Audio Level Meters for Mastering

What kind of level meters are commonly used in mastering? In this video we will have a look at four different meters.

💚 Sofia & Thomas

[RaymondKold]

I can't believe this was uploaded 1 hour ago, I googled this term 10 minutes after upload and this was the only video that popped up. Thank you for making this!

[flipatomas]

Thank you so much Thomas, your channel is a gold mine of audio knowledge

[samihalinen]

Greetings from Finland! I have just recently found out your channel and became an instant subscriber. You really dive in things that are the most relevant for self releasing (and mastering) home musicians. Very much appreciated, thank you! 😊

[EdwinDekker]

Thank you for the video. I'd like more information on the displayed loudness range (lra) and if it plays a part in mastering.

[luizamusic]

Funny thing I was actually looking into the use of VU meters in the DAW today and then this was posted. I never really saw the point of VU meters when there are others like RMS or LUFS-M or -S. I guess it's easier to get that info on a relative scale... But a lot of Loudness meters also provide a relative option, sooo I dunno haha.
On another note, I recently found this channel, and I'm really enjoying it. It's the only channel that has good videos on the DMG Audio plug-ins and not only that, uses Reaper as a mastering DAW. (I recently ditched WaveLab)

[deepspaceocean]

Great video. I'll probably go through all videos on this channel because I want to try mastering my own songs. One thing I would want to find is a good explanation of is headroom. I don't seem to find a very good explanation online.

[emander]

Just found your channel. Subscribed. That was great. Would love another on this subject if you get a chance. Cheers

[spiritmusic]

Thank you for this. I did a mastering course with Ian Sheperd and that convinced me to start using a VU (Klanghelm). I am by no means a mastering expert but am certainly getting better at mixing and mastering. I will try to offer you some feedback for consideration for future content as my way of saying thank you for your content. Q: - I have this one track that I have remixed and mastered so many times, it has become this personal challenge. I have previously stated that perhaps I am setting the bar too high. By that, I mean, listening to reference tracks of Thomas Dolby whom I have always considered genius. So, this track has quite a strong bass presence, this particular music project is a series of meditational tracks tuned to 432 Htz, the low end in the track I have filtered out in the sides but I am guessing the LUFS Meter / limiter (Waves WLM plus) is reading the lower energy in the track and comparing the listening volume of this track to others from the project, this track is quieter (sounding) so to hear the nuances of the instruments I have to turn it up a couple of notches on listening device. Is this due to low end or energy in the track? I do understand it is difficult for you to really comment without hearing the track but thinking these anomalies can be useful to others like myself trying to get our heads around the wizardry of creating sonically pleasing mixes. PS: This project I refer to is being mastered at a target of -14 LUFS (for You Tube) which is a preset on the Waves WLM Plus meter / limiter which is placed last in the mastering chain. PPS: Does the fact that my lower tuning to 432 Htz impact the EQing frequencies tools, like I should compensate with the translation of frequencies tools (that I guess are mainly geared for tuning at 440 Htz) Thanks again for all your great content.

[jacquesancillon]

hello ... you don't use a DIN measurement to listen to the impact of the low frequencies of a signal? in the USA, producers are all addicted to this type of calibration. If anyone is interested I could give the settings to obtain this. Thank you Thomas et Sofia for your work.

[robshrock-shirakbari]

Yeah, more on metering and deep specifics of mastering.

[mateuszamadeusz]

Perhaps the program will come in handy :)

[LBJedi]

Hello Thomas😊 I just discovered your channel, and I’m already learning so much! I’m trying to do all my mixing/mastering through headphones right now; I cannot treat my current room for speakers. I got myself a great pair of open-back headphones, I use sound ID Reference and Can aopener, and I’m getting some good results. I’d like to get an external headphone amp to supplement my audio interface(Neve 88M). Is there a simple headphone amp you’d recommend that won’t break the bank? Thank you for your time and content!

[chris_share]

Thanks for the video. If I want to measure the "loudness" of individual drum tracks (say, for setting up a mix balance) what's the best way to do this with a LUFS meter? For example, what about a snare track where the snare only plays on beats 2 and 4. In this case, is the Momentary LUFS value the most significant one? Do the Short Term and Integrated values provide anything useful? Cheers!

[px]

If i have a pop singing song that is sitting well on the vu meter..but only one instrument is letting it hit over the 0 once in a while do you know if it will be fine?....i am far from clipping in db's and true peak and luf is fine...but on vu one instrument goes over once in a while....do you think there will be an effect when i put it on streaming service?

[antonweisheit]

Is there a plugin that can measure the signal-to-noise ratio?

[sarinsahil]

How do VU meters compare to RMS meters? Do they use a different scale? Thank you :)

[Gdude]

Aren't you suppose to generally feed your mastering plugins -18dbfs = 0VU the same way you feed your mixing plugins? (talking generally, of course different plugins may gain stage at -16dbfs or -12dbfs)

[Songwritersbehindthecurtain]

Is album sequencing and tracklisting same or different?

[sadata]

"there are other meters"
Me: no thx, im good 😅