted is off the charts. Thank you so much for this! Cheers from Madrid!
In studio one you can highlight all tracks then click on normalize audio -12db. This will bring all tracks to that level. You can adjust your tracks to any -db you want in studio one. It’s nice that it’s just a few clicks to get the job done!
Great video, Sara. Thank you. I've learned a lot. In my template I have a VU meter on all of my tracks, buses and call me paranoid, two on my master bus. One before the master buss processing on after. I use them to check the levels of the tracks, but I never thought about watching the VU meter to check the balance between Drums and Bass. Very valuable and it'll definitely make its way into my mixing toolbox. And thank you for using Freaking Out for the video! I still love the mix you did of the song!
Thank you so much, I teach first year higher education students in Music Production and your videos have been so informative and clarifying! Thanks again
Phantastic content, perfectly explained. The first time I heard about the kick-drum-bass-guitar-technique was from Jacquire King and since then I never struggled with my mix balance. Really like your style of explaning stuff, thank you Sara. Keep up the good work! BTW: the Klanghelm plugins are amazing. Tony Frenzel is such an amazing engineer and a very humble guy!
@@SaraCarterSimplyMixing Absolutely! Setting the calibration of the VU meter to -14 dB and then level the kick to about -7 to -5 dB is brilliant. Thus, the mix level for most of the streaming services will be in the ballpark virtually by itself. By the way: what immediately caught my attention is that you don't move the faders beyond unity gain. This may seem nerdy, but I can totally relate to it. 😀
@@boldbearStudios Thanks! Yes, and if you need them louder then just apply a some limiting with a -1dB true peak output and you're good to go! The Unity thing is probably because of the way I was trained but also, I'm a bit of a neat freak by nature: tidy desk-tidy mind!!!
Thanks for a great video. Well reasoned info minus any hype or click bait. :) Personally I think the default peak metering in DAWs and the lingering myth of recording digital as close to 0FS as possible hinders learning to mix. This vu/averaging meter approach in the box is a good antidote to that. Thanks again!
This video make me happy ti know details I was ignoring for balance kicks and bass. Thaaanks! I’m using vu meters inside the great Waves Shoep Omni channel that I use to put on every track, it’s a very powerful tool. I’ll put the Vu meter in top of my master channel starting today!!! Love this video, love your channel and the way you explain.
Remember to find out how to change the calibration for the Omnichannel VU, it most likely defaults to -18. You want to set it at -14 to use my ballpark numbers. Have fun!
Very useful meter tutorial Sara. Thanks. I recently began using my Studio One 6 DAW stock VU meters, one set to -18 at the beginning of my audio before any plug-ins. I use a second on my Master bus after everything which is set to -12. The S1 meter doesn't have the edit options like your Klanghelm VU does, however mine is a combo VU, digital peak, and correlation meter. I can change my VU's zero to -18, -12, -6, 0, and then a sensitivity knob. I am beginning to get better consistent mix levels when I'm going by my VU meters. I'm still used to my analog roots.
@@SaraCarterSimplyMixing It can't hurt to make sure. I'll look into the Klanghelm meter. Thanks for the feedback. PS ordered the Klanghelm meter. Great price.
Finally I get to fully grasp this concept. Great explanation and way of teaching. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge in such a clear and professional way. You have gained a new subscriber.
Really blown away by your knowledge and the professionalism of your workflow. Loved the video! I calibrated my audio monitors as well so I'm always monitoring at consistent volume, and combined with these gain staging concepts I'm able to have an incredible foundation for mixes and productions.
@@renanluy Play pink noise via a sound file or system generated noise in your daw, and set the level so that your daw meter reads your desired target. For example, I set mine so that it plays at -20dBFS, which is the standard for film. Then you decide on your desired dBSPL level in the room (around 82dB is great - but do some research here) and calibrate each monitor individually by playing the pink noise signal through the monitor and adjusting the monitor level until you reach the desired loudness in room in the listening position (use a dB meter). The beauty of this is that you're now monitoring sounds at the ideal loudness in your room while composing/mixing/producing for appropriate frequency response and internally in the daw you would still have 20dB of headroom, which gives you all the room you need for both mixing and mastering.
Brilliant, Sara. Thank you. Although I just learned I've been mixing way too hot, and did not understand gain staging at all. Gah! I've never seen this so well explained. Back to the mix.
Very well explained Sara - I loved that you gave us some 'ballpark' numbers that we can experiment with; very useful! And, of course, 'ballpark' is the right word, because these figures will naturally need to be adjusted if you're working with different genres e.g. anything from hip-hop to folk-rock ballads... Or maybe not?
Glad it was helpful! The ballpark figures will work regardless of genre, except maybe anything without drums! I just don't want people to get too hung up on the numbers and at -14 there is enough headroom built in for any adjustment based on personal taste, client requests, genre etc.
