Lately, one of the questions I’ve been getting a lot is: “How do you get your audio to sound so clean in your YouTube videos?” So today, I’m breaking down my exact DaVinci Resolve 20 Audio Editing Process to help you get audio that’s crisp, polished, and ready for upload.
Spoiler: the room I record in is far from ideal. It’s got marble floors, tons of echo, a running AC unit, and a PC humming in the background. But with the right settings and plugins, you’d never know it. Let me show you how I clean it all up step by step.
Start with the Right Project Settings
Before you even touch the Fairlight tab, go to File > Project Settings > Fairlight and change the Target Loudness Level to -14 LUFS. That’s the sweet spot for YouTube.
Why does this matter?
If you upload audio louder than that (say -3 LUFS), YouTube will normalize it down to -14, which can crush your dynamic range. If you’re too quiet, YouTube won’t touch it—but your audience might struggle to hear you. I personally shoot for around -15 LUFS to stay safe.
Adjust Your Input Gain
Because I use in-camera preamps, I record a little on the quiet side. I usually bump my input gain by around +9 dB to get cleaner headroom and avoid peaking.
If you’re peaking around -20 LUFS with your raw audio, a gain adjustment here can help level things out before you do anything else.
Fairlight Settings: Get Set Up to Measure
Now head over to Fairlight and dial in a few key meters:
- Change Loudness Meter to: BS.1770-4
- Scale: Set to Absolute
- Lock Meter to Transport: Enabled
This setup makes sure you’re always getting updated readings and you can see exactly where your levels sit in LUFS.
Add a Compressor
Next, go to your track’s dynamics section and turn on the Compressor.
- Attack & Release: Set both to the fastest possible
- Threshold: Adjust while playing back until you see consistent activation
- Ratio: Set between 3:1 and 5:1
- Makeup Gain: Add around +11 dB and fine-tune from there
The goal is to reduce your dynamic range so your voice doesn’t jump all over the place. That way, viewers wearing headphones don’t get hit with sudden loud peaks or struggle to hear quieter moments.
EQ to Clean Up Nasty Frequencies
Turn on all EQ bands, set their type to Peak, and Q factor to 10.3. Then use a sweeping technique to identify and pull out bad frequencies.
I usually start with 5 key bands and listen for annoying tones.
Once I find one, I dip it by about -10 dB. You’ll be shocked at how much clearer everything sounds.
On the low end, I also roll off a bit of bass—just to tame any boominess that doesn’t need to be there.
Echo Remover: The Secret Weapon
Now for the real magic. I use Echo Remover Complete (plugin) to kill room reflections and environmental noise.
Settings I use:
- Strength: 100%
- Tone: Turn off
- Dryness: Turn off
- Leave Body: As-is
Even in my super live room, this plugin works wonders. The AC hum, the PC fan, the marble reflections—gone.
Final Touches
Use a De-Esser
Under the Restoration tab in Fairlight, add a De-Esser to smooth out harsh “S” sounds.
Optional: Multiband Compressor
If you want a little more polish, you can use a multiband compressor with the preset Impact and Balance. It adds subtle shine to your vocals. Totally optional, but nice to have.
Set Your Limiter
Finally, on Bus 1, throw on a Limiter with the following settings:
- Ceiling: -1.0 dB
- Input Gain: -1.0 dB
- Release: Fast
Make sure your final mix peaks right around -1.1 LUFS so it doesn’t clip when exported.
Final Result and Why It Matters
Once all of this is done, your voice should be sitting clearly in the mix with no background distractions. It’s loud enough to be heard, but not so loud that YouTube will mess with it.
I don’t just use this for YouTube videos—I use it on my podcasts too. And honestly, if you’re going to be working in Resolve, you should feel confident doing more than just color. Audio is just as important to the viewer experience.
Keep Climbing,
Sidney Baker-Green
