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What do VU meters show?
VU is an abbreviation for volume unit. Thus, a VU meter is a device for measuring the level of SOUND INTENSITY with audio equipment, such as AMPLIFIERs and TAPE RECORDERs. Although the measurements indicated on such a meter are in DECIBELs, the zero level should not be confused with 0 dB, the THRESHOLD OF HEARING.
Are VU meters accurate?
A VU meter shows the AVERAGE moment-to-moment volume of an instrument. This is the opposite of the FS meters in your DAWs. They show the EXACT moment-to-moment volume of an instrument. So technically, VU meters are less accurate than their newer FS cousins.
What is the response time of a VU meter?
Enter the VU Meter A volume unit or “VU” meter is a basic volt meter that takes a simple average of the signal and displays it with an attack and release time of around 300 ms.
Do VU meters affect sound quality?
are. Is this what you mean and will this affect the audio quality? They’re buffered and will not degrade the audio. Looks like a nice unit.
Are VU meters still used?
They’re still used on gear today, though, and of course you’ll find them on classic consoles and outboard gear. The VU meter is actually so useful that we have plugin emulations as well!
Is VU the same as RMS?
Traditional VU meters are for measuring average RMS level, in other words they are much slower than peak meters. They don’t react fast enough to measure the fast attack of a kick or snare signal.
What is 0db VU?
0 VU is equal to +4 dBu, or 1.228 volts RMS, a power of about 2.5 milliwatts when applied across a 600-ohm load. 0 VU is often referred to as “0 dB”.
Is VU same as RMS?
Peak and VU show different aspects of the same level, but Peak is instantaneous level and VU/RMS is average level. So given the same signal, peak levels will always be higher than VU/RMS (average) levels by definition.
Who invented VU meter?
Bell Telephone
The VU meter — for “volume unit” — was developed in 1939 by Bell Telephone in conjunction with CBS and NBC. It’s designed to represent audio signal level and remained the standard well through the ’80s until digital came out.
Should I mix with a VU meter?
A Volume Unit Meter is a metering unit to measure a signal level volume. It has a slow response and ignores the signal peaks (300 milliseconds of integration time). It works in a similar way to the human ear. Due to its similar behavior, VU meters are useful when in the mixing phase of a project.
What VU should kick be?
Firstly, solo your kick (or kicks) and open up your VU meter which should be placed on your master bus. The goal is try and get your kick to jump up to around -3dB on the VU meter.
What dB should Bass be at?
Subbass should be peaking at -12dB, so you keep enough headroom for the rest of the song. If mixing with headroom is not working for you, a general rule of thumb is to keep the subbass lower than the kickdrum by about 2 to 5 dB.
Should snare be louder than kick?
The snare is the foundation of the backbeat, and typically one of the loudest elements in the mix. Next, bring the kick fader up until it sounds almost as loud as the snare. It should be loud enough that the low frequencies are rich and powerful, but not so loud that it masks the bottom-end of the snare drum.
How many dB should kick be?
Re: Recommended -dB of bass in relation to kick I would recommend you average your levels around -18db or so and after that, while mixing, set your levels in relation to each other rather than the meter per se.
What frequency is an 808 kick?
between 30Hz and 60Hz
Ideally, the fundamental frequency of your 808 should lie somewhere between 30Hz and 60Hz . You might have a bassline and kick in your mix too, which also occupy that frequency range. If that’s the case, you’ll need to perform some puzzle-piece EQing to gel everything together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zKyu7XMnPI