Exceptional video, Sara. I always enjoy your channel; your presentation is always so nice to listen to, and you offer information that is pertinent, in a way that engages your viewers, neither “shouting” at them or boring them to tears. 😉 FWIW, You are setting up the VU’s in your DAW exactly the way that I do (though there are some occasions when I’ll set the VU calibration at -18db, depending on the musical style and inherent dynamics of the tracks I’m working with). I started out years ago working in the analog realm, as that was just the way things were in every studio (back in the bad old days of mullets and swatches, LOL) and using VU’s was just a day to day part of recording and mixing, so it was always a second nature thing for me. I became so acclimated to it, that even in the modern digital age of recording, I still prefer using VU’s in my DAW to do gain-staging with. Question… With the Klanghelm VU’s that you are using, is there a particular meter ballistics setting that you find you prefer, or use most? An example of which would be meter ballistics for instruments with faster transients, like kick and snare, versus elements with slower transients, such as vocals, synths, guitars… Just curious. 😊 Again, great video! 🙏
Thank you for this video! I recently picked up the waves VU meter and implemented this by sending my bass and drums to a mix bus (after some light mixing) while using pre fader sends in logic so I could turn the faders all the way down on the original tracks after and make all my changes from there. My tracks sound better already, I appreciate it!
Best explanation and tutorial on gainstaging I have found on youtube. immediately subscribed and looking forward to getting more tips on your other vids. Many thanks.
Hello Sara, Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I usually set my VU for my tracks and busses to -18 and my master buss to -14. I will set my peak level at the end of my master bus to -1.6 db. Thanks again - Cheers, mvh
Just stumbled on this by accident, and wow, this is such a great explanation! I'll definitely try to implement it into my workflow. Also, I immediately felt right at home on your channel: it's a very welcome change of pace from all the high-octane, over-produced YT content full of attitude and marketing techniques, and I left the video feeling singularly relaxed and well-informed. You're doing a fantastic job and your unagitated, to-the-point approach resonates with me much more than 99% of the other studio-related content on YT. You've found an instant subscriber and I'm looking forward to checking out more! As for my own gain staging approach, it really doesn't quite exist yet, and I've always been doing this at the seat of my pants for the most part, just using a bit of clip gain or slapping a gain reduction plugin on most tracks at -6 to -12 dB as the first insert and hoping that it'll be more or less alright. Well, we live and learn, and since I do all the stages of music production entirely by myself, some things are bound to be less ideal than others. Do you have any tips for gain staging when the process of arranging/producing/recording material can't really be separated from mixing? I always start doing mix moves very early on (even before all the elements are in place) because it's part of the sound design process in my production workflow. Guess I should just check the VU right from the start for every track I start editing, then, be it a recording or a VST instrument… And maybe double-check the low-end once everything's arranged.
I'm so pleased that you are enjoying the channel! Regarding your method of working, I would always have a VU meter open that's across the mix bus output and keep my eye on it. I'd experiment with a -18dB and a -14dB calibration point to see which works best in that scenario.
I love VUMT - bought it recently and now consider it the most useful tool in my kit for mixing. Don't know if it's right or wrong, but I put mine on each channel at the end of any FX chain I might have and use the trim control to bring my levels under control (this is after setting my channel inputs to -18 on instruments or normalising audio to -18 first). I find the RMS meter a very useful meter as loudness is much harder to quantify with standard VU scale. Thanks for the video!
Thanks for that. Coming from recording in 24 track 2" tape back in the 90s I love VUs. So I have always had a Klanghelm on my master buss for monitoring but this vid was a masterclass in looking at the earlier stages of the mix with the VU that has set my mind racing. Thanks; you have another Sub!
Yay for the antidotes to the lingering scourge of the loudness wars! As I see it, and having started on a Tascam Porta One back in the day, bits are bits. They don’t have an innate loudness. With 24-bit or higher recording, I feel zero need to reduce my headroom when tracking. Targeting a dynamic range going to mastering makes sense, but otherwise I appreciate the -18dBFS (or lower) freedom from artificially induced clipping issues on calibrated monitors, and the compatibility with plugins that model analog gear. Cheers, D
excellent video.made me realize that there should be feature that lights up the plugin's icon when there's clipping within that plugin...that would be incredibly helpful!
Glad it helped! I've just learned that in Pro Tools there is a yellow led at the top of the track meter that stays lit if a plugin is clipping, which I didn't know, I do now!
@@SaraCarterSimplyMixing yes! I'm on PT12.4 and it does that as well, but wouldn't it be wonderful if it lit up the little dot to the left in the plugin slot that was clipping just like a little L.E.D. :-)
stumbled upon this channel, what a relief ! A real to watch in-between all the hyperactive men and nerds treating subjects like this. Great video, very clear and with a pleasant tone. Thank you. I subscribed,
I absolutely love all the things I’ve ever learned from Glenn Fricker and Warren Huart but this is literally the best explanation and demonstration of gain staging I have ever saw. Thank you
I agree with Steve N. You're explaining things at a grass roots yet an advanced level at the same time. I too have gotten heaps out of Warren Huart and Glenn Fricker's channels over the years, but they've both moved on to other things (which is great for them) so it's great to discover a new channel to get me back to into improving and inspiring my recording and mixing. Subscribed.
