Logic Pro X (10.2.3) - Loudness Meter, Understanding LUFS

[@cedric1886]

For those interested here are some guidelines of loudness level according to the song mood that I personally use... -16: intimate -15: calm -14: slow with rhythm -13: more rhythm while keeping contrôle -12: good rock -11: full energy rock -10: hardest rock -9 : crazy psycho rock

[@alejandromoro]

is this for mastering of mixing?

[@STARSE3D]

@@alejandromoro Mastering

[@crescenzodicecco3310]

You forget -3: Skrillex

[@Aviv94]

-1: dubstep

[@Hmmarv]

like always, a stellar job in explaining logic pro features. in these last 12 months, this guy turned me into a monster on logic pro.

[@mattsings2]

Starting today, I am taking notes going through all your new/old videos on Logic X. Hopefully I'll become 10x better than I am currently with all this practice.

[@ConnorTostevin1]

How's the learning going?

[@ConnorTostevin1]

I like your hit the road cover too ...it was dope!

[@makaynchealhalibbealkhooo9673]

ConnorTostevin1 he is in jail now he is learning new things

[@lenny1830]

Depends, sometimes you have to learn theory but practice should be the most important part when learning music. Like for me, i have to apply everything i learned right away to really understand it. I think when you wanna get good at something you'll have to force yourself to do the hard stuff sometimes :)

[@Morales-nt6vi]

I always thought commercials were louder than the program on purpose to catch potential consumers attention. Very helpful video on how to use my loudness meter properly Thnx brother.

[@submarinesound3331]

By far, you produce the best Logic Pro videos on KZbin. It's much better that you explain the "why," rather than just spout opinions.

[@MinecraftMaker]

Thanks for the video! Nicely covers the issues of loudness metering. I didn't realize they added loudness meters to Logic - I've been using a third party LUFS meter (that makes Logic unstable, unfortunately). One minor note (I work in the video preparation world so we have to follow these things) - the industry standard (pretty much worldwide) for broadcast/cable TV and streaming is -24 dB LKFS as measured by BS.1770-1. ATSC A/85, which defines loudness practices for broadcast in the U.S., allows for +/- 2dB compliance window, so an overall -23 dB LUFS would be acceptable, but slightly over target. Premium cable channels (HBO, Starz, etc.) and theatrical home entertainment mixes (Blu-Ray) will often have a slightly lower overall LKFS loudness to allow for a wider more theatrical style dynamic range. The CALM act (which regulates TV broadcast loudness in the U.S. and has been adopted by most other countries as a model) allows for a different value as long as it is correctly conveyed in the AC-3 dialnorm metadata.

[@terrygadsden603]

Thanks so much! I couldn't figure out WHERE to put the Loudness meter. You've resolved hours of searching.

[@matthewgustafsonguitar]

Great video! Simple, well-explained, and very helpful for a novice student of engineering. Thanks!

[@MiKEY_SANZ]

You are the number 1 greatest teacher ever to live ever

[@razzerraw1108]

Extremely super duper educational! Enjoyed every second of you talking

[@crazor01]

For seamless A/Bing: Just Option-Click the solo or mute button

[@oliveralthoen]

Ooh, thank you for that!!

[@benbishop7775]

I don't understand, what does Option-Click Solo/Mute do?

[@Saaz07]

Your videos always are greatly produced and highly informative. I feel like I could be awarded some kind of certificate or title for having watched so many of them. Like "Dr. M.T.H.G." or so. Thanky you a lot my unknown friend 👍

[@GrahamBlacksmith]

For seamless A/B-ing, mute all but one track. Listen to the unmuted track (A) then quickly jump to any other track (B) by soloing that track. Solo causes the unmuted track to mute automatically. Then jump back to track (A) by un-soloing track (B).

[@glenncarr4514]

Thanks so much for this amazing, amazing series of Logic Pro X tutorials. The package is enormous and your information is so helpful! It has saved us hours of hard slog. Cheers Mate from Glenn & Dave.

