Skip to main content
Participant
September 25, 2023
Question

The [ keyboard shortcut to turn the volume down by -1dB is muting tracks after -24 dB

  • September 25, 2023
  • 5 replies
  • 1185 views

 I am aware of the G shortcut to adjust clip volume. I think it's great, maybe it's even better but for my use case [ is still faster for my workflow.

Here's the problem, I use the [ command to lower the clip volume automation one dB at a time, but everytime I hit [ to go below -24 dB it mutes the entire track. I liked the key command because it would automatically lower keyframes by -1 dB to match the new clip level, but now it just mutes them when I hit [ and go past -24 dB. It used to not be this way and the behavior only seems to happen when I lower volume not increase it. The ] shortcut still increases volume by +1dB no matter how low or high the volume is. I'm not sure why this is an issue since only one update ago it worked as it always had and it let me lower the volume past -24 dB one -1dB at a time. I tried making a new project, updating premiere, clearing cache, restarting my computer, etc. and nothing restores the [ command back to the previous behavior. Was this an intentional change to the way the [ key command functions or did I accidentally tick a box I wasn't supposed to? Let me know if there are any fixes, thank you in advance!

5 replies

Participating Frequently
October 14, 2025

I am having this exact issue. It has been going on for a few months now and I figured a bug had crept into Premiere. Finally decided to look into it. I'm running 25.5 on MacOS 14.8.1. Macbook Pro M1 Pro. I'm using the page down shortcut and it happens whether I use the modifier to do a large change or just go 1db at a time. Below -24db it goes silent. If I use the clip mixer I can go lower than -24.

Community Manager
October 14, 2025

@Joel29186357m6n8 
@luisa94255945 

Do you have any other audio effects running on the clips or on the tracks that could cause this?  Or any Essential Sound sections active?

Participating Frequently
October 14, 2025

Just to make sure I created a brand new project from scratch, brought a piece of media in and created a sequence from it using the right click in the project window. When I nudge below -24db using the page down shortcut the slider in the clip mixer drops to negative infinity.

Community Manager
September 26, 2023

I also cannot reproduce this locally.  There have been no changes to the functionality for this in recent version either.

If you manually move the volume keyframe line or use the Effects Control panel to move the volume lower than -24, does the issue still happen?

Would you be able to post a video of the issue happening?

Legend
September 26, 2023

also, maybe try remapping the command to another key or keystroke combo...  I have noticed premiere updates sometime screw up certain keyboard commands particularly if there are multiple commands mapped to the same shortcut to be used depending on context (active window)...  

Legend
September 26, 2023

Never easy to troubleshoot premiere problems from a distance so please tell us your system specs: OS version, Premiere version, amount of RAM, Hardware specs including graphics card and if you have any 3rd party plugins installed for Premiere... Also, sequence settings and clip properties can also help. Although you can throw almost any format into premiere, some formats can be problematic, particularly on an underpowered system.  Also, do you have a 3rd party audio interface on your system?   

mattchristensen
Legend
September 26, 2023

@luisa94255945 That does sound strange, and I'm not able to see it on my system. I imported a clip, but it into the sequence twice so there are two copies. Then on the second copy of the clip I held [ until it went below -24dB. The other clip in the track still plays fine, so something else is up. Can you share a screen recording when this happens?