Loudness

Hit the target

Interface Preview

Here’s a screenshot of Loudness in action. Click anywhere on the interface to jump to a control’s definition below.

Advanced Controls, Page 1

Advanced Controls, Page 2

Advanced Controls, Page 3

Visualization

Loudness Graph & Histogram

Loudness features a large real-time metering graph with a histogram on its right-hand side. Depending on the meter type selected (LUFS/RMS/Peak/True Peak), the graph will simultaneously display its corresponding Momentary value as a stroke line and its corresponding Short Term value as a filled line. The target loudness is represented by a dashed line overlay.

The histogram on the other hand will display the Long Term value as a white block and the Momentary value as a highlight of colors. The colors will indicate the proximity of Momentary values to the predetermined target (as described later in the Measurements section).

Loudness Graph & Histogram

Balance Histogram & Goniometer

Loudness also includes a half-size real-time stereo display called a goniometer (or vectorscope) in the Channel page of the advanced pane with a balance histogram on top. By interpreting the goniometer, it’s possible to quickly deduce many characteristics about the stereo field and the precise relationship between left & right channels.

Depending on the balance measurement window selected, the histogram will display the Short Term or Long Term balance value as a white block and the Momentary balance value as a highlight of colors.

Goniometer & Balance Histogram

Here are some examples of how simple stereo signals appear in the goniometer:

Left and Right in Goniometer

Mid and Side in Goniometer

Measurements

A numeric summary table is available in the Summary page of the advanced pane and provides a handy way to monitor all the available measurement values simultaneously in Loudness. The summary also provides extra measurement values such as Crest Factor, Max Momentary LUFS, Max Short Term LUFS, and Loudness Range for further inspection. Some of the more useful measurement types are also available as a permanent display in the sidebar.

Loudness Summary

In LUFS and RMS modes, the green/yellow/red colors represent a difference of ±2dB/±4dB/±12dB respectively from the predetermined target value. In Peak and True Peak modes, the indicators will turn red above 0dB, yellow below 0dB and green below -6dB, relative to the target level.

The same color coding scheme can be seen in the main meter display:

Loudness Meters

Loudness also features a clipping light in the Trim Gain slider to indicate when the Long Term True Peak value has exceeded 0dB.

Controls

Primary Controls

Target Loudness

Target LUFS

Adjusts the desired loudness target.

Target LUFS is only used when Meter Type is set to LUFS.

  • Min -48.0LUFS
  • Max 0.0LUFS
  • Default -23.0LUFS

Target RMS

Adjusts the desired RMS target.

Target RMS is only used when Meter Type is set to RMS.

  • Min -48.0dBFS
  • Max 0.0dBFS
  • Default -24.0dBFS

Target Peak

Adjusts the desired peak target.

Target Peak is only used when Meter Type is set to Peak.

  • Min -48.0dBFS
  • Max 0.0dBFS
  • Default 0.0dBFS

Target True Peak

Adjusts the desired true peak target.

Target True Peak is only used when Meter Type is set to True Peak.

  • Min -48.0dBTP
  • Max 0.0dBTP
  • Default 0.0dBTP

Gain Range

Changes the gain scale of the loudness meter.

  • Min -24 dB
  • Max -120 dB
  • Default -48 dB

Time Range

Changes the time scale of the loudness meter.

  • Min 2.5s
  • Max 30s
  • Default 5s

Time Direction

Changes the sliding direction of the loudness meter.

  • Default LTR

Trim Gain

Adjusts the gain of the signal.

The light indicator turns red when clipping has occured according to the long term true peak value.

Trim Gain has a triangular indicator ◀ floating to the right side of the slider. This triangle indicates approximately where Trim Gain would need to be set in order to reach the target loudness.

  • Min -96.0dB
  • Max 24.0dB
  • Default 0.0dB

Loudness Meters

Meter Type

Switches between different metering types.

Options: LUFS, RMS, Peak, True Peak

  • Default LUFS

Measurement Window

Selects the measurement window of the gain to apply.

Option Discussion
Momentary

Represents a 150ms window in Peak/True Peak meters, a 300ms window in RMS, and a 400ms window in LUFS.
Short Term

Represents a 1s window in Peak/True Peak meters and a 3s window in LUFS/RMS meters.
Long Term

Represents the integrated value for LUFS/RMS meters and the maximum value for Peak/True Peak meters.
  • Default Short Term

Reset Meters

Resets the meter processing. This resets all the metering values across the plugin including the clipping light.

