HoRNet Plugins is pleased to announce the release of the updated HoRNet VU Meter MK4, a digital VU meter plugin designed to provide advanced loudness monitoring with the addition of automatic gain staging and grouping functions. The VUMeter MK4 is a highly versatile tool for both recording and mixing stages, enabling engineers to keep full […]
HoRNet Plugins is pleased to announce the release of the updated HoRNet VU Meter MK4, a digital VU meter plugin designed to provide advanced loudness monitoring with the addition of automatic gain staging and grouping functions. The VUMeter MK4 is a highly versatile tool for both recording and mixing stages, enabling engineers to keep full control over their levels and improve their workflow during the entire audio production process.
The VUMeter MK4 allows users to name their tracks and group instances together, offering enhanced organization and control. Whether you’re working with a large project or a small setup, this grouping feature makes it easier to manage various elements within your session. You can send every parameter change to any instance of VUMeter MK4, not just to the ones within the same group. This provides flexibility and control, ensuring that your settings are applied across your project, regardless of track grouping.
One of the most useful features of the VUMeter MK4 is the ability to view the levels of any other instance in your project without having to close the GUI or switch tracks. This feature ensures that you can continuously monitor all tracks in real-time, improving the overall workflow and preventing disruptions during mixing and recording sessions.
In the recording stage, the VUMeter MK4 plays a crucial role in helping you monitor signal loudness accurately. The plugin offers a loudness indicator that helps you keep track of the perceived loudness of your signal. With an integration time of 300ms, the VU meter effectively measures the loudness of your signal, allowing you to make informed decisions about levels as you record. When used in conjunction with peak meters, you can optimize your miking technique, keeping the loudness and peak values as close as possible. This balance is vital to achieving the best recording quality and preventing clipping or distortion.
The VU Meter MK4 also offers a highly practical calibration setting. This setting allows you to adjust the 0VU point to the optimal level for your A/D converters. By default, the calibration is set to -18dBFS, which is a standard setting, but you can consult your A/D converter’s specifications to adjust the calibration to suit its internal headroom. Calibration is crucial because every A/D converter has an analog front-end that could overload if the levels are too hot. Recording too close to 0dBFS risks overloading this analog stage and affecting the quality of your recordings.
In the mixing stage, the VUMeter MK4 plugin becomes even more valuable. It can be used alongside the peak meter in your DAW to identify critical tracks—those that carry excessive energy in the transients but lack sufficient loudness. This feature helps you keep track of any tracks that may cause problems in the mix, ensuring that your final output is clean and well-balanced.
The most powerful feature of the VUMeter MK4 is its auto gain function, which makes gain staging easier and more efficient. Gain staging plays an essential role in every mix, especially when using analog-emulating plugins. If too much gain is applied, you risk creating excessive distortion, which can accumulate and negatively affect the overall mix. With auto gain activated, the VUMeter MK4 automatically adjusts the internal gain to ensure that your signal peaks at the desired level, making it easier to maintain optimal levels throughout your mix. The gain level can be set anywhere between -3 and +3 VU, giving you flexibility to adjust according to your preferences.
One common issue with transient-heavy sounds is that auto gain might boost the signal too much, potentially causing clipping. To prevent this, the VUMeter MK4 includes a max peak ceiling feature. This ceiling ensures that your signal will not exceed the set value, preventing unwanted clipping and ensuring that your mix remains clean and distortion-free.
The grouping function in the VUMeter MK4 is another key feature. You can group instances of VU meters together, allowing you to manage multiple tracks at once. For example, you can group all your drum tracks together and apply auto gain, reference, and color settings to every instance in the group with a single click. The “Send to all” option also allows you to quickly copy any parameter value to every instance of VUMeter MK4 in your project, even if they aren’t in the same group. This feature is a huge time-saver, especially when dealing with complex projects that require consistent settings across multiple tracks.
The new 4.1.2 version of the plugin is a maintenance release that includes several bug fixes and improvements to ensure smooth operation across different platforms. The key updates in version 4.1.2 include:
Fixed a crash when dragging on the track name.
Fixed a VST3 issue with Ableton Live on Windows, ensuring stable performance with that DAW.
General bug fixes and improvements to enhance overall stability and usability.
The update is free for current owners of the plugin and can be downloaded easily from the user area. For those who own VU Meter MK3, the upgrade to the latest version is available for just €1.99. This makes it easy to take advantage of the latest features and improvements in the VUMeter MK4.
In summary, the HoRNet VU Meter MK4 is an essential tool for both the recording and mixing stages of your audio projects. Its automatic gain staging, grouping functions, and customizable settings give you precise control over your levels, while its powerful features such as auto gain and calibration ensure that your signal stays in check throughout the entire production process. With a simple yet effective interface and advanced functionality, VUMeter MK4 is a must-have plugin for anyone serious about maintaining high-quality levels in their mixes.