[@SoftwareSavesMe]

Great tutorial! and after I'd looked all over the web just to find the meters. Thanks much; looking forward to more of your videos.

[@Hyperwind]

Wonderful! And special thanks for 1080p 60FPS!

[@patgillinmusic]

thanks for the video. Wondering if you would now master to -14LUFS to meet Spotify's guidelines? Thanks

[@TomVautour]

ive watched these so much i like the songs now

[@MerryTech]

Thanks for the tips, I'm integrating these into one of my mixes from my new album today!

[@timhoadacoustic]

Very insightful, it's helped developed my understanding of the loudness meter - thank you!

[@quantum_ocean]

Good vid. But he didn’t really explain why LUFS is better. While decibels are used to measure the intensity of sound or the power level of an electrical signal by comparing it with a given level on a logarithmic scale, LUFS specifically measures loudness levels over time to give an average loudness measurement. This is done to closely match the human ear’s perception of loudness, which is not linear and varies with frequency and duration of sound. One of the key concepts in the LUFS measurement system is the use of a relative scale set against a full scale (0 dBFS, or decibels relative to full scale, where full scale represents the maximum possible digital level). LUFS measurements take into account the loudness perception of the human ear by using filtering that mimics the ear’s response to different frequencies, known as K-weighting.

[@MiKEY_SANZ]

yo you are the fucking best teacher in the universe thank you so much for existing and making videos

[@windsurf17]

LUFS requirements seem to change all the time, but I like having the 'loudness' over straight dB

[@axelbezzi]

Great! Thank you as always! Hope to see another video about the tonal change between tracks when mastering! it would be fantastic!

[@CrisGarcia6]

I have a question. Are the streaming services are looking for the integrated LUFS? I was mostly focused on the momentarily loudness which it sounded very quiet. I used the loudness penalty analyzer online, and it give me the results of each streaming services that are bigger numbers, but not the negative numbers that how many decibels will they turn down the music, but gives me a decibels that will turn up and it is a big number like +5.0 dB

[@cameronroot]

Great video! Question, I'm uploading music to hit streaming sites.. spotify itunes, google, amazon etc... I see some -14 LUF, -16 LUF standards. Should I be shooting for a general LUF in between that? Also, throughout the whole track, do I want to see a mostly constant LUF number or just make sure it doesn't hit yellow? Thank you.

[@paulfulford91]

Very useful info, as always, Joshua!

[@jameslewis3793]

Can you use the loudness meter only on individual tracks to check balance between certain instruments? Is that worth while?

[@bruindodger]

Where are the videos where you discuss the other meters in Logic? You mentioned this during the video. Thanks

[@alex_ayers]

Just tested the loudness plug-in in the most recent version of Logic. For reading 5.1 and up has given me very inaccurate readings. I work with Dolby Atmos, and I am comparing the stock loudness plug-in and 3rd party plug-in, and it was off by an entire db or more... Atmos should be reading around -18, and I'm getting around -17, which is a lot for Dolby Atmos related mixing. Anyone know why this is?

[@TheZakkmylde]

Long story short I have an older version of Apple logic pro is there a loudness metre or something I can use to set up my new line 6 helix floor, so I can try to level out all the different patches?

[@DarkerKn1ght]

The rhythm guitar on the second track sounds so freaking good! how did you process it?

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

I have a Kemper Profiling amp. It's basically just DI run through a Soldano Hot Rod 50W setting on the Kemper. I just band passed the signal with EQ a bit, and boosted the 2k range a bit. The Kemper works wonders!

[@ghoppe2]

Kemper for the win

[@acehyer4441]

What would you compare a logic native plugin to fab filter pro L?

[@newguy6935]

How about True Peak. Where is that addressed in your mastering process with the FF Limiter?

[@rence822]

thanks for making easy to understand, but why use the limiter for volume gain

[@YOURGEN-q3z]

thank you i' ve got trouble with levels for mastering now it's ok;and simple

[@MiKEY_SANZ]

Would you definite Integrated Loudness as just the Average Loudness of the track? 4:30

[@angelfmusic]

Thank you for the video tutorial. I noticed in the mixer that the audio levels were showing red. Would that be peaking as you raise your gain in the FabFilter Pro-L?