In Harrison mixbus there is a k-meter on the master bus where as 0 is minus -14db. I use that for headroom. I sometimes use a separate VU meter for some gain staging though
Just came across this! what a spectacular way to explain it all! I really like how you explained the loudness of the kick and then the loudness of the kick with the bass and finally the entire mix. this has really demystified the vu Meters for a lot of people I can imagine
I have been using VU meters for years in DAW territory. I have expensive hardware VU meters and they are hard to beat actually. The ballistic of the meter can tell you lots about the signal it is showing you. The Klanghelm meter is very good but the Waves VU is actually the closest thing to the real VU ballistic I have seen. Its very good. Its good to set all your track rms levels to be the same too eg around -14= 0dB VU before you mix. It will make everything easier later on. You wont need to add or subtract gain anywhere. Watching the way a real nice hardware VU moves over a mastered track is also a revelation. Lots can be learned from this. After a while you get your own mastering processes to move the needle same way and sound the same as very well mastered material as well.
Yes, that's a great tip about the ballistics and how the needle moves. The more you use a VU the more info you can get from it. I'll have to try out the Waves VU properly, I must admit, I default to VUMT. Thanks!
@@SaraCarterSimplyMixing The Klanghelm is good but when you are looking at the real hardware you get used to a certain movement it provides. For some reason the Waves VU is very close to the real deal. When the needle swings wildly it is often a rogue channel in the mix that is sending out unwanted frequencies such as unnecessary sub lows etc. When you correct things like this the needle settles down and moves nicely and behaves etc..
Great video... for me.... I use a pink noise generator first and pull the volume dow or up for a each track to set overall levels then use the vu meter during the mix
i found your channel by luck... learned new things, more approaches in stuff in things i already knew, you're doing really a great job :) keep up it :) seriously i love the way you explain everything, it's not "we do this" it's also "why", specially for beginners known WHY other than just "doing this" probably is more important than the thing itself to actually for someone to get himself in the way "why or when i should do this, and what i am trying to achieve?" ... thank you so much for making so great stuff...
From what I understand, -18dB is what nearly all digital plugin creators recommend. If you're concerned about sending a rough mix to a client, you would just use a transparent limiter and increase the gain.
Great great insight about VU meters amongst all other vague stuff available on youtube... Really appreciate if you could keep these golden advises pouring through pleaseeeeee.. Thanks a bunch & God bless.... 🎉🎉🎉👊👍
Hi Sara... Many thanks, a great video. It's nice to get some clear and concise information that makes sense. Yes, I do use VU meters.. all the time ..lol.. and like you I have an aversion to pushing the faders above unity!!!! So I try and balance the mix between Clip gain on a waveform... Output on a VST.. Pre gain on a channel, mixing instruments into Busses (Auxs) first... and then mixing with the Busses.. again using Pre Gain and insert output levels.... Using the faders on the Busses to do last minute adjustments..... I use Cubase pro.. it has plenty of LUFS metering too... (Still doesn't mean I get it right though... and usually need all the help I can get.. lol)...
Another absolutely fantastic video Sara!! Thanks ever so much for sharing!
Thanks so much!! 😊
You both are awesome. Thanks for being in my life as a mentor. Respect. 🤘
If Warren gives it an approval?...you just KNOW you need to be watching from beginning to end lol 😁✌🏽
yes and she responds back to people lol and you don't have to pay money to join her Facebook
Most relaxing voice of sound engineer ❤️
Jenis Music, thank you so much 😊
4real!
true 👌
Yeah she has teaching voice.
Since her dialog sounds so good, I'll listen to her advice 👂🖐
This video is the single greatest explanation for gain staging that has worked for me after watching countless other videos on the subject. I appreciate so much that you didn’t skip any details or make assumptions about what your audience knows (ex - what does VU stand for?). You’ve actually illustrated two things to me - one is the subject of this video, but the other implicit one being, building a mix around the key elements of the arrangement and keeping that perspective throughout the process. Your approach has also inspired me to think less and do more; like how changing gears when driving a manual transmission car becomes after a while. Thank you!
Wow! I’m so happy to hear that it has helped you in such a big way! That’s amazing. Thanks for sharing that.
At last, I found an experienced engineer explaining how VU meters work. Thank you for this video. Extremely educational.
You are welcome!
Thank you, Sara.
Fast and easy. Nice rule of thumbs. (Kicks -7, bass -4-5)
Bye.
Glad it was helpful!
No single piece of instruction has done more my mixing than this video. Beyond grateful for what you're doing...Thank you!!
