Sound Engineering · Foundation

Gain Staging Trainer

A synth melody plays over a bass line — two channels feeding a master, like a real mixer. Drag the three faders to balance the parts and land the master output around −6 dBFS.

A synth melody plays over a bass line in A minor — both loop continuously while you adjust the chain.

Synth Source

fixed
−∞ dBFS
peak−∞

Synth Channel

0.0 dB
−∞ dBFS
fader0.0 dB
peak−∞

Bass Source

fixed
−∞ dBFS
peak−∞

Bass Channel

0.0 dB
−∞ dBFS
fader0.0 dB
peak−∞

Master

0.0 dB
−∞ dBFS
fader0.0 dB
peak−∞

Output

→ speakers
MAX−∞ dBFS
now−∞

Live Diagnosis

Press start to begin

Click "Start audio" above to begin the loop. Then drag each knob and watch how the level travels through the chain.

Goal: the synth source peaks around −18 dBFS, the bass around −15 dBFS — both clean tracking levels. Use the two channel faders to balance them against each other (synth usually a touch louder than bass in a mix), then set the master so the output max lands around −6 dBFS. Both channels in the green zone · master peak in the gold · output max around −6. Anything in the red at any stage means clipping in your DAW.