‭GainMatch‬

"‭ I think everybody needs this or a similar tool. I use it on every project now, and it's very‬
‭helpful. Makes me decide quickly what plugins to get rid of."‬

‭VIDEO TUTORIAL‬
‭ ttps://youtu.be/cMZm4n4IDAw‬‭(5 uses for the GainMatch‬‭plugin)‬
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‭https://youtu.be/h5D4OK2VQGc‬‭(what's new in v.1.1)‬
‭https://youtu.be/Zj_3TiRX_3M‬‭(what's new in v.1.2)‬
‭https://youtu.be/rDxuAPGh7-w‬‭(what's new in v.1.4)‬

‭IN SHORT‬
‭This is a gain knob "with a twist". There are two basic modes of operation:‬

‭A.‬ ‭With two instances: matching "Before" <->"After" loudness.‬

‭B.‬ ‭With one instance: matching to a desired target level (RMS or Peak)‬

‭ here's a meter/button for manual gain-matching and an "Auto" mode for "hands-free".‬
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‭"Listen before" button allows you to easily compare before/after signals and even mix them.‬

‭There are different ways you can use GainMatch, as described below.‬
‭A. BEFORE-AFTER‬

‭1.‬ P
‭ ut one instance of "GainMatch" before your chain of plugins, one after.‬
‭Note that new instances automatically set themselves to "Before" or "After".‬

‭2.‬ P
‭ lay some audio. In the "After" instance you have a "Compensate" button that after a‬
‭while will show you the level difference. Click on it to compensate for the difference.‬

‭ ou can now bypass all inserts in your DAW and compare before/after with the same‬
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‭level or use the "Listen before" button in the plugin (the speaker icon).‬

‭3.‬ C
‭ lick on the "AUTO" to enable smooth gain riding. It will be engaged only when the‬
‭gain difference is greater than "gain tolerance" (+-1 dB by default). When enabled,‬
‭you'll see a cog icon near AUTO to change tolerance and limit.‬

‭B. MATCHING TARGET LEVEL‬

‭Right-click and select "Enable target loudness mode".‬

‭ ou'll see a knob on the left to set the desired loudness level. Now you're comparing your‬
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‭audio to this level (like if your "before" plugin would always say "loudness is -18", but this‬
‭time you don't need the "before" plugin). Note that this is an average loudness, not the peak‬
‭levels. Click on the "Compensate" button or enable "AUTO" mode to match the desired level.‬

‭Clicking on "RMS" you can switch it to "Peak" mode‬

I‭n this mode you can use GainMatch as a real-time "normalizer", matching your highest peak‬
‭to the target peak value you set.‬

‭USAGE SCENARIOS‬

‭1.‬ ‭Mixing or mastering: compare before/after with the same level and quickly get rid of‬
‭unnecessary plugins. Make your mixes sound better with less processing. Don't let‬
‭the loudness difference fool you.‬
‭2.‬ ‭Use "Listen before" mix control to make wet-dry balances of a chain of plugins.‬
‭3.‬ ‭Use reverse linking of "before" and "after" gain. Add input gain while decreasing‬
‭output to test your compressor or saturation plugins.‬
‭4.‬ ‭Balancing recorded tracks: say you have two guitars panned hard left and right, one‬
‭was recorded slightly louder. Make them perfectly balanced in one click.‬
‭5.‬ ‭Use "auto" mode for smooth gain riding with a "gain tolerance" setting to enable‬
‭operation only on significant volume changes. Free your hands to adjust other‬
‭plugins while keeping overall loudness the same.‬
‭6.‬ ‭Use the plugin as a meter: see how much louder the signal becomes, and adjust the‬
‭processing plugin's output gain. You can remove GainMatch after that.‬
‭7.‬ ‭Set target loudness and adjust your signal before processing. Process your guitar or‬
‭bass tracks with the same loudness across the whole album.‬
‭and you can come up with more uses...‬
‭INSTALLATION‬

‭Notes on updating from version < 1.12:‬

I‭n version 1.12 the plugin was renamed from LM GainMatch to GainMatch.‬
‭You need to‬‭remove an old LM GainMatch‬‭before installing‬‭the new version.‬
‭The safe way is this: 1) remove LM GainMatch 2) restart the DAW 3) install GainMatch 4) restart the DAW‬

‭Installing on Windows:‬
‭Extract all files. Drag the "GainMatch" folder onto the "VST3 folder" link (or "AAX folder").‬

