If you are using the term “gained staging” as a verb, you might be overthinking it. Like, “I gained staged this, and then I gained staged that.” If “gained staged” were a proper verb, it would just mean to set sensible levels, and Iâd argue that thatâs something most engineers just do without a prescription. Kind of like being on time.
“This morning, I untimed my alarm, and then I untimed myself to school. At the end of the day, I untimed home, untimed.” You donât need to be that scientific about it. If youâre clipping your meter at any point, “Hey, Goldilocks, this porridge, itâs too hot.” Turn down whateverâs feeding it.
Plus, a little bit more in case you didnât turn it down enough. “Hey, Goldilocks, if this porridge is too cold, then youâre gonna have to turn it up later.” Every analog thing you own generates a little bit of its own noise. Youâve recorded that noise too, and inevitably when you crank it up later, youâre turning up that noise as well.
When it comes time to mix, even in digital where thereâs no noise, and practically infinite headroom before clipping, your main tool as a storyteller is level. The power you wield to tell your listeners a story is pretty much equal to the distance between where your fader lives and how high it can go. And for that, you get to decide for yourself what is just right.
But remember, if everything is maxed out because you recorded it too low, that distance is tiny, and you canât be a very effective storyteller. Either way, your signal isnât ever gain staged. Thatâs not a thing.
Gain staging is something you adhere to. Itâs best practice. So maybe think twice before you use gain stage as a verb.
And if this video was helpful, share it with somebody who belongs in a class like this.
