LNA Does Audio Stuff: Gain Staging, Cats, and Clipping – A Feline Guide to Clean Mixes

LNA kicks things off with a glass bowl and a parade of cartoon cats, but don’t let the cuteness distract you—this is a warning. The bowl is your master track, and those cats are your audio signals, all jostling for space. When the tails (or peaks) hit the ceiling, you’re not getting a fluffy crescendo—you’re getting digital clipping, and it’s not the good kind. Unlike analog saturation, this stuff is abrupt, ugly, and irreversible if you record it that way.

The point? If your signals are too hot, you lose dynamics and end up with a muddled, lifeless mess. If they’re too quiet, you’ll be boosting noise later. LNA’s message is simple: gain staging isn’t optional if you want clarity and punch. It’s the difference between a mix that breathes and one that gasps for air.

Here’s where we get nerdy. LNA breaks down dBFS—decibels relative to full scale. Zero dBFS is the hard ceiling in digital audio, and there’s no mercy if you hit it. The cats-in-a-bowl metaphor returns, this time showing what healthy headroom looks like: signals chilling comfortably below the ceiling, with space to stretch and breathe.

Headroom isn’t about making your mix quiet; it’s about leaving space for dynamics and mastering. LNA’s sweet spot? Keep your peaks between -6 and -12 dBFS. That way, your mix stays clean, and you’ve got plenty of room to make it loud later without wrecking the vibe.

Now for the hands-on stuff. LNA dives into Ableton Live, showing how to keep your tracks healthy from the start. Every sound—synth, vocal, drum—needs its own space, and you’ve got to watch those meters. If you’re burning the signal, you’re burning your mix. She walks through checking levels on individual tracks, aiming for that -6 to -12 dBFS sweet spot, not too hot, not too cold.

Virtual instruments and plugins can sneakily add gain, especially when you stack effects or crank up compressors. LNA’s advice: check the output of every device in your chain. Don’t trust the default settings—read your meters and adjust as you go. If you’re lost in a sea of gain, slap a limiter after the offending device. It’s not a crutch, it’s a safety net, and it’ll save your ears (and your speakers) from digital disaster.

She’s not a fan of limiters on every track, though. Instead, she prefers to set all her faders to zero, then mix by ear, starting with the drums and building up the rest. The result? A dynamic, punchy mix that’s ready for mastering, not a squashed mess.