I‭n case dragging over the folder link doesn't work, manually copy "GainMatch" into:‬
‭C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3‬‭(for VST3)‬
‭or‬‭C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-ins‬‭(for AAX)‬
‭If you're installing the Win32 version of a plugin on Windows 64bit (to use in 32bit‬
‭host/DAW), the paths will be C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\VST3 or C:\Program‬
‭Files (x86)\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-ins‬
‭Installing on Mac:‬
‭ pen DMG and drag the file to the folder.‬
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‭If drag-and-drop doesn't work normally (security issues since Mojave/Catalina), hold the file‬
‭over the folder icon until it blinks and drop the file into the opened folder.‬

‭Alternatively, double-click the folder and when it opens, drag the file there.‬

‭ U into‬‭/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components‬
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‭VST3 into‬‭/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3‬
‭AAX into‬‭/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins‬‭(AAX)‬
‭LICENSE AND TRIAL‬

‭You can use this plugin for 14 days with a fully functional trial.‬

‭When in trial mode, you'll see a "key" icon that you can use to enter the license code.‬

‭The license permits you to use this plugin on all of your computers.‬
‭USER INTERFACE‬

‭●‬ R ‭ ight-click‬‭on any control (or press 'D' hovering‬‭it) to reset it to the "default" value.‬
‭Some controls also may have a context menu on right-click.‬
‭●‬ ‭Double-click‬‭to enter the value‬
‭●‬ ‭Mouse-over and use‬‭mouse wheel‬‭or‬‭arrow keys‬‭for adjusting‬‭in "steps".‬
‭Hold‬‭Shift‬‭for fine adjustments.‬

‭GLOBAL / LOCAL SETTINGS‬

‭ o access‬‭local options‬‭(settings of the current instance)‬‭use the‬‭dropdown menu‬‭icon in‬

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‭the top right corner.‬

‭Alternatively, you can access the most useful options by‬‭right-clicking on empty space‬‭.‬
I‭f you want to set local options to all new instances use "Save as default (for new instances)"‬
‭(alternatively you can select the default options individually in Global Preferences -> For new‬
‭instances...).‬

‭ o access‬‭Global Preferences‬‭you can click on the‬‭Cog icon‬‭in the toolbar or‬

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‭Shift+Right-click on empty space.‬

‭ he Global Preferences affect all instances. Some of them are applied immediately (like‬
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‭Look and feel, Expose to DAW or Pan law), some require project reload (when changing the‬
‭number of groups or gain resolution), some affect only new instances (For new instances...)‬

‭THEMES‬

‭ here is a‬‭dark‬‭and a‬‭light theme‬‭of a plugin.‬

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‭You can choose one from Global Preferences > Look and feel.‬
‭CHANNELS‬

‭ he plugin can operate in "Stereo", "Left", "Right", "Mid" and "Side" modes. For example,‬
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‭you can adjust the gain of the right channel while measuring the left. This way, you can‬
‭easily fix the levels of hard-panned guitars or backing vocals on a stereo track.‬

‭GROUPS‬

‭You can set instances to use the same group by dragging the "Group" name.‬

‭ here are up to 128 groups available (24 by default) for using this plugin on multiple tracks.‬
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‭Each group can have one "Sender" (aka Before) and one "Receiver" (aka After). If there is‬
‭more than one sender ('Before') in the group, you'll see a warning.‬
*‭ Note, that if you insert a plugin in "Before" mode and then duplicate it, the new instance will‬
‭switch itself to "After" mode. If you duplicate this plugin another time, it'll set itself to "Before"‬
‭again but select the next free group. If you add multiple new instances on several tracks at‬
‭once (depending on the DAW possibilites), they'll be all set to "Before" or "After" accordingly.‬
‭You can customize this behavior in the Global Preferences -> For new instances -> ... .‬

‭You can select the number of groups in the Global Preferences, or right-clicking on Groups.‬

*‭ Note, that the more groups you use, the higher is the usage of resources (RAM mostly).‬
‭So if you want the fastest opening time and smallest RAM usage, use 8 groups. Don't use‬
‭the 128 groups option, unless you really need it. Usually 24 groups is the optimum.‬

‭NEUTRAL MODE‬

‭ hen the plugin is in "Neutral" mode (not Before or After), it acts as simple volume control‬
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‭and doesn't perform any loudness calculation or audio sending, which saves CPU.‬

‭ he instances also bypass loudness calculation (to save CPU) when there's no‬
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‭corresponding 'Sender' or 'Receiver' on that group, or when 'Receiver' GUI is closed (except‬
‭for AUTO mode).‬

‭When the plugin is doing loudness calculation, there's a "play" triangle near the Group name‬

I‭f there is no pair in the group for the current 'Before' of 'After' instance, it goes to 'Neutral'‬
‭mode in 45 seconds (this option can be disabled in Global Preferences -> Other global‬
‭settings). This way you can for example remove the "Before" plugin when you don't need it‬
‭and "After" will also free that group after a while, becoming just a Neutral gain knob.‬
‭KNOB RANGE AND TRIM‬

