Do you add VU meters?

spantini

spantini

COO of me, inc.
While using DAWs and all their digital meters, do you add VU meters (plugins), like a meter bridge? I've been tempted to add these, mostly because they look cool and are more interesting to watch, but are they really more effective than the bar meters? I guess if you're still clinging to analog references it's probably working on some level - like when using tape saturation, maybe?. Do you add them just to impress clients? I've gotten very accustomed to the standard bar meters - I trust them, especially as they give me an exact dB reading.
 
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Ujn Hunter said:
Nope. It was hilarious when Waves gave away a FREE VU Meter for Black Friday one year.
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This one?

bedroomproducersblog.com

Waves Audio VU Meter Plugin Is FREE @ VSTBuzz

VSTBuzz offers the VU Meter Plugin ($49) by Waves Audio as a FREE download until December 17th, 2021. Is this the first time the VU Meter Plugin from Waves Audio is offered as a freebie? If someone has this info, please let me know in the comments section. I think I remember covering it inRead More
bedroomproducersblog.com bedroomproducersblog.com
 
I've tried it. But go by DAW levels. I think you know like -12db on the DAW fader...that's where I want to try to have my tracks peaking when recording. Not sure I look at the fader levels much when mixing except for the drum bus which I seem to be getting like -8db peaks with an average level hovering around -23db or something. Then the master fader I'm trying to peak not more than -6db really with as healthy average level as I can get. Usually it ends up too low, like -23db average. I'd like it more around -20 or even -18db. I dunno. Those are the numbers that roll around in my head. Maybe a VU meter and the skills to use it would cut to the chase more without all the numbers.
 
I don't need to put something else to take up computer resources. The track meters in Reaper work just fine for me. They look like the LEDs on some old meter bridges like on the old Mackie mixers.

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Scrounging around, I dug up some material supporting the use of VU meters in conjunction with a DAW's full scale meters. Geez. . .I could spend some time playing around with this stuff. More gain staging thrown in for good measure.

mastering.com

VU Meter: The Best Kept Secret of the Pros

Ever seen those old-timey meters in pictures of old studios? They might save your mix. Here's why the VU meter is the audio industry's best-kept secret.
mastering.com mastering.com

Q. How do I understand a VU meter correctly?

I have recently invested in the range of UAD2 plug-ins, but am afraid I am not sure how to read the VU meters correctly. I am...
www.soundonsound.com www.soundonsound.com
 
For me, the concern is if the meters are reacting quickly enough to show peaks that will reach >0dBFS in the digital realm. VU meters typically were set up with a reaction time of a few hundred ms, so they don't show peaks. Flat topped peaks are to be avoided at all costs. In the days of analog tape, you didn't experience the problem to the same degree since you probably had at least 20dB of headroom. Peaks would round off unless you were massively overloaded. Some VU meters also had an overload LED, so you could see the red light start flashing even if the meter was reading -10.

I recently did a recording where the level was set up, but when the music started, the level was WAY over what was anticipated. It had a bunch of flat topped peaks that sounded awful. Luckily I could trim the gain and keep things in check. Had I been using tape, it would have been overloaded, but might have been usable, although a bit distorted. Had I been relying on strictly on a VU meter, the whole recording could have been toast in the digital realm.

For now, I'll stick with the stock Reaper setup with peaks in the center of the master and RMS on the outside.
 
Track Rat said:
Real ones, yes.
Neve.jpg
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And then cover them up with dangling cables. That's the wrong place for the OPX.
I was never impressed by needle meters. Bar meters are best.
 
Slouching Raymond said:
And then cover them up with dangling cables. That's the wrong place for the OPX.
I was never impressed by needle meters. Bar meters are best.
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Durrough are bar meters. Each segment is its own individual LED.

They make three basic versions.

An analog meter that can be calibrated to your board.

A digital meter

And newest is they are doing a plug in.

I have one each of the first two. Actually have three but one of my analog ones needs repair. But I like em a lot.
 
Adding VU meters is to me a bit like ditching the disc brakes on your car and fitting drums. They are 'retro' and work but not very well!
The BBC engineers coined the phrase that "VU" stood for "Virtually Useless" which is a bit harsh since the meters* are quite good for judging loudness levels, WITH experience, but fail miserably to show peaks and peaks is what you need to know to stop your TX over-deviating or indeed, hitting 0dBFS.

Virtually all tape machines and 'project' mixers were fitted with VU meters but mainly because an Ernest Turner meter and associated electronics was way too expensive.

*That assumes the meters have the correct sensitivity and ballistics. Not very likely in many cases.

Dave.
 
I love when people put VU meters on so that the can see if their other plugins will sound their best, even though that is going to be a function of how much distortion that plugin is likely to cause but VU meters can't really tell you anything about that because distortion has very little to do with average levels so a peak meter would actually show you more of what you need to know, but actually listening to the damn thing in order to see how it sounds is the last thing that occurs to anybody.
 
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