## What is Gain Staging? The secret to perfect recordings lies in setting gain controls correctly… but which gain controls? Credit: Getty / Halbergman Gain staging is the practice of optimising signal gain at each stage in the recording process. The goal is to maximise signal strength and quality while minimising unwanted distortion and noise. You’ll typically adjust the signal gain using a Gain knob. Most stages in a recording chain contain amplifiers; in digital systems, these may be algorithms but should still be considered amplifiers. Whenever an amplifier adjusts the level of a signal,…