Sometimes, you will find that one track is much louder or quieter than others - even when the track volume controls are set to the same position. This is because some tracks are naturally mastered louder or quiter than others.
As a DJ, you want to make sure that tracks have a consistent and controlled volume throughout your mix. This ensures a smooth listening experience, so the audience doesn't need to constantly reach for their volume control.
DJ.Studio used to include an AutoGain feature, but we removed it to give more powerful and flexible gain controls.
This guide explains how you can use DJ.Studio's gain control features to get the perfect volume balance across your entire mix.
Gain Staging your DJ.Studio Mix
There are several gain stages in DJ.Studio's signal flow, giving you total control over the individual and combined track outputs.
The main controls for balancing the volume are Track Gain, Track Compressors, and Master Limiter.
Track Gain
Each track in your mix has an independent gain control. This is useful for manually balancing the volume across your mix. For example, if one song is notably quieter than the others, you can turn it up with the track gain control. Note that the gain only affects the selected track, not the entire deck.
Track Compressors
Each track also features an independent compressor. This is used to control the dynamic range of a track individually. Some tracks will be more dynamic than others, or sometimes you want to make a track louder, but avoid distorting it by overdriving the signal. This is where the compressors are useful. Simply set the compressor threshold to determine the max volume output, and then crank up the gain to match.
Master Limiter
The Mastering section gives you control over the shared and final output of your mix. This gives you one Gain and one Ceiling (limiter) control, which affects the combined output of all tracks.
In this section, you will also see the Gain and Compression of all individual tracks in your mix.
You can use this to set the maximum volume output of your mix, which is the perfect tool for making the volume consistent.
FAQs About Volume, Gain, and Autogain
Where is the AutoGain?
We've removed the autogain feature to give you more powerful manual controls. This provides you with greater precision over the gain consistency of your mix, allowing you to find the perfect balance. Autogain was inaccurate, and we weren't satisfied with the results.
How do I balance the volume of my tracks?
To balance the volume of your tracks, use the Gain Control located in the Effects or Master tab. This gives you independent control over each track's volume. If some tracks are louder or quieter than others, use the gain control to balance them out. You can also use the master limiter to apply some compression, putting the tracks in a similar dynamic range.
How do I make all the tracks the same volume level?'
You can make all tracks the same volume level using the gain control as described above. Alternatively, you could use the master limiter. Make sure that you see the gain reduction indicator being activated for each song to a similar level.
Why does the VU meter show higher peaks when stretching or speeding up a track?
When you change tempo or pitch using high-quality algorithms like Rubberband or Elastique Pro, the audio is recalculated sample by sample. This process can slightly reshape very short transients (like drum hits). Even though your ear perceives almost no difference, these tiny waveform changes can cause the VU meter to register slightly higher peaks.
In other words: the sound isn’t actually “louder” to your ears, but the mathematical resampling may produce inter-sample peaks that meters catch. This is completely normal, and the overall sound quality remains transparent and musical.
If you want to avoid the VU meter showing higher peaks when stretching, you can do one of the following things:
Lower track gain slightly before processing
Reduce the gain of each track by about –0.2 dB to –0.5 dB before exporting or playing back. This tiny adjustment won’t be audible, but it creates enough headroom so inter-sample peaks won’t hit 0 dB.
Use a limiter on the master bus
Keep a transparent limiter active with a ceiling of –0.3 dB. This will catch any stray overs caused by resampling, without changing the sound.
Render at 32-bit float when possible
If you export in 32-bit float, peaks above 0 dBFS are stored safely and can be adjusted later without clipping.
Check overs with a true-peak meter
A true-peak meter shows inter-sample peaks more accurately than a standard VU/peak meter. This helps you see what’s really happening.