What Is Gain Staging?

In audio production, a gain staging stage is a predetermined point in an audio signal chain where the engineer can add extra features to a sound. This can be done by adding a compressor or a limiter and an equalizer. A compressor and an equalizer are usually set up to boost the volume of one particular frequency range while the limiter works to cut off unwanted high frequencies. The audio engineer will make a selection of the parameters to be used, which will depend on the amount of time it takes for the sound to reach the listener. You need to click on this article that will help you you in understanding how to set gain levels for recording.

There are two types of gain staging. The first is called the natural stage and the second is referred to as the artificial stage. The natural stage is usually used when the source audio comes straight from the amplifier without any processing or if the sound is not too complex or very fast. When you hear a guitar solo or drums hit, the sound is coming directly from the amp without any added effects. You need to learn more about gain staging on this page.

The second type of gain staging is called the compressor stage. Compressors are used to reduce the volume of a sound that has been amplified. It is important to note that when the sound is compressed, the frequency range is also reduced. The sound is then sent back to the amp where it is transformed again. The original audio signal is then restored by the equalizer. If this sounds confusing, let's take a look at a few examples.
Imagine the sound of an acoustic guitar being played over a recording of drums. If the frequencies were to be multiplied, the result would be a drum sound with a very high frequency range. This would probably be hard to hear and might even be unlistenable.

By applying the equalizer on the acoustic guitar over the same recording, the frequency will be reduced while the overall effect of the signal is raised, which will then allow the listener to easily distinguish between the two sounds. Even the bass frequencies are brought down so that they will not be masked.
Equalizers have many applications in audio mixing. They can be used to cut the volume of a specific frequency range. They can be used to add more clarity to an otherwise muddy sound. The equalizer can also be used to increase the width of the frequencies being manipulated. If the sound is not quite clear, the equalizer can be adjusted to make it more pleasing. For a general overview of this topic, you may need to check out this post: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gain_stage.