Gain Stage Doctor

Gain Stage Doctor measures the pre-FX audio of your audio tracks (true peak, RMS, crest factor), shows a table with a suggested trim to hit a target staging level, and on confirm writes that trim into each track’s mixer volume in one undo. The suggestion is computed from the measured level, so it is repeatable.

What it does

It renders each selected audio track’s pre-FX audio over the time range, measures level, and suggests a trim toward a target (for example, RMS at -18 dBFS). You pick which tracks to apply, and it writes every trim in a single undo.

Right-click path

Select audio tracks, or an arrangement selection across them, then right-click and Gain Stage…. A progress bar renders the tracks (cancellable), then a table appears: one row per track with peak, RMS, crest, and a suggested trim. Pick a target (-12, -18, or -20 dBFS RMS), tick the tracks to apply, and press Apply trims.

Screenshot

A screenshot of the measurement table and a short demo go here once captured in Live 12.4.5b Suite.

Beta limit

Gain Stage Doctor measures the pre-FX audio of audio tracks. “Pre-FX” means it gauges the source level going into the track before the track’s own effects, not the post-chain or bus level. It works on audio tracks only: MIDI and instrument tracks have no pre-FX render in this beta, so freeze or flatten them to audio first if you want to stage them. The mixer volume control uses Live’s internal value scale, so the tool maps your target in dB to that scale and shows you the dB it is aiming for. It measures the time range you select, and it is user-invoked, never auto-triggered.