Options: Off, On

  • Default Off

Apply Momentary

Applies the suggested momentary trim gain to reach the target loudness.

Options: Off, On

Apply Momentary is only used when Measurement Window is set to Momentary.

  • Default Off

Apply Short Term

Applies the suggested short term trim gain to reach the target loudness.

Options: Off, On

Apply Short Term is only used when Measurement Window is set to Short Term.

  • Default Off

Apply Long Term

Applies the suggested long term trim gain to reach the target loudness.

Options: Off, On

Apply Long Term is only used when Measurement Window is set to Long Term.

  • Default Off

Meter Mode

Meter Mode switches Loudness’s persistent meter display mode.

Option About
Max Peak

Max Peak
Max True Peak

Max True Peak
Max Momentary

Max Momentary LUFS
Max Short Term

Max Short Term LUFS
Loudness Range

Loudness Range
  • Default Max True Peak

Master On/Off

Bypasses Loudness’s processing.

We recommend using the Master On/Off instead of your DAW’s plugin bypass to avoid digital artifacts.

  • Default On

Advanced Controls

The Advanced section offers more precise control and fine adjustment options.

To access Loudness’s advanced controls, click the ••• icon in the sidebar.

Stereo Controls

Left Polarity

Flips the polarity of the left channel.

Options: Off, On

  • Default Off

Left Solo

Solos the left signal.

Options: Off, On

  • Default Off

Left Mute

Mutes the left signal.

Options: Off, On

  • Default Off

Mono Sum

Sums the stereo signal into mono.

  • Default Off

Right Polarity

Flips the polarity of the right channel.

Options: Off, On

  • Default Off

Right Solo

Solos the right signal.

Options: Off, On

  • Default Off

Right Mute

Mutes the right signal.

Options: Off, On

  • Default Off

Left Trim

Enables left channel gain trimming.

  • Min -48.00dB
  • Max 24.00dB
  • Default 0.00dB

Right Trim

Enables right channel gain trimming.

  • Min -48.00dB
  • Max 24.00dB
  • Default 0.00dB

Balance Controls

Balance Measurement Window

Selects the measurement window of the balance to apply.

Option About Discussion
ST

Short Term

Represents a 3s RMS window.
LT

Long Term

Represents the integrated RMS value.
  • Default ST

Apply Balance Short Term

Applies the suggested short term fine trim gain to balance the stereo signal.

Options: Off, On

Apply Balance Short Term is only used when Balance Measurement Window is set to Short Term.

  • Default Off

Apply Balance Long Term

Applies the suggested long term fine trim gain to balance the stereo signal.

Options: Off, On

Apply Balance Long Term is only used when Balance Measurement Window is set to Long Term.

  • Default Off

Balance Range

Changes the display scale of the balance meter.

  • Min +-Inf dB
  • Max +-6 dB
  • Default +-Inf dB

Reset Options

Reset On Apply

Choose to reset the meters manually or automatically on apply.

Options: Off, On

  • Default On

Reset On Playback

Choose to reset the meters manually or automatically on playback.

Options: Off, On

  • Default On

Metering Options

Loudness Metering Playback Only

Choose to always meter the loudness or only on playback.

Options: Off, On

  • Default Off

Loudness Metering UI Only

Choose to always meter the loudness or only when the UI is open.

Options: Off, On

  • Default Off

Loudness Metering Ignore Silence

Choose to always meter the loudness or only when the signal is not silent.

Options: Off, On

  • Default On

Loudness Metering Offset

Offsets the loudness meter calculation by a given amount.

  • Min -24.00dB
  • Max 24.00dB
  • Default 0.00dB

Loudness Metering Units

Choose to display the absolute (LUFS) or relative (LU) metering value. The relative value will be calculated according to where Target LUFS is set.

Options: Absolute, Relative

  • Default Absolute

Trim Options

Trim Up Glide Time

Controls how long it takes the Trim Gain to travel up from one extreme to the other.

Clicks and pops may result at extremely fast trim glide times (like 10ms).

  • Min 10ms
  • Max 10.000s
  • Default 250ms

Trim Down Glide Time

Controls how long it takes the Trim Gain to travel down from one extreme to the other.

Clicks and pops may result at extremely fast trim glide times (like 10ms).

