Mastering The Mix LEVELS — Free Download
A mixing/mastering analysis plugin that checks technical issues like clipping, loudness, stereo width, dynamics, and bass balance, with presets for various playback platforms.
Purpose
LEVELS helps identify technical problems in your mix or master before release. It consolidates essential metering tools into one interface, letting you verify that your audio meets target standards for CD, club playback, streaming services, and YouTube. It is not an effects processor but an analysis and quality control tool.
The plugin provides a comprehensive suite of meters including true peak with 16x oversampling to catch inter-sample clipping, standard peak to keep below -6dB, LUFS integrated and short-term for perceived loudness, and a loudness range meter to assess variation between sections. These tools clarify whether your mix is technically sound.
Key Capabilities
Stereo field analysis includes a vectorscope for width visualization, a correlation meter for phase issues, and left/right meters for balance. A low-pass button solos frequencies below 300Hz to reveal the stereo width of your low end, aiding in mono-compatibility decisions. Dynamic range is displayed via a DR meter based on short-term LUFS to peak, and an oscilloscope glows green when your music remains dynamic.
Bass range monitoring covers 40, 80, 120, and 160Hz level meters, helping you identify and clean up unwanted low-frequency content for punch and clarity. The preset-based targets (CD, streaming, etc.) align with common platform loudness norms, though specific values are not listed here. All meters work together to give a quick visual read of your mix’s health.
Workflow
In use, you load LEVELS on your master bus or a track, select a preset matching your delivery target, then scan each meter. The true peak meter ensures no clipping, LUFS meters verify loudness, and the correlation meter checks phase. The low-pass button lets you audition the low end in isolation to spot width or balance problems.
The dynamic range display flags over-compression, and the bass meters reveal mud or rumble. You then adjust your mix or master accordingly, rechecking after each change. The plugin is designed for quick iterative checks, not as a real-time effect. It works in any AU, VST, or AAX host, both 32- and 64-bit, on Mac or Windows.
Practical Applications
Use LEVELS during mixing to ensure your track translates well before mastering. It is ideal for checking levels for streaming services, where loudness normalization requires specific LUFS targets. For club or CD releases, the presets guide you towards appropriate peak and RMS levels. The bass range meters help you achieve a clean low end for impact.
Musicians, producers, and mastering engineers can rely on it for quality control. Before final export, run through the meters to catch technical faults that might cause rejection or poor playback on different systems. It also serves as an educational tool, revealing issues like over-compression or phase cancellation that you can then fix.
Key features
- Presets for CD, Club, Streaming, YouTube and more
- True peak meter with 16x oversampling and standard peak meter
- LUFS integrated and short-term meters, EBU R128 compliant
- Stereo vectorscope, correlation meter, and L/R balance meters
- Low-pass button (below 300Hz) for low-end stereo width analysis
- Dynamic range display and loudness range meter (EBU R128)
- Bass range level meters at 40, 80, 120, and 160Hz
Best for
Ideal for mixing and mastering engineers who want to quickly verify technical quality against platform-specific targets, ensuring no clipping, proper loudness, and clean low end before release.
