{"id":83698,"date":"2021-02-11T20:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-11T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/?p=83698"},"modified":"2021-11-08T17:05:57","modified_gmt":"2021-11-08T17:05:57","slug":"the-difference-between-gain-and-volume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/routenote.com\/blog\/the-difference-between-gain-and-volume\/","title":{"rendered":"The difference between gain and volume"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Image Credit: Cinescope Creative<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do gain and volume mean the same thing? And what\u2019s gain staging? Let\u2019s find out\u2026<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When you start out as a music producer<\/a> it’s very easy to get gain and volume mixed up, and assume they refer<\/a> to the same thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They don\u2019t. Things can get confusing quickly, so let\u2019s try and clear things up a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is Gain?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In its simplest form, gain is the control of the INPUT<\/strong> of a signal \u2013 the first part of the signal chain, before it\u2019s processed. It refers to a volume boost in the signal path. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For instance, turning up a microphone preamp\u2019s gain will turn up its input signal to a recordable level. Gain settings affect the quality and tone <\/a>of your sound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is Volume?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Volume controls the loudness, the OUTPUT<\/strong>, of a signal that\u2019s been recorded, after its been processed and effects, compressors<\/a> and so on have been added. It’s the decibel (dB) output of a sound system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On a guitar amp, the volume affects the power amp level. Say you\u2019re mixing on your DAW<\/a> and combined every track to a main stereo mix bus, the loudness of that master is referred to as the “volume.” Turning up the volume doesn’t affect the tone<\/em>, just the loudness<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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