Tutorial 4 — Levels & Gain Staging
Goal: make both decks the same loudness and keep them out of
the red, so your blends don't lurch in volume and nothing distorts. This is "gain staging," and
it's invisible in most software. GoDJ's Levels coach shows you, per deck, in plain words.
Turn it on in Settings → Training → Show Levels / gain coach (on by default).
The idea
Each channel has a GAIN (trim) control. You set it so the channel's level peaks in a healthy
zone — loud, but not clipping. Both channels should sit at the same level, so when you
crossfade, the incoming track arrives at the same volume the outgoing one is leaving — no jump, no dip.
The LEVELS row
LEVELS A B Levels matched
- A / B chips colour by each deck's level: grey = not playing,
amber = too quiet, green = healthy, red = too hot.
- The message, by priority:
- Red: "Deck A too hot — lower the GAIN to stop clipping."
- Amber: "Deck B is 6 dB louder — even the GAINs so the blend doesn't jump."
- Green: "Levels matched."
The level it reads is the pre-fader signal (the GAIN stage), exactly what a channel meter
shows. It's peak-held so the read-out is steady, not jumpy.
Step by step
- Load and play a track. Adjust its GAIN until its chip is green. The
pre-fader level meter beside the channel fader confirms it.
- Load the second track and set its GAIN to green too.
- If you see "Deck X is N dB louder", nudge that deck's GAIN down (or the other's up) until it
reads "Levels matched."
- If a chip goes red ("too hot"), pull that GAIN down — clipping sounds harsh and wastes
headroom.
- Now when you blend, both tracks are the same loudness — smooth.
Tips
- Set GAIN with the loudest part of the track (the drop), so a quiet intro doesn't trick you
into setting it too high.
- GAIN, not the fader, sets loudness. Use the channel fader for the blend; use GAIN to match
the two decks first.
- Match levels before you start the transition, not during.
Common mistakes
- Mixing into the red. It doesn't sound "louder," it sounds distorted. Keep chips green.
- Mismatched GAINs. A 6 dB gap means the new track either disappears or jumps out when you
bring it in. Match first.
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