Dance Music Gain Staging Explained
Join veteran Groove3 instructor and dance music guru Larry Holcombe for a video tutorial series on the all-important subject of gain staging, as it applies to dance music specifically. A topic that's often overlooked by novices, this will help you take more control of each element involved in your mix—from metering to plugins and everywhere in between. By the end of the course, you'll know you're optimizing every signal chain stage. These gain staging videos are designed for users new to the subject.
Videos
• Why Gain Stage? (03:40) - This video discusses the theory behind gain staging, including keeping vintage plugins in their ?sweet spot? and managing dynamic range.
• Setting Levels Using a VU Meter or Peak Level (10:45) - We discuss using a VU meter next to set input levels and also a method for using a peak level reference point to keep our levels under control.
• Setting Our Basic Mix Balances (05:22) - Finally, having set our input levels correctly, we demonstrate how to set an initial kick level, around which we'll build our mix, ensuring we have the correct headroom to keep the master bus hitting a suitable volume.