sorry, i disagree. when i am recording 2 mikes into the same stereo channel i need to know the level independently so i can adjust each one separately by adjusting levels on my mixer or mike pre. ----- Original Message ----- From: Bryan Smart To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 5:06 PM Subject: [ddots-l] Re: VU meters in DD Though, if you're recording that instrument in stereo, and one of the channels clips, you'll need to lower the volume on both channels by the same amount to preserve the stereo image, right? If you'll be lowering them both by the same amount, it doesn't seem to matter which one clipped. If either of them clip, then they both need to be reduced by the same amount. If you're metering a stereo submix, and the submix clips, you have the individual track meters to rely upon. Same thing for the master bus. Stereo meters might be interesting tools, but I can't imagine any common scenarios where they're uniquely suited. Bryan ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of luis elorza Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 6:28 PM To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ddots-l] Re: VU meters in DD i agree entirely Brian, but there is a very common situation where you have 2 mikes to record a single instrument and if you want to record it to a single track then you should be able to read both input channels. as every mike has a different output level. ----- Original Message ----- From: Bryan Smart To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 3:14 PM Subject: [ddots-l] Re: VU meters in DD Maybe I misunderstood what he wants, or maybe you misunderstood. Anyway... If you release the lock and hold, then you have a mostly instantaneous report of the current signal strength. You are right that this isn't the traditional definition of a VU meter, but you are wrong that a VU meter measures "loudness". The difference between the instantaneous report and a traditional VU meter is that a VU meter is designed with a lag to eliminate abrupt changes. Roughly speaking, a VU meter will trend toward the average input over the last 300Ms or so. Sonar's meters don't respond in this way by default, but you can easily make them respond with any curves that you'd like by using the Audio Meter options dialog in the options menu. As to "loudness", the concept of loudness is very vague when we're talking about a recording, since we could be listening to that recording on tiny headphones or a huge PA. The only factors that matter in gauging the level of a recording is its relative strength when compared to another signal of fixed strength, and the dynamic range of the material (difference between the most quiet and most loud parts of the recording). In digital audio, the maximum signal strength is 0DB, so the peak of your recording matters, and you'd use a peak meter for that. However, more important is the dynamic range of the recording. A narrow dynamic range makes the recording seem louder, and you'd measure that with an RMS meter. You can switch between these meter modes in the meter's context menu. CakeTalking is not able to report separate meters for the left and right channel of a stereo track. Instead, you hear a single meter that represents the summed signal. In most situations, that is what most people care about, since, if you're establishing level for a stereo signal, you rarely, if ever, wish to distort the stereo image by independently adjusting gain on the individual channels. Bryan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Studio Montebello Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 5:17 PM To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ddots-l] Re: VU meters in DD Unlocking the peak meter hold doesn't make a peak meter a VU meter! A peak meter is what it says it measures the peak signal whereas a VU meter measures the loudness, two different things. Jean Visitez mon site / Visit my site at http://www.studiomontebello.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Bryan Smart To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 3:34 PM Subject: [ddots-l] Re: VU meters in DD But it can. If you open the meter context menu and deselect hold and lock peeks, then you'll have a continuously fluctuating, and mostly useless, vu meter. Not sure why people want a non-peek meter when it isn't possible for any screen reader to report every value that appears without driving you crazy with non-stop speech, but this method will let you have the experience of trying. Bryan -------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Phil Muir Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 2:39 PM To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ddots-l] Re: VU meters in DD No it doesn't. Regards, Phil Muir Accessibility Training Telephone: US (615) 713-2021 UK+44-1747-821-794 Mobile: UK +44-7968-136-246 E-mail: info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx URL: www.accessibilitytraining.co.uk/ -----Original Message----- From: ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ddots-l-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Christopher Bartlett Sent: 21 October 2009 18:37 To: ddots-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [ddots-l] VU meters in DD Previous iterations of Dancing Dots would report peak meters but not the running VU meters. Since Jsonar can do this, does Cake Talking do it now? Chris Bartlett __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4530 (20091021) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com