Setting the loudest track to peak at -12 to -18 dBFS leaves the 20 dB of headroom needed for safe plug-in operation and mix bus summing

A practical gain staging workflow: identify the track with the highest peak levels (usually kick or snare in rock/pop), set it so it peaks at -12 to -18 dBFS on the DAW sample-peak meter, then rough-balance other tracks relative to it. This preserves roughly 20 dB of headroom — equivalent to the analogue standard. Between plug-ins, aim for readings around -10 dBFS peak. Set these levels using channel gain or the synth/instrument’s own output control (not the mixer fader), since the fader does not affect the level feeding the channel’s insert processors.

Examples

Kick peaks at -14 dBFS; rough mix has drums balanced with other elements all reading similar levels; each plug-in in the chain aims to produce roughly the same output level as input.

Assessment

Describe the step-by-step gain staging workflow for setting up a new mix from scratch: which track do you set first, what target level, and how do you calibrate the rest of the session?