Question about meters

[JimmyPills]

How do you get an accurate level reading in Pro-Tools? I hope I don't sound dumb, but I'm going to have my first real mixing project go to mastering, and the Engineer said to have the levels at around -3 dB. I have the Bomb Factory VU Meter thing, but it doesn't seem too accurate. Along with this, the Engineer also said I could give the music to him at whatever sample rate it was at. Which is 48k, 24bit... No problem, but how do I get a 48k sample rate onto a CD. Wouldn't I need to get it to 44.1k? I'm sure I'm missing something here, so let the responses fly. I sure would appreciate some direction here. This is the first time I'm taking something all the way to mastering, so It's a bit new for me... Anyhow, thanks in advance for any info... Jimmy

[rynugz007]

I posted something similar to your question not too long ago. Im guessing the mastering engineer wants your peaks at no higher than -3db. I'm not super familiar with pro tools but does the master VU meter have a "hold peaks" function where it shows a line on the meter letting you know where the hottest signal is hitting?

Also, you can burn 24bit/48khz stereo wav files on a CD as data. You wont be able to play em in a CD player but the mastering engineer will be able to open the files with whatever editor program he uses.

[C.Lambrechts]

Originally Posted by rynugz007

I'm not super familiar with pro tools but does the master VU meter have a "hold peaks" function where it shows a line on the meter letting you know where the hottest signal is hitting?

yes it does and that's one way of telling your peak levels. fwiw ... the metering on the PT meters itself IS actually pretty accurate.

http://www.waves.com/content.asp?id=154

waves 'paz' plugin is a handy one too ......

Of course if you want hyper calibrated stuff you might need one of these :

http://www.rtw.de/english/index.html

[DaveC]

Im guessing the mastering engineer wants your peaks at no higher than -3db

I thought the 'mix-standard' should be at -9 dB for a mastering-session,
for the headroom.
Or am I wrong?

[JimmyPills]

Thanks for all of the feedback... Okay, so if the Pro-Tools meters are accurate, how do you know where you're at. There are no numbers on the meter. Even if I use the hold peak function, I still feel I won't exactly where I'm at. We use the PAZ meters at the studio where I intern, they seem to work well. I have a meter on my Big Knob, and my Rosetta 200, but they're all registering different levels. In regards to the industry standard on headroom, the Engineer I'm working with said -3 dB would be okay. So I don't know about right or wrong, it could be relative to the Mastering Engineer. When you guys need a specific number, what does everyone else use to check peak levels? Is there anything you can recommend?

[hociman]

Originally Posted by JimmyPills

I have the Bomb Factory VU Meter thing, but it doesn't seem too accurate.

You mean the Digidesign/Bomb Factory Essentially Useless Meter Bridge? Don't use it! tutt

Originally Posted by rynugz007

I'm not super familiar with pro tools but does the master VU meter

The meters on the channel strips in Pro Tools are NOT VU meters. They are PPM meters.