X

Chapter 15 Utilities and tools 267
Gain plug-in
Gain amplies (or reduces) the signal by a specic decibel amount. It is very useful for quick level
adjustments when you work with automated tracks during post-processing—for example, when
you have inserted an eect that doesn’t have its own gain control, or when you want to change
the level of a track for a remix version.
Gain plug-in parameters
•
Gain slider and eld: Drag to set the amount of gain.
•
Phase Invert Left and Right buttons: Turn on to invert the phase of the left and right channels,
respectively.
Inverting phase is useful for dealing with time alignment problems, particularly those caused
by simultaneous recording with multiple microphones. When you invert the phase of a signal
heard in isolation, it sounds identical to the original. When the signal is heard in conjunction
with other signals, however, phase inversion may have an audible eect. For example, if you
place microphones above and below a snare drum, you may nd that inverting the phase of
either microphone can improve (or ruin) the sound. As always, rely on your ears.
•
Balance knob and eld: Rotate to adjust the balance of the incoming signal between the left
and right channels.
•
Swap L/R (left/right) button: Turn on to swap the left and right output channels. The swapping
occurs after the Balance parameter in the signal path. The Swap L/R button is disabled when
the Mono button is turned on.
•
Mono button: Turn on to output the summed mono signal on both the left and right channels.
Note: The Gain plug-in is available in mono, mono to stereo, and stereo instances. Only one
Phase Invert button is available in mono and mono to stereo modes. In mono mode, the Balance,
Swap L/R, and Mono parameters are disabled as well.