Recording: Volume vs. Gain. What's the difference between volume and gain in recording?

Interface for recording

Important concepts that are overlooked in recording are volume and gain. How are they different? How do I get good levels in recording? How do I get a good mix?

You can think of volume and gain in terms of water pressure, and a nozzle on a garden hose.

So we have the initial water pressure we set in the hose, based on how much water we let in. This will set the peak potential of the water output (or gain). If the water pressure is too much at this stage, the nozzle will boost the already overloaded water pressure. Volume is similar to a nozzle because it sets how much water (or sound) is allowed out from the system. Gain is how much power goes into the system, volume is how much power is let out. Bad gain staging = bad volume.

If you've ever been to a concert where everything sounds distorted and hard to distinguish- you have heard bad gain staging.

When you load a signal into a interface, typically you want the levels to be in the green near the yellow portion of the meter. This allows headroom or space for the signal to go up and down with variation in dynamics. When a signal is approached this way, you are less likely to peak or have the signal overload or distort- (go in the red).

A great mix starts with great gain staging. When everything is recorded with healthy levels, you'll do less fixing and more mixing.