Tom Frampton has been in touch to tell us about Mastering The Mix updating their LEVELS plug-in to version 1.2. Tom also recommends that you wait until you have finished any work-in-progress projects before you upgrade to V1.2 because you find that Levels is now in the plug-in folder called 'MasteringTheMix', rather than '29Palms' as it was before. 

Other LEVELS V1.2 Changes

• Changes to 'Streaming' preset to adhere to Spotify's new -14LUFS target loudness and -1dB true peak level.
• Changes to 'YouTube' preset to adhere to the new -14LUFS target loudness and -1dB true peak level.
• New MFiT (Mastered For iTunes) preset.
• Updated graphics processing.
• Updated to latest VST SDK.
• Updated to latest Pro Tools AAX SDK.
• Updates to authorisation to fix bugs when using removable network cards/USB Wifi.
• Updates to improve playback detection in some mastering software.
• Bug fixes for some versions of OpenGL 3.2 and above on Windows.

Would You Like To Try It But Your Trial Has Expired?

If you have already tried a previous version of LEVELS and your trial has expired then we have a special trial extension code you can use. If you are using the trial now then the code will also extend your trial period fro another 14 days. Use the code 6IX8-BRYS-MRET-FDKH-PVBP-ZPSS-ZNXT

What Is LEVELS?

The plug-in has four segments around a central circle with each quadrant representing one of four parameters, Headroom, Stereo Field, Bass Space and Dynamic Range. If all is well the quadrants stay green if there is an issue the appropriate quadrant goes red alerting the user to a problem which needs attention.

There is also a mono button to check mono compatibility and because you should really listen to mono out of one speaker you can select the left or right channels to send the mono signal to.

LEVELS V1.1 Review

In this video review, Pro Tools Expert team member Dan Cooper takes a look at a very clever metering plug-in called LEVELS v1.1 byMastering The Mix. 

LEVELS Features Summary

• Easily see any technical issues with your mix.
• True peak meter to make sure your masters don't clip through speakers or overload lossy codecs for AAC, mp3 or music streaming services.
• EBU R128 compliant integrated and short term LUFS meters - This may seem odd on a music based plug-in but both are really helpful to make sure that different track on an album match in volume.
• Vectorscope to visualise stereo width. Left/Right and correlation meter are normally green if all is well but will change to red if there are issues.
• Low Pass button on vectorscope solos your low frequencies below 300Hz so you can see their stereo width. Stereo width in low frequencies used to be a complete no-no in the days of vinyl records. More recently we have been less concerned about this but it is still good practice to keep the stereo width below 300Hz in check for clarity.
• Dynamic Range section tells you if your music is over compressed. The algorithm is based on reliable Short Term LUFS to Peak ratio. The waveform changes colour from green through amber to red, again making it very easy to see if there is an issue.
• Bass Space section identifies if any channels are outputting unwanted low frequencies. You mute the kick and bass and then you can see if any other sounds are occupying this space.
• Price - £49 including VAT with a 14-day free trial available so you can try it out.

LEVELS System Requirements

• Available in AAX formats (all both 64-bit and 32-bit) VST, VST3, and Audio Units (Mac only) 
• Mac - OS X 10.8 or higher. 32-bit or 64-bit AAX, AU, or VST 2/3 host.
• Windows - Windows 7, 8 or 10. 32-bit or 64-bit AAX, or VST 2/3 host.