SoundShock Gain-Staging Guidelines, The Gist of It
SoundShock Gain-Staging Video
Btw check out more cool stuff from them at https://www.soundshockaudio.com/, on their youtube channel, and on their twitch channel.
Similar Advice From Rob, The Musician on a Mission
Key Takeaways
- Use the guidelines and cheatsheet to have different instruments peaking at the levels that are appropriate for them (but feel free to deviate from these if it sounds good to you (but really don't go over -6db with anything because that will almost certainly fuck with the mastering process!).
- Use the "gain" logic plugin if you just need to remove some gain.
- Make sure your summed buss tracks are not going past the recommended cheat sheet volumes (this will often require adding a negative gain to the bus track).