DP 5 Meter Bridge

digitalme · Post by **digitalme** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 1:48 pm

Hi everybody,

please forgive me if I'm missing something tremendously obvious, but while I too am very excited about DP5, I am somehow failing to see what the seeming excitement is about the meter bridge? Convenience? Sure, I can see that. But, as someone who has used MOTU products since Performer was first released on a Mac plus, PLEASE share what benefits you see from the meter bridge? What approaches will it enable in your recording/mixing processes? How much of an "advancement" is this addition (there's absolutely NO sarchasm meant in that last sentence). How would you use it differently than the meters in the mixing board and the record monitor? I mean, if you want to know if something peaked, the little red icon lights show you that on either, no? And do the features/visuals trump what your ears are telling you, and if so how? Thankful for your insight.

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:03 pm

You got me. I mean, I think the meter bridge looks cool, but I doubt I'll put it to a lot of use. Of course, I also think meter bridges on big-ass hardware mix board aren't of that much use. Cool bells and whistles, sure, but by the time all of those lights are doing their dance I've switched over to "ears over eyes."

bone.china · Post by **bone.china** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:08 pm

Even though I don't have DP5 yet, the obvious thing to me is that if you like working in the consolidated window, as I do, then the Meter Bridge is a boon. I usually have the mixer opened in the left panel but it certainly is tedious scrolling back and forth between MIDI, AUDIO, INSTRUMENT and AUX tracks just to check levels.

The Meter Bridge is a great addition, IMO.

digitalme · Post by **digitalme** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:24 pm

bone.china, thanks for your input. I am certainly not trying to knock the meter bridge addition, and I'm pretty sure everybody knows that, I just sincerely wish to better understand how folks are using it (or going to use it) to their advantage. Thanks for contributing to my understanding.

ChrisPick, cool IGC site. Like the navigation and enjoyed the samples.

TechSupport · Post by **TechSupport** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:42 pm

One difference from the Mixing Board is that the range of the meters are scalable. So you could, say, set your range from -24 to -3 to get greater detail on the bulk of a loud mix, or from -3 to -0 to get much greater detail on the very top of your mix. It's like getting the scalable Trim plug-in meters on every track.

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:49 pm

Also, you can meter busses, inputs, outputs, instruments... everything. You can tell where in a chain your audio begins to clip--at a glance. You can see all the meters at once. No looking around in plugin windows. And, you can see inputs. Sure, you could see inputs in the audio monitor window, but that was not a great way to do it. Meter Bridge gives you the detail you need, on everything.

Shooshie

Shooshie · Post by **Shooshie** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:50 pm

Shooshie wrote:Also, you can meter busses, inputs, outputs, instruments... everything. You can tell where in a chain your audio begins to clip--at a glance. You can see all the meters at once. No looking around in plugin windows. And, you can see inputs. Sure, you could see inputs in the audio monitor window, but that was not a great way to do it. Meter Bridge gives you the detail you need, on everything.

Shooshie

Just for emphasis, let me repeat one thing:

You can tell where in a chain your audio begins to clip--at a glance.

Spikey Horse · Post by **Spikey Horse** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:52 pm

I don't have DPV (

) yet but it looks like the meter bridge is like a lot of things in DP: it is **another option** in terms of functionality and presentation.

For example, I expect I will find it much easier to set levels of my acoustic drum mics when I am recording myself (which I do every day). Usually I am squinting at DP's audio monitor. Now I can make a new drum tracking window set with the bridge and see the levels so much better as I am sound checking them. Just one of many bonuses I'm sure....

EDIT: just read Shoushie's comments above - so you can meter busses instruments et all .....wowsers it's better than I thought!

blue · Post by **blue** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:59 pm

Shooshie wrote:You can tell where in a chain your audio begins to clip--at a glance.

that's is exactly why i am so excited about the new meter bridge. to me this is huge.

chrispick · Post by **chrispick** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 3:07 pm

digitalme wrote:ChrisPick, cool IGC site. Like the navigation and enjoyed the samples.

Thanks man!

digitalme · Post by **digitalme** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:07 pm

ChrisPick, you're welcome, and everybody that has posted so far, thanks so much for sharing in detail how you will (or already do) use the meter bridge to your advantage. I better understand now some of the potential of this feature. (I was seriously skeptical at first... still am slightly, but much more open to its potential. And may I remind: I am a massive, lifetime fan and user of MOTU products, so I'm not just trying to criticize here).

This thread is yet just another reminder of how helpful and thorough everyone here is, and I am honored to be among this kind of calibre. Thanks. Any one with other uses for the meter bridge, I'm all ears.

Tonio · Post by **Tonio** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:17 pm

Finally we get a bigger input meter??? woo hooo.

I get so tired of squnting to see the input monitor from 10 feet away. Sometimes I need to put some gaffers tape on the screen to have a
"do not go over" mark

T

Resonant Alien · Post by **Resonant Alien** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:56 pm

Would be really useful in a dual display setup too - put the big ass meter bridge over on one display and your mixing and sequence windows on the other.....of course I wish I had another Cinema Display so I could actually do this, but......oh well

Resonant Alien · Post by **Resonant Alien** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 4:59 pm

Oh, and just in case no one took notice - Josh from MOTU Tech Support posted a response on this thread! Thanks for reading the forums Josh, and it just goes to show that if questions are politely and professionally presented as this one was, you generally get better answers than if you come in blasting: "MOTU sucks - this meter bridge is a waste of code...blah, blah, blah"

slippedout · Post by **slippedout** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 6:14 pm

It would be sweet if the Meter Bridge had the ability to display the levels of anything in real time, independent of buffer settings. I have a slower machine and I have to set my buffers higher when mixing which makes my GUI slow--including meters. Quick meters with a high buffer setting would be nice. Is this the case?