Do you promise it will keep you out of trouble? 
No. The FCC is definitely going to shut me down.
I always though gain was the incoming signal so by adding gain your adding saturation from the amp.
Volume it whats coming out so you ate only adding power.
However, in a digital realm they seem to occupy the same place of the preamp so there is little difference.
But for me gain is the input source and volume is the output.
I think the confusion comes from the fact that amps tend to put consumer labels on not technical labels on their knobs.
A “volume” knob is identical to a “gain” knob. They are both controlling the level of the signal (applying gain). turning something up by 6dB is the same thing as applying 6dB of gain. Two different phrases for the exact same thing.
On guitar amps, “gain” tends to refer to the gain change before the distortion circuit, and “volume” tends to refer to the gain change after the distortion circuit. They are both applying gain, just in different parts of the signal chain.
2 Likes
In an analog world adding gain at the input pre amp and adding gain at the output do make a difference.
But i guess in the digital world its all just bollox anyway
Exactly, so depending where in the signal chain it is added effects the overall sound and saturation.
Which is what i said
In digital, it’s the exact same. If there’s distortion after the gain, then it will distort. If there isn’t, it won’t.
I wont disagree with your knowledge as in audio world it is far superior to mine.
But as for the difference between gain and volume my answer is sort of correct
yeah, sort of. Except for the fact that gain doesn’t mean input gain. Guitar amps imply that, but it’s not really what it means. I think it would confuse people if the knobs were labelled input gain and output gain, so they label them gain and volume. But in the case of guitar amps, volume actually means output gain.
I don’t think we’re actually saying different things here.
Lol. I know.
Im confused and profound at thevsane time lol.
But yeah I understand your point and yes i was thinking more analog and amp
Yes, and that’s related to what I said earlier, “Volume is…it depends a little on context, but we normal use it to mean how loud something is when it hits you ear or at least comes out of the speakers.” People usually use volume to mean the loudness of the end product. You’re not going to have a Volume knob on a mic pre, for instance.
Maybe it’s related to volume being how much space something takes up (the three dimensional capacity of a room, or a container for liquid, etc.).
Misread the post.
2 Likes
@Danny_Danzi, you may have missed this, but the question was if the computer code for gain was the same as the computer code for volume.
Oops…that I did. Apologies…I’ll read more carefully next time.
@Danny_Danzi, I might actually restore what you typed as a response and move it to the beginner tips. I thinks it’s a great write-up regardless! 