He spent an hour just watching it, tweaking the compression, trying to get the needle to sit perfectly in the "sweet spot" of the red zone without pinning the end.
While digital peak meters (dBFS) are vital for ensuring you don't clip your converters, they don't tell you how "heavy" or "dense" a sound feels. A VU meter bridges that gap, helping you balance elements like kick drums and vocals more naturally. The Best Free VU Meter Plugins (2025 Update) vu meter free
He hit Enter. He expected an error message, or a generic "Help" file. He spent an hour just watching it, tweaking