Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Do you want to know what the word attenuation means? Do you need to know what the attenuation control on your soundboard does? If you want the songs and demos you produce in your home recording studio to sound good, you need to understand how your gear works. This includes volume-related equipment such as limiters, compressors, and your soundboard’s various gain and attenuation controls. Keep reading What Exactly Is Attenuation for Home Recording Studios to find out what attenuation is and how it works in sound recording.
This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
What Is Attenuation for Home Recording Studios: What Is It?
At its simplest, the word attenuation means to reduce the volume:
- Volume is important as you track and mix your songs.
- For example, your equalization (EQ) controls are volume controls that affect specific frequency bands.
- When applying EQ to your mix, it’s better to try attenuating bad sounding frequencies before boosting good sounding frequencies.
For more information click: How to Employ Effective Equalization in Your Song.
Keep reading to get more home recording studio tips.
What Is Attenuation for Home Recording Studios: What Is Gain Staging?
What’s proper gain staging?
- Gain here just means volume. So, a gain control is a volume control. Your soundboard can adjust the gain using the track faders, input gain controls, attenuation controls, and the master fader.
- You need to set these up so that the different volume controls are at the optimum levels. If you don’t, you risk recording either hiss or distortion on your tracks.
- When recording tracks (a.k.a. tracking), set the master fader to 0 dB (decibels) and the track faders from 0 dB to -6 dB. Then, set your input gain controls so that your volume isn’t so high that it distorts or so low that you get hiss from your equipment.
- When mixing, set the master fader to 0 dB and adjust the individual track faders until you have a mix that you like.
- To avoid problems with hiss or distortion when tracking, apply some compression at a 4:1 ratio. If you need to, you can always add more compression later when you mix your song. (See the section below that talks about compression.)
- If you get distortion because your mic is too hot, use the attenuation control to reduce the mic volume. (See the section below that talks about the attenuation control.)
Mobile users: for best results viewing the videos, rotate your screen 90o to the right.
Video: What’s Gain Staging?
What Is Attenuation for Home Recording Studios: What Does Your Soundboard’s Attenuation Control Do?
Another example of attenuation is the attenuation control on your soundboard:
- For example, when you’re recording tracks for your song, if your mic is too hot it can cause distortion.
- This can really become a problem when you’re doing digital recording, because digital distortion doesn’t create a warm sound like you get with tube amps. Instead, it creates unnatural sounding artifacts that can ruin a track.
- To fix the problem, start by adjusting the input gain control on your soundboard while having the faders set up for proper gain staging.
- Also, you should add a compressor or even a hard limiter between your mic and the soundboard.
- If that doesn’t work, using the attenuation control on your channel strip will allow you to cut (or boost) the signal strength. How much depends on your equipment. (For example, the Roland VS-1824’s attenuation function is -42 to +6 dB.)
Having said that, each piece of gear is different. Be sure to check the owner’s manual on your equipment to see what it can and can’t do.
Video: The Art of Mixing
What Is Attenuation for Home Recording Studios: Limiters and Compressors
A limiter sets a volume threshold limit (thus the name) that a signal can’t exceed:
- These are useful when you need to avoid clipping (i.e., distortion).
- However, the problem with them is that they don’t sound very musical.
- In most cases, a compressor will get you similar results, but with a more music friendly sound.
A compressor’s threshold is much gentler, allowing an adjustable fraction of the signal volume to leak past the threshold:
- A compressor will bring down any high-volume peaks, which will stabilize the recorded instruments’ sound.
- Not only can a compressor help you avoid distortion, but it also allows you to raise the volume of a track.
- Why is this important? Because if your signal is louder than the background hiss of your equipment, you’ll end up with a clearer sounding track.
Compression is the effect most closely associated with a professional sound.
Video: How Compression Works
Final Thoughts
Takeaway points:
- At its simplest, the word attenuation means that you’re reducing your volume.
- A gain control is a volume control.
- Always practice proper gain staging with the various volume controls.
- When using EQ, cut bad frequencies before boosting good frequencies.
- When recording, if your mic is too hot it can cause distortion.
- Therefore, you should add a compressor or even a hard limiter between your mic and the soundboard.
- Also, using the attenuation control on your channel strip will allow you to cut (or boost) the signal strength. How much depends on your equipment.
Have fun recording!
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- Writing Well Crafted Songs
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- Powerful Popular MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
© 2025 Geoffrey Keith
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