Video summary

Beginner Guide to Gain Staging & Setting Input Levels

Main summary

Key takeaways

Educational

Main ideas / lessons conveyed

  • Gain staging means setting gain “properly” so your signals are strong enough to be usable without clipping.
  • There’s debate about the exact best methods, but the video aims to give a simple starting point you can apply.
  • Gain should be set not only at the mixer input, but at every “handoff” between pieces of audio gear.
  • Correct gain helps preserve headroom for loud moments (dynamics) and lets you still turn things up later (e.g., monitors or backing tracks/click tracks).

Core concepts explained

1) “Gain knob” vs “fader”

  • Gain (in): how strong the incoming instrument/mic signal is when it enters the mixer/channel.
  • Fader (out): how loud that signal is when it leaves the mixer/channel.

Key principle:

  • Gain too high → clipping/distortion
  • Gain too low → more noise and/or you may not be able to raise the signal enough later

2) Why clipping can’t be fixed later (with only the fader)

  • Once a signal is clipped, turning the fader down won’t truly “unclip” it—the distortion stays audible.
  • So the priority is to avoid clipping at the gain stage.

3) Why setting gain too low is also a problem

  • Microphones generally require more gain than line-level sources (e.g., phones).
  • If gain is too low, you may reach a point where you can’t boost later without issues.
    • Example: a click track too quiet for a drummer even when the pack is maxed—often linked to gain staging problems.

4) Headroom matters

  • Audio levels fluctuate during performance (speaking, singing, instruments).
  • Levels should be set so peaks don’t clip even if someone gets louder (e.g., vocals after adrenaline).

Practical methodology / instructions included

A) Set initial gain using meters (simple target approach)

General rule: aim for a level that’s healthy and approaching the warning zone (yellow) without clipping.

On a digital mixer using dBFS (e.g., Behringer XR18 / X Air 18)

  • Watch the channel input meter:
    • 0 is the top/clipping threshold
  • Aim for ~-18 dBFS on average
  • Practical steps:
    • Raise gain while monitoring the meter
    • Stop when the signal averages around -18 dBFS / begins moving into yellow (without clipping)

On a mixer/device using dBu (e.g., Allen & Heath CQ20B)

  • Meter behavior differs:
    • 0 is not necessarily the ceiling; meters may extend above 0
  • Aim for ~0 dBu average
  • Practical guidance:
    • Also described as good to aim near where it just starts to get into yellow, not peaking/clipping

On analog-style meters (e.g., Phoenix Pro PTL 800)

  • Meter has green / yellow / red
  • Instruction: raise input level until it just starts hitting yellow

B) Save settings—but always re-check for new gear / new performers

  • Digital mixers can let you save gain settings for repeat use.
  • Still, re-check when:
    • A fill-in musician appears
    • New gear is connected
    • You change instruments/pedals/wireless units
  • Reason: different devices and performers can output different levels.

C) Perform checks at the performer’s loudest expected moment

  • The real challenge isn’t only the meter target—it’s whether the performer is testing at the same loudness they’ll use during the show.

Examples:

  • Guitarists: check on the boost channel (intended maximum level)
  • Vocalists:
    • Soundcheck may differ from performance
    • The video notes an example singer who soundchecked very close to the mic, but typically sings farther away

D) Gain amount in dB isn’t universal—focus on the meter target

  • The same meter target can require very different gain values depending on device and signal level.

Example outcomes described:

  • Backing tracks source might need only ~2 dB
  • A microphone might need ~16.5 dB to hit the same meter target

Core instruction:

  • Don’t focus on “how many dB you added”
  • Focus on ensuring the meter lands in the appropriate target region:
    • -18 dBFS (dBFS systems)
    • ~0 dBu (dBu systems)
    • “Yellow” (analog meters)

E) Set gain at every “audio handoff” (multi-stage gain staging)

Second major instruction: treat each transition between gear as its own gain decision point.

Example signal chain:

  • Wireless microphone → wireless receiver → mixer → aux send → in-ear monitor transmitter/bodypack

They identify five pieces of equipment but four gain handoff points.

Gain handoff points in the wireless-to-IEM example

  1. Wireless microphone → wireless receiver

    • Set mic gain based on the singer’s loudness.
    • Example feature mentioned: transmitter mic gain adjustable (range described including +9 to 0; +3 found appropriate).
    • Adjust until the wireless input meter shows a healthy level with headroom (avoid clipping).

  2. Wireless receiver → mixer

    • Adjust receiver output/volume level (start at 0, then fine-tune).
    • Speak/sing while adjusting so the mixer input meter is healthy (just to yellow, not clipping).

  3. Mixer → in-ear monitor (aux output)

    • Use the mixer’s aux knob (aux sends typically use knobs, not faders).
    • Adjust aux output while watching IEM transmitter meters.
    • Avoid sending a too-hot signal (peaking).

  4. In-ear monitor transmitter/bodypack level management

    • If the IEM transmitter is peaking:
      • Option 1: apply a pad on the IEM system (example: pad reduces by 12 dB)
      • Option 2: reduce the mixer aux send level
    • Final goal:
      • Ensure the bodypack has enough headroom so you don’t need to run it at maximum to hear properly
      • Avoid clipping

Additional considerations mentioned

  • Noise floor exists everywhere:
    • Setting gain too high can raise audible noise.
    • However, the video argues it’s usually more important to avoid clipping so you preserve flexibility to turn things up later (and modern gear is improved).
  • Apply the same “think about gain at each stage” idea to other chains, e.g.:
    • guitar → pedal board/amp modeler → amp
  • Swapping guitars/wireless changes output behavior, so adjust gain accordingly.
  • Mentions differing opinions among audio professionals, with a light joke about how many sound guys it takes to screw in a light bulb—highlighting variability.

Speakers / sources featured

  • Main speaker: Scott Y’all Music (host/creator; referenced via promo code/social)
  • Sponsor/source featured: Phoenix Pro (mixer, microphone, and other Phoenix Pro gear referenced)

Gear brands/models referenced

  • Behringer: XR18 / X Air 18
  • Allen & Heath: CQ20B
  • Phoenix Pro: PTL 800, PTU2 wireless mic system, PTM 10 in-ear monitor system
  • B Beat: standalone device for tracks/click/video/MIDI

Wireless mic brand referenced

  • Phoenix Pro: PTU2 transmitter

Original video