You are so welcome, I'm so glad to have helped you so much! 😊
Thanks for a very informative session. I used to work in analog studios for years and have been in the digital world for over twenty years now and I had forgotten just how great the VU meter is. The visual of it puts everything into perspective. Since I started using the VU meters again my tracks are more consistent and natural sounding. Thanks for reminding me of the power of the VU meter and what it can do to produce great mixes.
Glad it was helpful!
Excellent tutorial, I will try your technique at -14 dbfs. Gain creep has always been a problem with my mixes. My biggest issue thus far has been reverb it sounds good on my monitors but way over what I think is acceptable in say a car test or small speakers . I will search your channel for a video on reverb. Your approach is uncomplicated and simple Bravo !
I hope you find it helps
Your channel just got a new fan and a new subscriber! Excellent teaching, excellent content, excellent topics, excellent speaking voice and tempo in your lessons. What a gem! Cheers from a certified high school/college teacher of music, SAE alumni, producer and general geek.
Awesome, thank you!
This was a better explanation of using a VU meter and gain staging than any of the other videos I've come across. I realised I was doing all this incorrectly because other channels over complicated the process. Thanks!
Glad to help!
This was so amazingly helpful. I've watched dozens of videos on mixing, but never did I get such useful information, it may actually have saved a mix I have been working on for weeks. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Sara, you’re a genius. Thanks for sharing this. It’s a basic step that every mixer should know.
You're so welcome!
Sara, a VU meter is in my shopping list and next mix will be accordingly.
One thing though about clipping that seems to be forgotten quite often is that “clipping” on each channel is actually not going to cause any clipping in the sound, according the massive headroom 32 bit processing gives. Not to be confused with having 0 at the master bus that will be causing clipping.
Thanks for commenting!
This was very informative. I recently bought the waves VU meter plugin but was confused on the calibration aspect. This cleared it right up. You also answered the question on how to start setting the gains and ballparking each element. Thank you!
Great! Glad to have helped 👍
Finally!!!
I now know what I was doing so very wrong trying to gain stage everything.
I was gain staging my kick to 0VU and then trying to bring everything else in. My mix was averaging way too hot with my peaks clipping 0db. The -7VU on the kick was the missing piece for me.
Sara, you get three hearts! 💖💖💖
Glad to help!
Same for me!
I was using VU Meter from waves pack but I was like a robot, all I knew was that I needed to set my instruments to some level. Unfortunately I was mixing at -11 and this didnt give enough headroom for my mastering enginner. I looked up your video and now I understand everything about it. I mixed it "right", but with the wrong set on my VU, now I'm mixing at -15. At least it was easy to solve the problem, I just did a -6db on every instrument and then it was perfect mix! Thanks for the explanation.
I can now mix my own music tracks and this will help me a lot for understanding more and more about music
This is a really great tutorial. There were still things that I've been strugging with about gain staging and this cleared them up. The struggle was largely that I was seeing it recommended that you hit processing plugins from instruments at between -3 to 0db VU. As such I'd been aiming for this as the output to 2 buss both before and after processing. This lead to a VU level which was far too high. If I understand correctly, you gain stage individual channels for processing at -3 to 0db VU, but then aim to hit the 2 buss at a lower volume determined by a kick at -7db. I tried this, and whilst it ends up with pretty low levels (I'm calibrated at -18dbfs which I will probably now be able to adjust) the overall level, space and balance is amazing. And oodles of headroom to spare. By all means tell me if I've misunderstood something, but otherwise, this was awesome. Thanks!
This is what I was wondering as well. Set everything at just under 0db......set kick at around -6db, and place everything around that kick, bass being first and staying just above the kick number. That would bring everything down lower than originally staged, but end result would keep the total mix at around -18db to -14db. In the past, I've just gain staged everything at -18db, including kick, then mixed, and gain staged my mix bus a final time at -18db. Maybe not perfect, but miles cleaner than when I first started and new nothing about gain staging lol.
@@sashlipinski7034 Im stil confused with that too
Your voice sounds you mix it as it comes out of your mouth, so soothing
not a single excessive frequency
Thanks!
Sara, thank you so much for your instruction on metering. I'm a music producer/artist that enjoy recording my own projects. I'm fairly new to audio engineering. I've only been certified in AVID Protools as a User and quickly discovered that I was a novice in the finer points of Audio Engineering. I appreciate your lesson in gainstaging. I've gone back over one of five songs that I've been producing over the past five months and discovered that my gainstaging needs additional work. I haven't had any clipping on my submix bus or master bus due to my diligence in watching the dbfs meter. However, going back and properly gainstaging ,with the VU meter, has made my mix pop more in the bass and drum area. Thank you so much. I'm a new subscriber!!! Also thanks for the unity gain tip.
that's great news! I'm glad it's worked for you
thanks alot you're a great teacher!!!!! ,I had no idea how to gainstage properly and ended up squashing my mixes to bits with the limiter ,I can't thank you enough!!!!!!!
