Audio Level Meters

 

 

Level Meters 

- A visual representation of the electrical strength of an audio signal

- For measurement of External Level Variation 

 

 

 

1. VU Meter

- Volume Unit

- 0 vu = +4 dBm (dBu)

- An 'averaging' meter reads the average levels 

- Like our hearing, indicates the average loudness

- Not the actual level of the signal (VU meter is strength meter)

 

▲ VU Meter

 

2. Peak Meter

- Read absolute level (Not an average level)

- Track all transients

- Indicates the true electrical peak

- Must use for digital recording

- Most peak meters are L.E.D. (Light Emitting Diodes) 

- Type of meter: individual lights, bar graph

 

▲ Peak Meter

 

 

3. PPM

- Peak Program Meter

- -12 = +4 dBm

- Fast Rise Ballistic

- Slow Fall off Ballistic 

- Read both absolute & average level

 

▲ Peak Program Meter

 

4. Digital Meter

 

- Digital ‘0’ = MOL (Maximum Operating Level)

- Accepted ROL Level (Reference Operating Level) = -18

- Digital level gives more freedom than analog does in controlling

 

▲ Digital Meter

 

*Basically 2 ~ 4 are same things (except VU meter)

 

 

 

 

[side trip]

  

▲ Range of analog & digital meter © The Music Telegraph

▲ Dynamic Range (*Refer to range of Headroom (0 vu ~ 18 vu; +4 dBu ~ +24 dBu, ROL ~ MOL)) © The Music Telegraph

 

▲ Audio signal and noise waveform © The Music Telegraph

 

1BITDRAGON

1BITDRAGON is a music creation software super easy to use, simple, instant and fun. Create a basic melody in a few steps, compose a great song in a few minutes.

1bitdragon.com

Accentize

German company which provides cutting-edge audio plugins based on machine learning techniques

www.accentize.com

Adam Monroe Music

Founded by a freelance musician and composer Adam Monroe, offering sample libraries, VSTs, and music plugins.

adammonroemusic.com

Apollo Sound

Creative sample library & sound design company dealing with various vintage and modern audio devices based in Kiev, Ukraine

www.apollosound.net

Audio Brewers

Pioneer developers of Sample Libraries and Virtual Instruments Recorded, Mixed, and Delivered in native Ambisonics based in Greece.

www.audiobrewers.com

Audiobulb

British exploratory music label releasing creative artist works as well as virtual instruments and audio hardware

www.audiobulb.com/index.html

Aurora DSP

Polish audio plug-in developer focusing on creative guitar sounds

auroradsp.com

Bunker Samples

Danish developer exploring the power of sampling to create virtual instruments that bend the rules.

bunkersamples.com

ConnectionOpen

Online communication platform developer providing real-time creative collaboration experiences over the internet based in Nevada, United States

www.connectionopen.com

Critical Tune

Italian virtual instrument and sound library developer focusing the realization of a wide range of samples from vintage synths and keyboards

criticaltune.com

Datacode Records

Canadian sound design and sample pack production company offering finest techno and house sample libraries

datacoderecords.com

Diginoiz

Polish sound design and VST instrument developer company offering innovative sample libraries and virtual instruments

diginoiz.com

dSONIQ

Russian software developer offering innovative headphone-optimization plugins based on advanced psychoacoustic research

www.dsoniq.com

Exonic UK

British software developer offering unique, inspiring and useful plugins, each a result of a singular, specific vision.

www.exonicuk.com

Free To Use Sounds

American royalty-free sound library provider capturing professional quality field recordings in various locations around the world

www.freetousesounds.com

Function Loops

Israeli sound design company offering ultimate resources for DJs, producers, and musicians

www.functionloops.com

Harvest Plugins

Software developer creating new, exciting and unique music making tools based in California, United States

harvestplugin.com

Imaginando

Portuguese audio-software developer creating inspiring musical experiences by combining music with technology

www.imaginando.pt

Inouï Samples

Virtual Instrument Developer with the aim of pushing forward artistic creations based in France

www.inouisamples.com

K-Devices

French software company that designs and develops innovative tools for music creation since 2010.

k-devices.com

Lugert Publishing

German music publishing company offering innovative music softwares such as 'Forte' notation software and 'ScanScore' sheet music scanning software for musicians, students, and teachers.

www.fortenotation.com/en/

Mathew Lane

Innovative spatial processor plug-ins and hardware manufacturer based in Belgium

www.mathewlane.com

Melda Production

Software developer creating advanced tools for music production and audio processing based in Prague, Czech Republic

www.meldaproduction.com

Molecular Bytes

Innovative Music and Audio Software Developer based in Germany

www.molecularbytes.com/mbcms/

Naroth Audio

The Los Angeles-based sampling company offering a unique cinematic percussion tool that generates ‘New Sound of Rhythm’

www.narothaudio.com

Oeksound

Finnish audio plug-in company bringing innovative sound for mixing and mastering based in Helsinki

oeksound.com

Quiet Art

New Zealand audio plug-in company creating unique but must-have products for people in the music and film industries

quietart.co.nz

r-loops

Polish sound design company producing innovative sound libraries for producers and musicians

r-loops.com

Schulz Audio

Innovative and User-friendly Audio plug-in developer based in Berlin, Germany

schulz.audio/products/

Slooply

A new platform-based service designed for musicians that provides vast numbers of high-quality sound samples at affordable prices based in Poland.

slooply.com

SonicProjects

Swiss research-base virtual instrument developer offering top-notch digital emulations of old classic analog synthesizers.

www.sonicprojects.ch/

Sound Magic

Founded in 2007, One of the Primary Pioneers in Virtual Instruments and DSP Software based in Beijing, China

neovst.com

Swar Systems

Software company specialized in Indian music and virtual Indian instruments offering the most realistic virtual Indian instruments based in Switzerland

www.swarsystems.com/index.php

TAQS.IM

American world music specialized audio software developer offering world music synthesizers, world music libraries, world music community, and world music learning resources.

taqs.im

United Plugins

Software Developer for Professional Audio Processing based in Prague, Czech Republic

unitedplugins.com

XILS-lab

French virtual instrument and effect plugin developer company offering musical tools for musicians to create more imaginative sounds

www.xils-lab.com

Yum Audio

German studio with interdisciplinary working developers and designers offering innovative sound tools

www.yum-audio.com

Write here

• ID
• Password
• 
• anti-spam code