can someone explain why you use a VU meter in a daw

Discussion in 'Working with Sound' started by samsome, Sep 16, 2021.

  1. samsome

    samsome Guest

    can someone explain why you use a VU meter in a daw

    do you use a VU meter for all tracks?

    and why

    thanks
     
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  3. Voekit

    Voekit Producer

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    Best Answer
    With VU meter you can easily hit the SWEET SPOT of analog modeling plugins.
    Better clipping,Better THD...

    For example, LUNA's Summing plug-in and Slate VCC provide VU meters, so you can well control the overload of the line amps.


    But, If you don’t like any analog modeling plug-ins, then VU Meter is bullshit....theorists are hyping them.
     
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  4. Smoove Grooves

    Smoove Grooves Audiosexual

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    haha! Where is the "Only Answer Within First 30 mins" button! lol

    @Voekit You happened to forget the most important point about VU meters, which really the member who is asking should know:
    VU meters hear like the human ear. THIS is the main point we value them hugely.
    Not as accurate as an FS fader, but that isn't how we hear.
    FS fader meter shows volume; VU meter shows loudness.

    You have said little of specific use here, along with your subjective thoughts.
    "Better clipping, better THD" is nothing to with a VU meter per se although it will aid you in many tasks because it reads loudness.
    Where is the Worst Answer button, @samsome ?
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2021
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  5. Plainview

    Plainview Rock Star

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    its for gain staging , which imo is bullshit driving emulation plugins is the only unique thing about them
     
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  6. MrLyannMusic

    MrLyannMusic Audiosexual

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    While Daws are linear and have infinite headroom (at least theoratically) VU meter are there to help you hit sweet spots as @Voekit suggested for certain plugins, but what's more important, is that VU meters help you being consistant, one of the sound engineer's important thing, is to be consistant with your mixes, so you can build your own sound signature and somehow standout, but records are unique and each recording is different from other records, so the best way to stay again "consistant" is to target each bus with a certain loudness, hit each plugin in a certain loudness, and hit your master buss compressor in a certain loudness, for exemple you always have your bass buss at let's say -12LUFS, your drums at -6 and so on, this way you kinda know what to expect and your mixes does not sound as if they were mixed by another person, especially when you mix an EP or an album...

    hope it makes sense for you, and good luck.
     
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  7. Smoove Grooves

    Smoove Grooves Audiosexual

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    MMyeah; all of that, and everything you said, can be done more accurately with an FS fader.
    So, no, kind of...
    Also you just talk of volume, when VU shows loudness.
     
  8. MrLyannMusic

    MrLyannMusic Audiosexual

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    What's an FS fader?

    to my knowledge a fader can never measure leadness.
     
  9. bravesounds

    bravesounds Kapellmeister

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    balance
     
  10. Smoove Grooves

    Smoove Grooves Audiosexual

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    :woot: FFS! GIYF! lol FS are the full scale faders in your daw and they have a visual meter! The ones that look at the momentary peaks of all our audio! lol. Volume.
    VU sees loudness as the ear does.
     
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  11. Smoove Grooves

    Smoove Grooves Audiosexual

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    Sorry, what?
    A VU METER?!
    :no:
     
  12. Obineg

    Obineg Platinum Record

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    troll posting, he does not even know what it is.
     
  13. Smoove Grooves

    Smoove Grooves Audiosexual

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    ? How?
    What I said is true.
    Oh, I see with your edit now! :)
     
  14. MrLyannMusic

    MrLyannMusic Audiosexual

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    Could have said daw integrated meter, :rofl:but well...

    That being said i don't personally use a VU meter per say, i use something a bit more advanced, Pure Analyzer from flux...
     
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  15. Obineg

    Obineg Platinum Record

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    yes, of course him. :P
     
  16. Smoove Grooves

    Smoove Grooves Audiosexual

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    Which I would have had to have made up, seeing as FS is unversally used and understood. :)
    And yes I meant the meter of the fader, not the fader itself! You got me! lol
     
  17. Michael Myers

    Michael Myers Ultrasonic

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    One of the uses of a VU meter:
    Plugin manufacturers have certain sweet spots and a VU meter makes it easy for you to level your signal as it goes into a plugin.

    One thing to keep in mind is that companies like Plugin Alliance have floating point processing, that is what matters is not how loud your signal is going into the plugin but making sure you don't clip on your way out.

    Using a VU meter would be dependent on the manufacturer/plugin and what their suggest sweet spot is.
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2021
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  18. Voekit

    Voekit Producer

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    If you have better suggestions, I believe others will be happier.
    Rather than making a rude attack, it is impolite to deny others at will without considering the context. It's not funny.

    If you are close to 0dBVU, then obviously higher THD will appear.
    VU could NOT change the sound, but you can, with this you definitely do. YOU TURN THE KNOBS.

    If you continue to refute, the conclusion is:
    If a person can hear that saturation is beyond the sweet spot, he can definitely determine the effect of plugins that only provide RMS digital meters on audio dynamics without relying on VU meters - the so called "VU meter can help me hear the dynamics and loudness changes, but it cannot help me understand the current overload in the chain." is totally bullshit.

    You don't even understand what I'm talking about.

    Unless, you have never tried to insert any digital plugins with unlimited headroom among multiple analog modeled plugins—those that do not have a built-in VU meter but have a sweet spot.
    Or, you have a very high level of listening, and can easily adjust the input and output of the modeling plugins to ensure that they do not produce too much distortion in the chain, which will benefit the subsequent digital plugins.
     
  19. triggerflipper

    triggerflipper Audiosexual

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    Cause it looks cool as fuck.
     
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  20. Smoove Grooves

    Smoove Grooves Audiosexual

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    I did. They are.
    I didn't. Where?
    I didn't. I am sorry if I came across like that! My apologies.
    Totally considered. Your assumption is wrong.
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2021
  21. Sinus Well

    Sinus Well Audiosexual

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    It depends! In PT I mix with VU meters (the ones next to the faders, you know) and in Reaper with LUFS-M and LUFS-S meters.
    Peak levels are only interesting for me when recording and on the master out.
     
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