Let me know if it works for you, glad to help!
This my first time meeting you and im really amazed , u are one of a kind .the world needs more female producers...im impressed about this tutorial ...im From Ghana ,west africa
Thanks Aqwesi Broni that means a lot 😊
Most brilliant and easiest to understand mixing tutorial i have ever seen
Great! Glad to help!
Ok! been messing around with staging for awhile now and your simple explanation of setting the Kick and Bass/Drums and then everything else around that cleared up my perspective. Thanks.
Glad it helped!
Best tutorial YET on gain staging, and getting the foundation, (kick and bass) right first! You go Sara! :-)
Thanks David Anthony that means a lot 😊
David Anthony, thank you so much :)
Oh my goodness! This video is outstanding, the clarity of the explanations, the process and the information transmitted is off the charts. Thank you so much for this! Cheers from Madrid!
Thank you so much, I'm glad it was helpful!
In studio one you can highlight all tracks then click on normalize audio -12db. This will bring all tracks to that level. You can adjust your tracks to any -db you want in studio one. It’s nice that it’s just a few clicks to get the job done!
Thanks for sharing!
I use Studio One. I’ll have to try this.
The most practical and effective video about gain staging on RUclips... Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Great video, Sara. Thank you.
I've learned a lot. In my template I have a VU meter on all of my tracks, buses and call me paranoid, two on my master bus. One before the master buss processing on after. I use them to check the levels of the tracks, but I never thought about watching the VU meter to check the balance between Drums and Bass. Very valuable and it'll definitely make its way into my mixing toolbox.
And thank you for using Freaking Out for the video! I still love the mix you did of the song!
That is awesome!
180 Top Darts! thank you so much. The lack of your 'I'm so good worship me' is very refreshing. This also makes so much sense. Kudos
Thanks, glad to help
Thank you so much, I teach first year higher education students in Music Production and your videos have been so informative and clarifying! Thanks again
You're very welcome!
Sarah, you are one of the absolute best teachers on you Tube.
Thanks Joe Reilly that means a lot 😊
Thank you for introducing me to Klanghelm. Off I go into the rabbit hole.
Hope you enjoy it!
Phantastic content, perfectly explained. The first time I heard about the kick-drum-bass-guitar-technique was from Jacquire King and since then I never struggled with my mix balance. Really like your style of explaning stuff, thank you Sara. Keep up the good work! BTW: the Klanghelm plugins are amazing. Tony Frenzel is such an amazing engineer and a very humble guy!
Cool, thanks! I think that's where I picked up the concept but adapted it to my needs.
@@SaraCarterSimplyMixing Absolutely! Setting the calibration of the VU meter to -14 dB and then level the kick to about -7 to -5 dB is brilliant. Thus, the mix level for most of the streaming services will be in the ballpark virtually by itself.
By the way: what immediately caught my attention is that you don't move the faders beyond unity gain. This may seem nerdy, but I can totally relate to it. 😀
@@boldbearStudios Thanks! Yes, and if you need them louder then just apply a some limiting with a -1dB true peak output and you're good to go! The Unity thing is probably because of the way I was trained but also, I'm a bit of a neat freak by nature: tidy desk-tidy mind!!!
You're just amazing, Sara! Thanks for this class! 🙏🏼
You're so welcome!
Good video. It's so nice that the concept of headroom made a comeback. It's a long time since I heard anyone say "you gotta use all the bits".
I wasn't sure wether such an analog way of visulization had any merit in the digital world, but after this video, I see the gain.
Great! Glad to help
Thanks for a great video. Well reasoned info minus any hype or click bait. :) Personally I think the default peak metering in DAWs and the lingering myth of recording digital as close to 0FS as possible hinders learning to mix. This vu/averaging meter approach in the box is a good antidote to that. Thanks again!
Thanks for sharing! I always say to watch the DAW fader meter and go for green to yellow!
This video make me happy ti know details I was ignoring for balance kicks and bass. Thaaanks! I’m using vu meters inside the great Waves Shoep Omni channel that I use to put on every track, it’s a very powerful tool. I’ll put the Vu meter in top of my master channel starting today!!! Love this video, love your channel and the way you explain.
Remember to find out how to change the calibration for the Omnichannel VU, it most likely defaults to -18. You want to set it at -14 to use my ballpark numbers. Have fun!
Thank you so much for this informative lesson on how important gain staging is
Any time! Thanks for watching 😃
Best gain staging video I've saw yet. Awesome..
Wow, thanks!
Bought the VU meter using your link. Thanks for the gain staging demonstration.
That's great, have fun!
Very useful meter tutorial Sara. Thanks.
I recently began using my Studio One 6 DAW stock VU meters, one set to -18 at the beginning of my audio before any plug-ins. I use a second on my Master bus after everything which is set to -12.
The S1 meter doesn't have the edit options like your Klanghelm VU does, however mine is a combo VU, digital peak, and correlation meter. I can change my VU's zero to -18, -12, -6, 0, and then a sensitivity knob.
