Gain Staging... THE SAUCE (Patreon)

Alright alright alrighhhttt. So I wanted to do this as a video but I figured I'd do it as a text post. I think it'll be a lot easier for you guys to pull the information this way.

This is a resource I've offered to my students in all of my time teaching lessons, finally opening it up to my Patreon subs!

These numbers are a general target area of where I keep all of my sounds in my mix pre-master. Keep in mind, everyone is different. Everyone likes to choose sounds with different characteristics, and use plugins in different ways. So if anything, this is more of a guide than a rule set. 10000% use your ears and best judgement before going strictly off of these numbers.

With that said, here's my gain staging list!

1. Kick: -11dB to -10dB
2. Clap: -13dB to -11dB
3. Basses (w/out sub): -16dB to -13dB
4. Sub Layer: -17dB to -15dB
5. Basses (w/sub): -16dB to -13dB
6. Main Lead Synths: -16dB to -11dB depending on the sound
7. Support Synths/Pads: -20dB to -14dB depending on the sound
8. Ambience: -24dB to -18dB
9. Lead Vocals: -12dB to -10db
10. Support Vocals: -16dB to -14dB
11. Full Vocal Stem (Lead + Support): -11dB to -9.5dB louder = more popular style tracks
12. Hats: -14dB to -12dB
13. Shakers/Tambourines: -20dB to -14dB
14. Support percussion (extra claps, snares, congas, etc.): -22dB to -15dB
15. FX: -25dB to -14dB depending on sound
16. BUS/Group Output - Synth/Bass: No more than -8dB overall
17. BUS/Group Output - Tops: No more than -11 overall

As I said before, definitely take this with a grain of salt. However, this is how I've structured my gains for the last 2 years and it hasn't let me down!

Love ya'll!