[@techtronixvolume]

Thank you!!! Its been a help! And subscribed!!! ❤🔥🛸

[@MrAndycarney1]

Great video. At what stage in the mixing / mastering process would you recommend using this?

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

Mastering at the very end of the signal chain, after all mastering effects. For post-production and dialog work, I would use it directly on mix busses to make sure that my LUFS level is -23 roughly for TV broadcasting.

[@330Buckeye]

Make that 317-0 Thumbs up!! Great tutorial as always. Thank you.

[@clanclanthelabel291]

Love my L2 for responsiveness

[@TheLesBrown]

A very informative and useful video. Thanks!

[@AbstractRyan0912]

In the mix should we just pay attention to dBFS? I know you say keep it no more than -6db. And LU is more for the final master correct?

[@ukjobbingactor]

would I be able to tell the noise floor with this plugin? If not is there an integrated plugin in logic that would of this?

[@SonicologyRecords]

Is the LU Range equal to the crest factor or (DR) range here.

[@MrComptonguy123]

Isn't - 18db preffered for rapping?

[@Xpanet-vd8rn]

Thank you, this video is very helpful. Thank you for your efforts.

[@kennethkwong1278]

Many Thanks ！ I can't believe you would answer me so quickly ! Well understand now! Thank you indeed!

[@samfraulino]

This video really help me understand the Loudness LUF vs Normalization and really helped out to prep my podcasts. I do have a questions if anyone can help, My mic 1 track is a mono file, should I apply the Loundess Plug in (Using Logic Pro) to that track and set Loudness to -19 then also a Loundness plugin on my Stereo Out track and set that to -16 LUF (podcast standard) So basically, do I do it to each mic track or set Loudness on Stereo OUt only since that is the final out put of all my tracks?

[@nekroreaper6348]

Your vids are the best.

[@JaiStarStudios]

Thank you so much for your videos! Your are a great teacher

[@TrustInTheUniverse]

The integrated loudness is not showing up on my loudness meter, any idea why that might be?

[@MoyzeVid]

I've been using WLM plus for a while now... I always put it in the stereo out track, and I need to bounce in mono. When I adjust the volume on WLM the sound pans left or right ? I tried putting it on my main track instead of stereo out and it works perfectly without panning. Do you know why that is ? Thank you

[@kennethkwong1278]

Thanks a lot for your tutorials. Referring to the episode about loudness meter of logic. I noticed that your fader meter got red all time when you were pushing the loudness to reach -18db. However, I didn't observe any clipping by listening. May I know whether we need to consider the fader reading while adjusting loudness? I copied you way of doing and got the same confusion!

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

+Kenneth Kwong you're not the only person whose asked this question. Logics meters in 10.2 turn orange when clipping however show red at the top of the meter. It's confusing. In 10.3 they show a red clip light but still show red at the top of the meter. It's just a graphical thing. If the value at the top is 0.0 or less your not clipping. It's fine, it's just a graphical thing.

[@mattiasm4206]

Very nice guide! Are the songs available somewhere? It sounds really good :)

[@miwkmaid]

Great song here.

[@SecretEyeSpot]

um.. where would you find the tool if you have it?

[@briancraig1684]

MeterPlugs K-Meter Plugin is this good for metering in Logic Pro X?

[@pixels2music348]

Super helpful MusicTechHelpGuy! Thank you :)

[@Heynove]

Thank you bruh. simple no fluff. jesus.

[@Heynove]

i aint say none of that above this, My comments starts at Thank you bruh.

[@MrPajmej]

Thanks for your really helpful videos! Could you make one how to make a reference track for mixing. This is just for mastering if I'm right. (beginner). Thanks!

[@saxutopia620]

Do you have a vid to explain why the LUFS shows -10 but the meter lower left is in the red?