I am beginning to get better consistent mix levels when I'm going by my VU meters. I'm still used to my analog roots.
The last time I used S1's VU meter it wasn't that accurate. Might be worth checking against the Klanghelm or the Waves VU
@@SaraCarterSimplyMixing It can't hurt to make sure. I'll look into the Klanghelm meter. Thanks for the feedback.
PS ordered the Klanghelm meter. Great price.
Finally I get to fully grasp this concept. Great explanation and way of teaching. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge in such a clear and professional way. You have gained a new subscriber.
Thank you!
Really blown away by your knowledge and the professionalism of your workflow. Loved the video! I calibrated my audio monitors as well so I'm always monitoring at consistent volume, and combined with these gain staging concepts I'm able to have an incredible foundation for mixes and productions.
Glad to have helped!
How do you calibrate your monitors? Can i calibrate my headphones also? (beginner here)
@@renanluy Play pink noise via a sound file or system generated noise in your daw, and set the level so that your daw meter reads your desired target. For example, I set mine so that it plays at -20dBFS, which is the standard for film. Then you decide on your desired dBSPL level in the room (around 82dB is great - but do some research here) and calibrate each monitor individually by playing the pink noise signal through the monitor and adjusting the monitor level until you reach the desired loudness in room in the listening position (use a dB meter). The beauty of this is that you're now monitoring sounds at the ideal loudness in your room while composing/mixing/producing for appropriate frequency response and internally in the daw you would still have 20dB of headroom, which gives you all the room you need for both mixing and mastering.
Brilliant, Sara. Thank you. Although I just learned I've been mixing way too hot, and did not understand gain staging at all. Gah! I've never seen this so well explained. Back to the mix.
Wonderful! Good luck 😀
Very well explained Sara - I loved that you gave us some 'ballpark' numbers that we can experiment with; very useful! And, of course, 'ballpark' is the right word, because these figures will naturally need to be adjusted if you're working with different genres e.g. anything from hip-hop to folk-rock ballads... Or maybe not?
Glad it was helpful! The ballpark figures will work regardless of genre, except maybe anything without drums! I just don't want people to get too hung up on the numbers and at -14 there is enough headroom built in for any adjustment based on personal taste, client requests, genre etc.
Absolutely great.And the way you say "LUFS" is cool too.Thank you.
Thank you! 😃
Seems a good level comfortable and sure.
Exceptional video, Sara.
I always enjoy your channel; your presentation is always so nice to listen to, and you offer information that is pertinent, in a way that engages your viewers, neither “shouting” at them or boring them to tears. 😉
FWIW, You are setting up the VU’s in your DAW exactly the way that I do (though there are some occasions when I’ll set the VU calibration at -18db, depending on the musical style and inherent dynamics of the tracks I’m working with).
I started out years ago working in the analog realm, as that was just the way things were in every studio (back in the bad old days of mullets and swatches, LOL) and using VU’s was just a day to day part of recording and mixing, so it was always a second nature thing for me. I became so acclimated to it, that even in the modern digital age of recording, I still prefer using VU’s in my DAW to do gain-staging with.
Question…
With the Klanghelm VU’s that you are using, is there a particular meter ballistics setting that you find you prefer, or use most? An example of which would be meter ballistics for instruments with faster transients, like kick and snare, versus elements with slower transients, such as vocals, synths, guitars…
Just curious. 😊
Again, great video!
🙏
That's brilliant, thank you!
Thank you for this video! I recently picked up the waves VU meter and implemented this by sending my bass and drums to a mix bus (after some light mixing) while using pre fader sends in logic so I could turn the faders all the way down on the original tracks after and make all my changes from there. My tracks sound better already, I appreciate it!
You're welcome!
All this time around this particular topic, this is the best explanation about it!
THX!
Glad you think so! Thanks for watching
Best explanation and tutorial on gainstaging I have found on youtube. immediately subscribed and looking forward to getting more tips on your other vids. Many thanks.
Awesome, thank you!
Hello Sara, Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I usually set my VU for my tracks and busses to -18 and my master buss to -14. I will set my peak level at the end of my master bus to -1.6 db.
Thanks again - Cheers,
mvh
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much Sara I’ve been searching for a proper explanation of how to use a VU meter all day this one is the best definitely subscribed 👍
Great! Thanks, glad it helped
Just stumbled on this by accident, and wow, this is such a great explanation! I'll definitely try to implement it into my workflow. Also, I immediately felt right at home on your channel: it's a very welcome change of pace from all the high-octane, over-produced YT content full of attitude and marketing techniques, and I left the video feeling singularly relaxed and well-informed. You're doing a fantastic job and your unagitated, to-the-point approach resonates with me much more than 99% of the other studio-related content on YT. You've found an instant subscriber and I'm looking forward to checking out more!
