14 Proven Techniques to Improve Your Gain Staging & Balance
Master gain staging with these 14 proven techniques — from referencing and level matching to monitoring best practices and metering plugins.
Gain staging involves setting and managing the volume levels of different elements within a track. This is foundational to professional mixing — more critical than fancy plugins or sound design alone.
“Getting the relative volume levels of each instrument correct is more important than EQing.” — Porter Robinson
14 Techniques
1. Reference, Reference, Reference
Compare your mix against professional tracks in a similar genre. Referencing encompasses four types: composition, sound design, mixing, and mastering.
2. Bounce a Rough Mix and Reference It
Use rough mixes as benchmarks to track your progress.
3. Use a Referencing Plugin
Professional referencing plugins like ADPTR Audio Metric AB make A/B comparisons easy.
4. Level Match Your Reference Tracks
Eliminate the ear’s tendency to perceive louder sounds as superior. Level matching ensures fair comparison by removing the “louder is better” bias.
5. Zero in on One Element at a Time
Focus your attention on individual elements to avoid getting overwhelmed by the full mix.
6. Pay Attention to Relationships
Focus on relative levels — kick vs. snare, bass vs. kick, vocals vs. instruments.
7. Know Your Monitors
Understand the frequency response of your monitoring setup so you can compensate for its characteristics.
8. Listen on Different Systems
Check your mix on headphones, car speakers, laptop speakers, and phone speakers.
9. Always Monitor at the Same Level
Consistency in monitoring volume helps you make better decisions over time.
10. Monitor at a Low Level
Between 70 dB and 85 dB SPL is optimal. Low-level monitoring reveals balance issues more clearly.
11. Use Metering Plugins
Visual feedback supplements your ears, especially in imperfect acoustic environments.
12. Take Breaks
Ear fatigue degrades your decision-making. Step away regularly.
13. Prepare Your Mixdown on a Different Day
Fresh ears on a new day reveal issues you missed during the session.
14. Listen to Something You Know Before You Start
Calibrate your ears with familiar music before diving into your mix.
Niko Kotoulas
Award-winning concert pianist and music producer with 50M+ streams. Founder of Piano For Producers.
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