ABSTRACT
Being a sonic art, mixing is all about listening. Still, meters are always in sight in mixing environments, and for good reason. There are various stages and situations where meters can be useful. In general acoustic terms, amplitude describes the extent of air pressure deviation from the normal atmospheric pressure. A microphone converts changes in air pressure to voltages. Using numbers and voltages to express signal levels would be hugely inconvenient. Mechanical meters involve a magnet and a coil that move a needle. They take up quite a lot of space, and usually only involve a scale of around 24 dB. Peak meters are straightforward - they display the instantaneous level of the signal. Their response to level changes is immediate. Peak meters are mandatory when the signal level must not exceed a predefined limit, such as 0 dB on a digital system.
