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CHP. 3 LEARNING THE SOUND FORGE WORKSPACE
37
Meters
Meters display audio levels in a number of different places in Sound Forge: the Play Meters show audio file
levels; meters in the Record dialog help you adjust levels for recording; and meters in the Wave Hammer®
dialog help you adjust levels when applying this effect. Regardless of where the meters appear, you can
control them in much the same way.
The full version of Sound Forge provides peak and VU/PPM (peak program) meters that you can use to
monitor your audio levels.
The peak meters display instantaneous levels during playback to help you determine the loudest level in your
audio signal and whether the signal is clipping.
Volume unit (VU) and peak program (PPM) meters help you determine the perceived loudness of your
audio signal (peak program meters provide faster response times to volume increases than VU meters). VU/
PPM meters are especially helpful when you’re mastering: comparing two audio files’ VU/PPM readings will
help take the guesswork out of matching levels.
VU/PPM readings should fall near the 0 (or reference) mark. 0 VU is merely a reference level, and your
signal may exceed 0 VU. To prevent clipping, keep an eye on your peak meters. Peak levels should never
exceed 0 dB. To accommodate louder or softer intensity material, you can use the
Other tab in the
Preferences dialog to calibrate the VU/PPM meters to their associated levels on the peak meters and adjust
the VU meters’ sensitivity (to access the Preferences dialog, choose Preferences from the
Options menu).
Resetting clipping indicators
When audio levels are too high, clipping can occur. A red indicator appears at the top of the meter to show
when audio is clipping. Click to reset the indicator, or right-click the meters and choose
Reset Clip from the
shortcut menu.
You can also detect and mark clipped audio using the detect clipping tool. For more information, see Detecting
and marking clipping on page 95.
Scaling meters
Meters can display a peak range and a VU (volume unit)/PPM (peak program)
scale. To change the meter’s display levels, right-click the meter and do one of the
following:
• Choose
Peak Range from the shortcut menu, followed by the desired range from
the submenu.
• Choose
VU/PPM Scale from the shortcut menu, followed by the desired scale
from the submenu.
VU and PPM scales are most useful for displaying the average volume of the
signal: the meter represents the RMS average level during playback, and their
attack and decay are not as sensitive as the peak meter.
Clipping
indicator
Click the clipping
indicator to reset it.