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

You mean the stereo output? Yes, it's simple, just because the meter is red, doesn't mean you're clipping, especially if you have a limiter on it. Logic's channel meters are weird, the top of the meter is red, but the clip light is orange. Really it should be the opposite, the top of the meters should be orange, with a red clip light. Also, there's a huge difference between PEAK levels and LUFS levels. LUFS levels measure perceived loudness, where as peak levels do not. So peak levels will appear 'higher' on the meter.

[@saxutopia620]

MusicTechHelpGuy Thanks I thought I was missing something.

[@MorganTheBoldTheDaring]

Thanks so much! This was very helpful!

[@isaacreid7098]

Could you do a tutorial on Waves' WLM Plus plugin?

[@Skinny-me]

Great video and demo! And great music!! :) Who is playing? Thanks for all your great videos, really helps a lot! :)

[@drewaforbes]

Hey, what program are you using for desktop recording?

[@RobertJMitchell2012]

As usual, very helpful. Thank you!

[@xXG00Z3Xx]

Cool! Could you make a video on how to reduce the LU range the right way? I had the problem mixing a track when the intro was really quiet and when the chorus kicked in it got way too loud! I know i could have used more compression or automation or telling the masterengineer to limit more. But in your opinion, what's the best way to reduce the LU range? Thanks!

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

The LU Range is essentially how wide your dynamic range is, and it will vary a bit from song to song, depending on how much "space" the song has between highest peaks and lowest dips. Even after a mastering limiter, each song may have a bit of variation. I pay attention more to the Integrated value, unless the LU Range is WAY off. The lower the range over all you can more heavily compress the mix busses in your mix to flatten out the dynamics a bit more, but you don't want to do it so much so that it destroys the dynamics. Good luck!

[@xXG00Z3Xx]

+MusicTechHelpGuy thanks! Is that better than automate the mixbus?

[@bemusi]

Great vid Music Tech Help Guy! Holger - I wouldn't advise mixing or indeed mastering focusing solely on the LU range; you'll end up squashing your mix too much because you'll be too focused on numbers. The LU range gives an idea of how dynamic your mix/master is, that's all. Even though Integrated is king Short Term and Momentary are important aspects of the plug too but most important is your ears. If you're mastering and your intro is too quiet compared to the chorus I'd say you have two options automate the track channel with your mix to raise the intro level (not the master out) or go back to the original mix and remix the intro with automation. If you still want to know the true LU range make sure you play the entire track from start to finish as true LU readings are based on whole program material. Happy mixing and mastering.

[@kennethbernard1723]

Great video on loudness

[@SrLean-kb4mv]

Thank you for all the knowledge good sir

[@davidferris3230]

this is the second video ive watched with that song being used (think the other may have been on melodyne) its stuck in my head again now. what is the track?

[@northernlyrics7918]

Hi mate, thank you for this . I’m new to mastering for just 3 months and been a musician for 25 year so it’s great now I can do this . The question I got is that it says -14 true peak for Spotify etc or KZbin , and sometimes wen I do the rms and it says it’s fine , the true peak says it’s maybe just under or just over -14 or -16 etc ? Does it not matter about the true peak for long as the integrated level shown here is around -9 or - 10 ? Is it this what matters most rather than the true peak Thank you

[@Luisramirez-gu3zy]

el timbre de tu voz se asemeja a la de James Hetfield

[@ItzTooSik]

Any tips for me? I’m using the Loudness Meter and I aim for it to hit -16 integrated loudness. However, I notice that when I do get there I’m clipping the mater bus. Currently I’m in a battle of trying to make my church livestream louder for phone users, but it seems that the only way to do that is by NOT using conservative meters, especially in the master bus. That is, when have a clean meter on my master (-12 or -16db) the livestream volume sounds super low on phones.

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

Are you actually clipping? Or is the level just at the top of the meter? If you don't see the clip light you're not clipping.

[@rome8180]

I really can't get my "loudness" anywhere close to -10 without it sounding horrible. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. I try to leave myself plenty of headroom in the initial input phase.

