VU metering and apparent loudness

shemihazazel

Fractal Fanatic
I've noticed that when tuning my presets so they register at roughly the same db level, the high gain presets sound considerably louder when output level remains the same. Is this simply due to the compression from the increased gain? Just curious, and probably a dumb question.
 
Far from an expert, but to me a lot of what ends contributing to apparent loudness has to do with overall tone and harmonic content. If you have bass- and low-mid-heavy tones, they will register as louder on the meters, but will sound quieter when you put them in a mix than trebly tones with a lot of harmonic content.
 
I too am no expert so I can't tell you why but in my experience you just can't meter distortion. I'm kinda' obsessive when it comes to stuff like balanced presets so I have hooked up widgets and meters from 3rd party programs starting several years ago from my Ultra days to level out the presets.

Just doesn't work. Has to be by ear
.
 
This is a perfect example of why VU and Output metering would be useful in Axe Edit. ;)
How would the location of the metering fix the problem the OP is having?

A loudness meter would probably be a more appropriate fix.
 
The best way to compare levels is to use a RMS meter with A weighting. I use my Axe-Fx II as a sound card connected to my PC's USB and then use a DAW to record my presets and compare them. I like to record against a simple drum track, so I can hear my presets in a mix.

Also, make sure you aren't measuring or comparing your initial pick attack bc you want to measure the sustain. Lookup ADSR Envelope (Attack Decay Sustain Release)

Once I get all my sustain levels even, I make sure the pick attack doesn't peak the Axe-Fx II output. I try to leave 6dB to 10dB of headroom, so I have room for my Solo, Boost or Special FX Presets.

When listening to your presets in a mix, try adding a High Pass and Low Pass filter at the end of the layout grid. Remove as much low frequencies with the High Pass filter as you can, so you can get your presets louder bc low frequencies use a lot of level. Once you feel comfortable using the High Pass filter, try moving it to the left on the Layout grid to hear if it works better before or after certain Blocks but make sure you're listening in a mix and not just your guitar. I usually use mine right after the Cab Block and before FX or sometimes I have it at the end of the Layout Grid.
 
Use a loudness VU meter. You can get them at Radio Shack for fairly cheap and when using performance volume, you can come within 1db easily between all of your patch levels.
 
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