As for my own gain staging approach, it really doesn't quite exist yet, and I've always been doing this at the seat of my pants for the most part, just using a bit of clip gain or slapping a gain reduction plugin on most tracks at -6 to -12 dB as the first insert and hoping that it'll be more or less alright. Well, we live and learn, and since I do all the stages of music production entirely by myself, some things are bound to be less ideal than others. Do you have any tips for gain staging when the process of arranging/producing/recording material can't really be separated from mixing? I always start doing mix moves very early on (even before all the elements are in place) because it's part of the sound design process in my production workflow. Guess I should just check the VU right from the start for every track I start editing, then, be it a recording or a VST instrument… And maybe double-check the low-end once everything's arranged.
I'm so pleased that you are enjoying the channel! Regarding your method of working, I would always have a VU meter open that's across the mix bus output and keep my eye on it. I'd experiment with a -18dB and a -14dB calibration point to see which works best in that scenario.
Thank you so much Sara for this great Video on Gain Staging with VU Meters.
You're so welcome!
one of the best videos about basics of mixing (and i watched a lot)
Thanks for watching!
I love VUMT - bought it recently and now consider it the most useful tool in my kit for mixing. Don't know if it's right or wrong, but I put mine on each channel at the end of any FX chain I might have and use the trim control to bring my levels under control (this is after setting my channel inputs to -18 on instruments or normalising audio to -18 first). I find the RMS meter a very useful meter as loudness is much harder to quantify with standard VU scale. Thanks for the video!
It’s a really versatile plugin, thanks for watching!
killer video. thanks
You’re welcome
Thanks for that. Coming from recording in 24 track 2" tape back in the 90s I love VUs. So I have always had a Klanghelm on my master buss for monitoring but this vid was a masterclass in looking at the earlier stages of the mix with the VU that has set my mind racing. Thanks; you have another Sub!
Thank you so much, I'm glad it's given you a new use case!
Your voice is amazing! 😁❤️
De 'Andre French, thank you so much :)
Eye opening! Now i know that i know nothing.
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
You’re welcome ☺️
It makes me happy I'm not the only one who hates pushing the fader past 0. Clip gain and Trim plugin for the win! Great video 👍🏻
Yes! Thank you!
Congratulations Sara...
Precise and concise...
Thank you 🙂
Great video, love your voice, love how easy going you are and cohesive the material is. Keep it up!
Julien Mancilla, thank you so much :)
Yay for the antidotes to the lingering scourge of the loudness wars! As I see it, and having started on a Tascam Porta One back in the day, bits are bits. They don’t have an innate loudness. With 24-bit or higher recording, I feel zero need to reduce my headroom when tracking. Targeting a dynamic range going to mastering makes sense, but otherwise I appreciate the -18dBFS (or lower) freedom from artificially induced clipping issues on calibrated monitors, and the compatibility with plugins that model analog gear. Cheers, D
RockStarJazzCat, 😊 thanks for watching and for your thoughts!
Voice so soothing, it will put a baby to sleep. ❤
You are so kind
excellent video.made me realize that there should be feature that lights up the plugin's icon when there's clipping within that plugin...that would be incredibly helpful!
Glad it helped! I've just learned that in Pro Tools there is a yellow led at the top of the track meter that stays lit if a plugin is clipping, which I didn't know, I do now!
@@SaraCarterSimplyMixing yes! I'm on PT12.4 and it does that as well, but wouldn't it be wonderful if it lit up the little dot to the left in the plugin slot that was clipping just like a little L.E.D. :-)
stumbled upon this channel, what a relief ! A real to watch in-between all the hyperactive men and nerds treating subjects like this. Great video, very clear and with a pleasant tone. Thank you. I subscribed,
Wow, thank you! Glad you are enjoying the channel
Thank you! Glad to be more calming in your feed!
thank you...time to dig out the old under-utilized Klanghelm VU meter> and yes it is not without some real bells and whistles.
Thank you for sharing, great explanation of a VU meter💗
Immediate like ...Just for your aura ...Very likable persona to watch.
Thank you!
Thank you Sara, first video of yours that I've watched. Will be back for more.
Awesome! Thank you!
Thanks for using my pic and for the credits! best of luck with your endeavors
No worries!
I absolutely love all the things I’ve ever learned from Glenn Fricker and Warren Huart but this is literally the best explanation and demonstration of gain staging I have ever saw. Thank you
Wow, thank you! That means a lot 😅
@@SaraCarterSimplyMixing you’re welcome! Looking forward to more of your content!
I agree with Steve N. You're explaining things at a grass roots yet an advanced level at the same time. I too have gotten heaps out of Warren Huart and Glenn Fricker's channels over the years, but they've both moved on to other things (which is great for them) so it's great to discover a new channel to get me back to into improving and inspiring my recording and mixing. Subscribed.
what a lovely style of presentation.
Thank you 🙏
Wow, that was a fabulous lesson. I now understand metering and the importance of using it. Subscribed.