‭ y default, the central knob controls gain in the +-20 dB range. The options menu allows‬
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‭selecting ranges +-10 dB and +-40 dB.‬

‭ ou can additionally enable the "Trim" control from the options menu which allows you to‬
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‭add another +-150 dB of gain.‬

‭ he main Gain knob parameter is limited to +-40 dB for making automation curves not too‬
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‭small in the DAW. The Trim is added to have more control over gain when required.‬

‭STATUS BAR ITEMS‬

‭ here is a fast way to display and hide optional status bar items. Click on the bottom left icon‬
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‭in the status bar (triangle or square left to the group name).‬
‭RMS TIME AND FILTER TYPE‬

‭ y default, the RMS time (the averaging time for loudness calculation) is set to 2 sec. You‬
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‭can change it from 0.5 sec to 10 sec when the time indicator is displayed. The RMS time is‬
‭set for the group so that both Sender and Receiver in that group do calculations identically.‬

I‭f you enable "Target loudness mode" there is another control for RMS time, which is‬
‭independent from the group.‬

I‭f you enable "Display filter type" you'll be able to select "Flat" or "K-Weighted" (default). This‬
‭means that the signal is not processed (Flat) or filtered before measuring.‬

‭K-Weighted filter curve looks approximately like this (it's used by default):‬

*‭ If you're interested in how the filtered (K-Weighted) signal sounds, you can‬
‭Ctrl+Shift+Right-click (opens expert settings menu) and select "Listen to filtered signal".‬

I‭f you right-click on RMS time or filter type you can save the current value as default. It's also‬
‭saved when you use "Save as default (for new instances)" from the Options menu.‬

‭ s already mentioned, RMS and filter types for "Before-After" mode and for "Target loudness‬
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‭more" are independent.‬
‭LISTEN BEFORE‬

‭ he "Listen before" button (with the loudspeaker icon) lets you listen to the audio input of the‬
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‭"Before" plugin.‬

‭ hen enabled (green), there's a mix control under this button which defines how much of‬
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‭the "before" signal you hear. This way you can mix "before" with "after".‬
‭You can drag the value up/down, double-click to enter manually, or right-click to reset.‬

‭ s some inserts may introduce delay, while "listening before" there may be a shift in the‬
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‭audio. For such cases, there's a delay control on the bottom right corner (by default it's‬
‭shown instead of "channels" when "Listen before" is enabled). You can set the delay‬
‭manually (in samples) or click on the "clock" icon to auto-detect delay.‬

(‭ When "Listen before" is active, other controls are grayed out and disabled, but if the MIX‬
‭knob is not at 100% you can also adjust the gain of current instance)‬

‭Tiny crossfades are applied when switching "Listen" modes to eliminate possible clicks.‬
‭DELAY DETECTION‬

‭If you right-click on the "Clock" icon you can see the Delay Detection options.‬

‭ he option "Report delay to host" can be useful in different situations. For example if you're‬
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‭using GainMatch‬‭on different tracks‬‭to send audio‬‭from one track to another. If you‬
‭experience dropouts In "Receiver" you can increase the delay (optimally set it multiples of‬
‭your ASIO buffer size) and optionally enable "report delay to host" so that this instance is‬
‭auto-compensated by the host and audio is aligned. However, this usage is‬‭experimental‬‭.‬

‭ ou can also use this option to fake a delay to compensate for the plugins that do not report‬
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‭the delay properly.‬

‭"Keep delay visible" makes delay controls available not only in "Listen before" mode.‬

‭ ou can choose units for displaying delay: samples, milliseconds, or beats (depending on‬
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‭the BPM of your project). Milliseconds and beats are converted to samples.‬
‭ADJUST LISTEN GAIN AND POLARITY‬
I‭f you right-click on the "Listen before" button you can display "Listen gain" control.‬
‭With this, you can change the level of the "before" signal that you hear. When it's displayed,‬
‭the "Compensate" button and "AUTO" are also displayed and are applied to this "Listen‬
‭gain" control (instead of the main Gain knob).‬

I‭t allows you to match the "before" loudness to the "after" so that you can easily compare‬
‭finished mixes without changing the balance. However, it may be a reason for clipping, esp.‬
‭on the master bus.‬

