Understanding Gain Staging

February 10th, 2025

Gain Staging 101

Understanding gain staging is critical for musicians, particularly for guitarists using amp simulators/pedalboards in live performance – an application Radial’s new Highline & Highline Stereo Passive Line Isolators are specifically designed for, allowing you to retain full signal strength when connecting to a mixer, without obscuring your tone and reducing signal integrity.

We’ll get into the Highline shortly, but first:

What is gain staging?

Gain Staging refers to optimizing audio signals by adjusting signal levels at each stage in your signal chain so your sound comes across as intended. Essentially, it’s about achieving optimal signal-to-noise ratio – i.e., the level of desirable sound, as opposed to how much noise (from electrical circuits and/or various devices) is amplified along with your signal. Applying enough gain, so – in each gain stage – you maintain a good signal-to-noise ratio. But not so much you create distortion/clipping and exceed the dynamic range (the ratio between, and limits of, the loudest/quietest sound a device can reproduce without distortion and/or noise) of the next device in your chain.

How audio signals flow through each piece of equipment and are amplified at each stage of the signal chain (through preamps, mixers, and compressors) is integral to understanding gain and managing signal flow and integrity while achieving optimal sound quality and volume.

Close up of audio workstation and sound equipment in professional recording studio, copy space

Gain VS Volume

Gain impacts volume, but gain and volume are not the same. Volume refers to the overall loudness listeners perceive. Adjusting gain optimizes the strength of a signal. Volume regulates how that signal is heard. Both are essential for achieving high-fidelity sound quality.

Gain is measured in decibels and refers to the level of amplitude (voltage, current, power) of your signal and affects how that signal is amplified throughout the signal chain from your instrument through various devices on the way to the PA.

Understanding Signal Levels

Gain staging involves taking signals from microphones, DIs, and instruments and bringing those up to line level. There is a variance in signal between various instruments and sound sources. Guitars with passive pickups, for example, produce lower levels than guitar pedals and amp sims, which, in turn, vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. But, generally speaking, signals fall into three categories:

Microphone level – the output of a microphone typically ranges from -60 dB to -40 dB
Instrument level – the output of an instrument (guitars/basses/keys) typically ranges from -20 dB to -10 dB
Line level – the output of audio gear (mixers, preamps, audio interfaces) typically ranges from +4 dB to +20 dB

Debunking Common Misconceptions

Gain staging is about managing signal not shaping it. When adjusting gain, your tone doesn’t change, the dB level does.

Gain doesn’t equal distortion – gain affects distortion levels, but unless you’re applying gain via a device specifically designed to create distortion, adjusting gain won’t alter your tone. Proper gain staging eliminates distortion.

Gain staging looks different depending on which devices you’re using – an instrument preamp, Radial’s HDI, for example, bumps a source up to line level. A DI will drop your signal to mic level to feed a snake and mixing console. That’s not a bad thing. It’s just how DIs manage and transmit signal to the next stage, the console. It’s still a good process to drop your signal level down to mic level for performance and recording to interface with mic preamps – again, in doing so, you’re lowering voltage, not changing your tone.

There are multiple ways to achieve optimal gain. Regardless of your method, the key is to ensure that, at each stage, you apply enough gain to achieve the signal level the next device is expecting. That said, a passive line isolator, such as the Highline, maintains your signal level, so amp sims that have line level outputs will stay at line level – effectively taking a stage out of the process – before it hits the snake/console.

Maximum Balance = Minimum Change in Quality and Tone

Good gain staging ensures your signals remain clear and consistent from the source outward. Again, too much gain leads to distortion, clipping, a degraded signal, and, consequently, compromised dynamic range, meaning the nuances of your sound and performance are lost.

Why Gain Staging is Essential for Guitarists

Proper gain staging ensures your signature tone is transmitted accurately from the source to the audience. In a rehearsal, your ‘audience’ – may be more critical than an actual audience. Beyond impacting your sound, poor gain staging may affect how you’re perceived – as a competent player/performer vs. someone who doesn’t understand their equipment, which can make the difference between having and losing a gig.

Gain Staging Tips For Musicians

The process of gain staging begins with assessing the output of the first device in the chain – your instrument – and continuing to do so through the remaining devices in your rig. This is particularly important with pedals and amp sims. Some pedals only output or accept instrument level. The output from one manufacturer’s amp sim may differ from another’s.

It’s a balancing act. If one stage is cranked way up – to the point where you have to turn another way down – something’s set incorrectly.

You begin managing signal level at the first stage (your guitar) and then your next pedal, the pedal after that, and so on. Start with an appropriate signal level – if you set your guitar output to two, you’ll have issues down the line (too much noise, not enough of the instrument as you expect/want it to sound).

Consider your guitar, pedal board, and/or amp sim as the first stage. From there, if using a DI, your signal drops to mic level, and the monitor and FOH engineer will then boost that to line level to feed powered speakers or an amplifier. A line isolator, the Highline specifically, provides a line-level signal that doesn’t need to be ‘gained up’ at the preamp/console stage if paired with an amp sim that has line-level outputs. Of course, an engineer will adjust the volume of your signal as necessary. Either way, your signature or intended sound/tone does not change. If deploying the Highline or Highline Stereo, you likely won’t have to add much gain at mic preamps – a benefit if, for example, your signal is hitting a low-end console that introduces noise as the preamp level increases.

Each mic preamp has a sweet spot. If set correctly, there’s plenty of your actual signal and less noise. Generally speaking, that’s not an issue. However, the benefit of the Highline – with its 1:1 Jensen transformers – which do not color or affect your sound – is there’s no voltage or signal drop. What you input is exactly what’s output.

How the Radial Highline Keeps Your Tone Intact

Amp sims present unique problems for players who want to interface with a PA system. They can produce line-level outputs but often have 1⁄4″ unbalanced connectors that aren’t designed for long cable runs, can produce hum and buzz from ground loops when connected directly to a PA, and are at risk of damage from phantom power. That’s where the Highline comes in – mitigating those issues and providing balanced line-level output from your rig to the PA.

Conclusion

By understanding and mastering gain staging, you’re ensuring the sound of your instrument comes across with clarity and fidelity regardless of where you’re making music – on stage, in the studio, or in rehearsal.