On buses, you should look for cohesion between the different tracks in the bus, so, use your ears when you use your DAW faders, but always pay attention and make sure to stay close to 0VU on the bus or master track. Then, you can use your DAW faders to level your tracks in the Buss. You can go beyond 0VU, in some parts or on some specific tracks, but your reference point should always be 0VU. Sometimes, we like to get +2 or +3VU in some parts of the song, for example in the chorus, to do that, you can use automation. As an example, you can use one of our console plugins for this purpose, which has a trim and VU Meter controls. Use a trim control to level all your tracks to be near 0VU, you should not use the fader of your DAW for this purpose. You will get more dynamics and your preamps and converters will work much better.Īnother advantage is that the tracks will be almost ready to start mixing. When recording at “0VU = -18 dbfs”, you are replicating the standard headroom used in the analog world. It is a common mistake to record at the maximum possible input level, nowadays all audio interfaces support at least 24 bits, so it does not make sense to record with extremely “hot” levels. Is it important to record with a good level and headroom. For example, if you mix with a VU meter calibrated at 0VU = -18 dBfs, and your maximum peak is 0 dBfs, then you will get a headroom of 18 dB. In the mixing world, headroom is the difference between the average signal level and the maximum peak value. VU Meter Calibration:Ĭalibrating a VU meter plugin in the digital world is easy, get a dBfs reference to match with 0VU (0VU means when the VU needle is on zero).Įx: If you choose -18 dBfs = 0VU, you will get an 18 dB of headroom approximately. Due to its similar behavior, VU meters are useful when in the mixing phase of a project.

It works in a similar way to the human ear. It has a slow response and ignores the signal peaks (300 milliseconds of integration time). VU meterĪ Volume Unit Meter is a metering unit to measure a signal level volume. RMS meters are used for statistical measurements of the overall volume and are very useful for mastering purposes. RMS value is represented by the root mean square of the signal, so the values don’t react as fast as a peak meter it represents an average of the total volume. These meters are usually found in most DAWs, and becomes very useful (in conjunction with a VU Meter) for recording purposes, to avoid digital clipping. PPM meters are usually fast and react to all transients in the audio signal. Peak value is the maximum wave amplitude measured in dB (decibels). Peak, RMS, and VU meters were all designed with different purposes in mind let’s examine the differences and discuss when to use each of them. We have our own standard that will both help organize our work and get rid of volume problems between tracks.The mastering engineer’s job will be easier.Once we understand the basic concepts around these different types of metering, we can obtain better results and optimal headroom.

We often tend to use the same process ITB, as if it were an analog console, but most DAWs only have peak meters and these are not useful when mixing. When we mix ITB (in the box), usually, we don’t have a volume reference starting point. Having optimal headroom is mandatory in order to obtain a great mix. Had I been relying on strictly on a VU meter, the whole recording could have been toast in the digital realm.įor now, I'll stick with the stock Reaper setup with peaks in the center of the master and RMS on the outside.In this article, we will discuss gain staging and levels in the mix, explain peak values, RMS, VU, and detail on how to obtain optimal headroom in the box. Had I been using tape, it would have been overloaded, but might have been usable, although a bit distorted. Luckily I could trim the gain and keep things in check.

It had a bunch of flat topped peaks that sounded awful. I recently did a recording where the level was set up, but when the music started, the level was WAY over what was anticipated. Some VU meters also had an overload LED, so you could see the red light start flashing even if the meter was reading -10. Peaks would round off unless you were massively overloaded. 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. Flat topped peaks are to be avoided at all costs. VU meters typically were set up with a reaction time of a few hundred ms, so they don't show peaks. For me, the concern is if the meters are reacting quickly enough to show peaks that will reach >0dBFS in the digital realm.

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