Thanks for subscribing and glad you enjoyed the lesson!
In Harrison mixbus there is a k-meter on the master bus where as 0 is minus -14db. I use that for headroom. I sometimes use a separate VU meter for some gain staging though
Nice! Thanks for sharing that
Just came across this! what a spectacular way to explain it all! I really like how you explained the loudness of the kick and then the loudness of the kick with the bass and finally the entire mix. this has really demystified the vu Meters for a lot of people I can imagine
Glad it was helpful!
I have been using VU meters for years in DAW territory. I have expensive hardware VU meters and they are hard to beat actually. The ballistic of the meter can tell you lots about the signal it is showing you. The Klanghelm meter is very good but the Waves VU is actually the closest thing to the real VU ballistic I have seen. Its very good. Its good to set all your track rms levels to be the same too eg around -14= 0dB VU before you mix. It will make everything easier later on. You wont need to add or subtract gain anywhere. Watching the way a real nice hardware VU moves over a mastered track is also a revelation. Lots can be learned from this. After a while you get your own mastering processes to move the needle same way and sound the same as very well mastered material as well.
Yes, that's a great tip about the ballistics and how the needle moves. The more you use a VU the more info you can get from it. I'll have to try out the Waves VU properly, I must admit, I default to VUMT. Thanks!
@@SaraCarterSimplyMixing The Klanghelm is good but when you are looking at the real hardware you get used to a certain movement it provides. For some reason the Waves VU is very close to the real deal. When the needle swings wildly it is often a rogue channel in the mix that is sending out unwanted frequencies such as unnecessary sub lows etc. When you correct things like this the needle settles down and moves nicely and behaves etc..
Great video... for me.... I use a pink noise generator first and pull the volume dow or up for a each track to set overall levels then use the vu meter during the mix
I've never tried that, thanks for sharing!
Perfectly concise video on an important subject! Thanks for the help!
Glad you enjoyed it!
i found your channel by luck... learned new things, more approaches in stuff in things i already knew, you're doing really a great job :) keep up it :) seriously i love the way you explain everything, it's not "we do this" it's also "why", specially for beginners known WHY other than just "doing this" probably is more important than the thing itself to actually for someone to get himself in the way "why or when i should do this, and what i am trying to achieve?" ... thank you so much for making so great stuff...
Thanks for your feedback, it's really helpful. Thanks for watching!
Excellent tutorial, perfectly explained. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I use *mvMeter* from TBProAudio and *k-Meter* from Martin Zuther, two free VST champs, so precise and never let me down when mixing.
From what I understand, -18dB is what nearly all digital plugin creators recommend. If you're concerned about sending a rough mix to a client, you would just use a transparent limiter and increase the gain.
Yes, if -18db works for you then go with it, just drop my suggested readings by 4 but it can be harder to read on the meter
you have an amazing ability for teaching! Thank you for this video!
Thanks for watching!
Brilliant. You are a wonderful and very effective communicator. Extremely enlightening video. Thank you.
Thanks Frederick Lewis DeAngelis that means a lot 😊
Outstanding! Very nice tutorial.
Glad you liked it!
Thank you so much for this video. It was insightful and this is about to improve the quality of my mixes.
Great to hear!
Amazing relaxing voice and concise explainations.. just found an amazing mixing channel.. Thnx sara
Thank you so much!
Great great insight about VU meters amongst all other vague stuff available on youtube... Really appreciate if you could keep these golden advises pouring through pleaseeeeee.. Thanks a bunch & God bless.... 🎉🎉🎉👊👍
Thanks, will do! 😀
Thank you so much for the great sharing...stay safe and have a blessed day to you
Thank you! You too!
Hi Sara... Many thanks, a great video. It's nice to get some clear and concise information that makes sense. Yes, I do use VU meters.. all the time ..lol.. and like you I have an aversion to pushing the faders above unity!!!! So I try and balance the mix between Clip gain on a waveform... Output on a VST.. Pre gain on a channel, mixing instruments into Busses (Auxs) first... and then mixing with the Busses.. again using Pre Gain and insert output levels.... Using the faders on the Busses to do last minute adjustments..... I use Cubase pro.. it has plenty of LUFS metering too... (Still doesn't mean I get it right though... and usually need all the help I can get.. lol)...
Sounds like how I do it except there's no pre-gain in Pro Tools unless you use the Trim plugin which I rarely do.
awesome best video i have seen on gain staging! clear and precise explanation! Cheers
Wow! Glad you enjoyed it!
Im going to be doing my gain staging just like this video for now on.... Thanks and great video
Glad it was helpful!
I am trying to learn but I keep falling asleep to the comforting voice of the narrator 😮
😴
Excellent video. God bless you woman!
Thank you!
@Sara Carter, I really enjoyed and learned from this video. Appreciate ya.
Thank you so much, glad to help!
I have gotten SO MUCH out of these videos. Thank you!
That’s great, pleased to have helped!