"‭ Listen polarity" shows and toggles the polarity of the "listen before" signal. If the indicator is‬
‭red, the polarity is flipped. The polarity is auto-detected when detecting delay. The correct‬
‭polarity allows the "Delta" mode to work properly.‬
‭LISTEN TO DELTA‬
I‭f you select "Display 'Delta'" from the options menu, or‬‭shift-click on the Listen Before‬
‭button, you'll be able to use the "Delta" mode. It inverts the polarity of the before signal and‬
‭sums it with the after, so you can hear the difference.‬

‭ his way you can hear what your EQ is doing to the signal (it's like a "solo band" mode in‬
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‭some EQs) or what exactly your limiter/compressor is taking away.‬

‭ or the best 'delta' results, the before and after signal should have the same level and‬
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‭phase/polarity, so make sure to perform delay detection. Also, the "AUTO" enabled (for‬
‭example for "Listen Before" mode) helps.‬

‭COLLECTIVE LISTEN BEFORE‬

‭ ainMatch can simultaneously toggle "Listen before" or "Delta" on multiple tracks. You can‬
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‭toggle all "Listen before" in the project using Ctrl+Click on "Listen before". Alternatively you‬
‭can link some GainMatches into a "Collection" (dragging the "Listen before" button to‬
‭another instance) and toggle that collection using Alt+Click.‬

‭For ease of use you can display dedicated "collection controls".‬

‭The top (asterisk) button toggle all instances in project.‬

‭ he bottom (link) button toggles all instances in the current collection. You can make a‬
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‭collection by dragging the "Listen before" button onto another instance(s).‬

‭You can unlink an instance from the collection using the right-click on the "link" button.‬

I‭f you click and hold you can "lock" desired collective mode so that pressing "Listen before"‬
‭or "Delta" will also toggle that globally (or for the current collection).‬

‭AUTO MODE‬

‭ lick on the "AUTO" switch to turn it on. The green LED means that AUTO is on, but idle. If‬
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‭the gain difference is bigger than the "gain tolerance" then the AUTO LED becomes red and‬
‭the plugin actively adjusts the gain (you'll see the knob slowly rotating).‬

‭ y the way, you can enable "Write" automation and record gain adjustments in your DAW.‬
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‭This way you can safely render it later (AUTO works in real time and while rendering you‬
‭better turn it off).‬
‭Note on writing automation:‬

‭ hen this option is enabled: "Global Preferences -> Expose to DAW -> Gain in AUTO", then‬
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‭the Gain parameter is always seen by DAW in AUTO mode and its changes can be written in‬
‭the automation lane and are usually visible in the DAW history.‬

‭ owever, sometimes this behavior is undesirable. For example you want to use undo on‬
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‭another plugin, but GainMatch's AUTO Gain changes are written to the DAW history and get‬
‭in the way of the undo operation. To solve this you can uncheck the option "Gain in AUTO".‬
‭Then you'll see a "W" icon/button near the "AUTO" switch to enable exposing/writing gain‬
‭automation only when you need to.‬

‭AUTO setttings‬

‭ licking on a little "cog" icon near AUTO reveals settings: the left value is gain tolerance (the‬
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‭amount of gain difference that makes AUTO active). The right value is the maximum value of‬
‭gain that AUTO can apply.‬

‭ hen the AUTO LED is yellow, it means that the input signal is too low, and "suspend‬
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‭comparison" is activated (read below).‬
‭If you right-click the AUTO control, you'll see the options:‬

"‭ Adjustment speed"‬‭allows you to control how fast‬‭the AUTO is. It depends on the RMS‬
‭time to calculate its speed (RMS time defines how fast GainMatch recalculates the‬
‭loudness). So‬‭Classic (slow)‬‭means twice RMS time,‬‭Normal‬‭means equal to RMS time, and‬
‭Fast‬‭means half RMS time. Minimum auto time is limited‬‭to 1 second, so you can get good‬
‭results for example with RMS time set to 2s and Adjustment speed set to Fast.‬
‭Also the bigger the gain difference, the faster AUTO performs.‬

"‭ Ear protection"‬‭tries to internally suppress/smooth‬‭big loudness spikes, when AUTO adds‬
‭a lot of gain (say when you were tuning some plugin in between and the signal was‬
‭temporarily quiet, and then you turn off that plugin and signal jumps up in level). When "Ear‬
‭protection" is active you'll see an "Ear" icon near the gain knob value.‬

"‭ Return to 0 on suspend comparison"‬‭does what it says‬‭- if there's no signal (or it's very‬
‭low), AUTO waits for 1 second and turns gain to 0 dB. Can be useful in some (rare) cases.‬

"‭ Use separate limits for gain adjustment"‬‭allows you‬‭to set negative and positive auto‬
‭limits independently. This way you can have AUTO adjustments ranging (for example) from‬
‭-20 to +10 dB, or from -30 dB to +3dB, etc.‬