[@shavarez]

Use different limiters

[@crescenzodicecco3310]

Thanks you so much, loved this,

[@Light-zu1ys]

Thank you so much!!

[@exofieldrecordings304]

Hi....thx man, no one does better tutorials than you Can you explain me what harmonics or whatever a waveform needs to get a key? I know most of the drum files have no key.....Why?

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

A recorded sound needs to have high level even and odd order overtones for a noticeable tone to be present. Drums almost never have regular over tones like a tonal instrument does, so they never have a correct key, and there fore are not tonal.

[@jimc1499]

thank you for this

[@SelfPropelledDestiny]

Wow! You recorded Incubus?

[@roxammon5858]

I have a question Mr Helpguy, if I may. I have trouble recording my guitar. I like to have the amp fairly loud to get "That Sound" from my valve amp. The problem is I cannot hear the rest of the mix when I am recording and this makes my timing out. I have tried moving the amp into a corner and padding etc, but it still overpowers the mix when I record, even when Input Monitoring is disabled. The recording level seems fine but is too loud to play to. Is there anyway I can turn off the audio signal I hear in Logic so that I can just hear the ambient sound of the guitar amp and the rest of the mix through headphones?

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

Just pull down the volume fader on the guitar amp track. The track volume has nothing to do with the recording level, so you can dial in whatever volume adjustment you want while recording.

[@roxammon5858]

@@MusicTechHelpGuy Many thanks for the quick reply.

[@jca54]

thanks, great video.... and very helpful.

[@musicman13cj]

Ok im sure somebody has asked this already but who is the band and where can I get the record?

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

Band is Mayday Children (my group). The album will be out by the end of the year. I'll make an announcement on KZbin.

[@musicman13cj]

WOW I WANT A COPY LOL

[@jefebeatz184]

GREAT Video Thank You , Ill def subscribe

[@petegreenfield8366]

Really useful. Thanks!

[@MOON_dozer]

Im confused because you say for mastering music its -10db but when I bring any professional song into logic it is basically hitting 0 or very close to 0. Do you mean before its mastered keep it at -10 db?

[@eli123123]

yes, with -10db before mastering you have 10db to play around with wen you master. -10 gives you lots of room, you could start at -6 or whatever but more room to move means more control over dynamics as you master.

[@thomas-vk4vc]

Loudness and volume are two different things

[@MOON_dozer]

got it now. loudness is the average of the volume dynamics :)

[@IAmSippycup]

Is there any plug-in that will analyze an entire file offline and give the LUFS? That'd be more convenient than clearing the meters and playing 60 or so seconds of music each time.

[@MonsieurVersatile]

Metric AB. Couldn't mix without it now.

[@davidroberts8092]

Very helpful, Thanks

[@MarkAllentheProducer]

Amazing info thanks !!

[@moki54321]

thanks for this! super helpful!!!

[@christophergrace6326]

Thank you tech guy

[@MrDprince804]

only thing im not understand is how do i get the name of my tracks in arrange window to show in mixer window....anyone

[@robertoj.fernandez2189]

Great video thanks a lot!!!

[@ajiyahya]

THANK YOU

[@robotrecords3906]

very helpful thank u

[@beesyt4921]

I can't bring my integrated loudness up past 16 please help!!!!

[@mrflynn01]

Very nice!

[@Michael_RareZebra]

Is this loudness meter just as good as plugins like “WLM Plus Loudness Meter”? I’m a noob so just curious. Thanks for this video. 😊

[@rron7563]

Why is stereo out clipping like crazy?

[@MusicTechHelpGuy]

Not clipping. That's the point of having a limiter on the stereo out. If the clip light doesn't show, it's not clipping, it' just a higher signal level. The top of the meter is red, but that's not the clip light. It always stays at 0.0 or lower.

[@rron7563]

@@MusicTechHelpGuy I see that the peak level display remains 0.0. What threw me off was the meter going to the red color. Just learning here. Thanks for your response; great vid overall.