This plugin emulates an analogue VU meter whose needle ballistics show the average signal level, closely matching how the ear perceives loudness.

Digital meters show peaks, whereas a VU meter’s needle shows the average level – giving you a better sense of perceived loudness and helping you achieve better mixes and masters. The challenge here was not modelling sound but the mechanical realism of the needle movement. The meter can be calibrated to your DAW’s reference level and reads more smoothly than jittery DAW meters. Thanks to its negligible CPU load, you can insert it on as many channels as you like.

Features

• Realistic needle ballistics reveal real-world dynamics
• Calibrate headroom to your DAW’s reference level
• LED-style clip indicator for levels above -0.009 dBFS
• Scales for volume units and dB
• Stereo version in three sizes: small, medium or large
• Negligible CPU load for any number of channels

Technical details

• Operating systems: Windows, macOS
• Plug-in formats: VST3, Audio Unit (macOS only), AAX
• Architecture: 64 bit
• Licensing: licence key, machine-bound or USB flash drive (via Waves Central)

System requirements

• macOS 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia, 26 Tahoe or 27 Golden Gate (Apple silicon or Intel)
• Windows 10 64-bit (version 22H2) or Windows 11 (Intel or AMD, x64)
• 16 GB RAM
• 30 GB free disk space on the system drive

The licence is registered with the manufacturer at https://www.waves.com/downloads/central. You will receive your serial number and the download link by e-mail immediately after purchase.