diff --git a/Helpers/GainDb.cs b/Helpers/GainDb.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f0deb1a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Helpers/GainDb.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+using System;
+
+namespace ytLive.Helpers;
+
+/// <summary>The fader scale for the audio dock: the model stores LINEAR gain (0..1), the dock
+/// shows and edits DECIBELS, because "−6 dB" means something to a person and "0.50" does not.
+///
+/// <para>Range: −∞ (silence) to +6 dB of headroom above unity. 0 dB is unity gain, which is what
+/// the old 1.0 meant — so a persisted 0.8 comes back as ≈ −1.9 dB and nothing about the stored
+/// data changes.</para>
+///
+/// <para>Creator context (2026-10-30): nearly deaf on the right, so the fader number is read, not
+/// heard. The scale therefore has to be the true one, not a cosmetic curve.</para></summary>
+public static class GainDb
+{
+    /// <summary>Silence floor. Anything at or below this reads as −∞ and writes as 0 gain.</summary>
+    public const double FloorDb = -60;
+
+    public const double MaxDb = 6;
+
+    /// <summary>Linear gain → dB, clamped to the fader's range. Zero becomes <see cref="FloorDb"/>.</summary>
+    public static double ToDb(double gain)
+    {
+        if (gain <= 0) return FloorDb;
+        var db = 20 * Math.Log10(gain);
+        return Math.Clamp(db, FloorDb, MaxDb);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>dB → linear gain. At the floor the result is exactly 0 (true silence), so the
+    /// bottom of the fader cannot leave a residue of noise.</summary>
+    public static double FromDb(double db)
+    {
+        if (db <= FloorDb) return 0;
+        return Math.Pow(10, Math.Clamp(db, FloorDb, MaxDb) / 20);
+    }
+
+    /// <summary>"−∞", "−6.0", "+1.5" — the label beside a fader.</summary>
+    public static string Label(double db) =>
+        db <= FloorDb ? "−∞" : (db > 0 ? "+" : string.Empty) + db.ToString("0.0");
+
+    /// <summary>Mono fold: the accessible downmix. Averages the pair so hard-panned content is
+    /// audible on both sides at half amplitude instead of absent from one.</summary>
+    public static float MonoFold(float left, float right) => (left + right) * 0.5f;
+}
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/GainDbTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/GainDbTests.cs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..94e0134
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/GainDbTests.cs
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+using Xunit;
+using ytLive.Helpers;
+
+namespace ytLive.Tests;
+
+/// <summary>The dock's faders speak dB while the model stores linear gain, so the mapping is load
+/// bearing: get it wrong and every reported level is wrong by a constant. Unity, the floor and
+/// the +6 dB ceiling are the three values a creator actually checks.</summary>
+public class GainDbTests
+{
+    [Fact]
+    public void Db_and_linear_gain_round_trip_and_the_ends_are_honest()
+    {
+        // Unity is the anchor: 1.0 ↔ 0 dB, and the default mic volume reads −1.9 dB.
+        Assert.Equal(0, GainDb.ToDb(1.0), 6);
+        Assert.Equal(1.0, GainDb.FromDb(0), 6);
+        Assert.Equal(-1.9, GainDb.ToDb(0.8), 1);
+
+        // Halving is −6 dB — the number a creator reads as "half".
+        Assert.Equal(-6.02, GainDb.ToDb(0.5), 1);
+
+        // The floor is TRUE silence: no residue left at the bottom of the fader.
+        Assert.Equal(0.0, GainDb.FromDb(GainDb.FloorDb));
+        Assert.Equal(0.0, GainDb.FromDb(-999));
+
+        // Ceiling: +6 dB is twice the amplitude and nothing beyond it.
+        Assert.Equal(2.0, GainDb.FromDb(6), 2);
+        Assert.Equal(6, GainDb.ToDb(GainDb.FromDb(99)), 6);
+
+        // Round-trip across the usable range.
+        foreach (var db in new[] { -60.0, -40, -20, -12, -6, -3, 0, 3, 6 })
+            Assert.Equal(db, GainDb.ToDb(GainDb.FromDb(db)), 6);
+
+        // Labels are what the creator reads.
+        Assert.Equal("−∞", GainDb.Label(GainDb.FloorDb));
+        Assert.Equal("-6.0", GainDb.Label(-6));
+        Assert.Equal("+1.5", GainDb.Label(1.5));
+
+        // The mono fold: a hard-right signal becomes audible on the left at half amplitude.
+        Assert.Equal(0.25f, GainDb.MonoFold(0f, 0.5f));
+        Assert.Equal(0.5f, GainDb.MonoFold(0.5f, 0.5f));
+    }
+}