  • Min 10ms
  • Max 10.000s
  • Default 250ms

Adv Page

Selects which Advance Page is displayed.

Options: Channel, Summary, Options

This control affects the display only (not the sound).

  • Default Channel

Specs

Supported Channel Configurations

Input Channel # Output Channel #
1 1
1 2
2 2

Presets

The presets are a great way to get to know each plugin. The preset drawer can be accessed at the bottom of each plugin by clicking the current preset name.

Acknowledgements

Annlie Huang / Diana Zheng / James Edmondson / TaeHo Park

Authors

Devin Kerr / Rob Stenson / Jasper Duba / Noah Dayan

Translators

TaeHo Park / Tiago Frúgoli / Gustavo Guzmán / Reda Kermach / Noah Dayan / Gal Cohen / Sydney Bolton / Enrico Cirene

About Goodhertz Plugins

User Interface

Goodhertz plugins are made to be workhorse tools that sound amazing. We’ve put a lot of thought and care into the audio quality and plugin usability, and for that reason, we’ve opted for simple and direct controls & interfaces that don’t rely on photorealistic knobs or ornamental screw heads to communicate their meaning.

We’ve also decided to only include meters and graphs when we feel they will directly lead to a better sonic result. Meters/graphs can consume significant CPU resources, and we firmly believe that if it sounds good, it is good.

Our meters can be manually enabled or disabled via the “Enable Metering” User Preference.

Preset Bar

Button Action
Undo the last parameter change.
Redo the last parameter change.
Switch to the previous preset.
“Preset Name” Opens the preset drawer (Option/Alt + Click to reset all plugin settings to preset).
Switch to the next preset.
Selects the A settings state.
This copies the current settings to the opposite A/B state; i.e. if you’re on the A state, clicking the arrow will copy those settings to the B state.
Selects the B settings state.

Toolbar

Introduced in version 3.9, the toolbar at the bottom of the plugin holds a handful of shortcut buttons.

Icon Action
Opens preferences menu
Shows diagnostic information
Opens plugin manual in your default web browser
Opens a URL representation of the current plugin control state (Command/Ctrl + Click to copy the URL to the clipboard)
Opens language-selection menu
Shrink interface
Enlarge interface

Keyboard Shortcuts

Action Keyboard Shortcut
Enter New Parameter Value Once you’ve tapped or double-tapped a control, type in a value, then hit Enter, Return, or Tab
Increment Parameter Value ↑ or → arrow keys
Decrement Parameter Value ↓ or ← arrow keys
Jump to Next Parameter Tab
Jump to Previous Parameter Shift + Tab or ` (backtick)
Escape Parameter Focus / Close any Open Drawers Esc
Tap Tempo t (N.B. For this to work, you must have a BPM control selected.)
Save Preset n (N.B. For this to work, the preset panel must be open.)
Set Preset as Favorite f (N.B. For this to work, the preset panel must be open.)
Edit Preset e (N.B. For this to work, the preset panel must be open.)
Update Preset u (N.B. For this to work, the preset panel must be open.)
Delete Preset Delete (N.B. For this to work, the preset panel must be open.)

Right-Click Actions

Action Instruction
Read about Control in manual Right-Click & select “Show in Plugin Manual”
Reset Control to Default Right-Click & select “Reset to Factory Default Value”
Lock Control when switching presets Right-Click & select “Lock When Switching Presets”
Copy current plugin settings to clipboard Right-Click & select “Copy as URL to Clipboard”
Paste all plugin settings from clipboard Right-Click & select “Paste From Clipboard”
Reset all plugin settings to Defaults Right-Click & select “Reset to Factory Defaults”
Reset all plugin settings to Preset Right-Click & select “Reset to [preset] Preset”
Update Preset with current plugin settings Right-Click & select “Update [preset] Preset”
Create new Preset with current plugin settings Right-Click & select “Create New Preset”
Go to the plugin’s manual page Right-Click & select “Read [plugin name] Manual”

Right-Click Preferences

Action Explanation
Language Switch the display language of text elements in Goodhertz plugins. We currently support the following languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), and Arabic.
Always Open Advanced Pane By default, this is Off — i.e. when the plugins open, they do not show you the advanced controls available by hitting the ••• button in the sidebar. If you’d like to always see the advanced controls, enable this preference.
Control Granularity By default, all Goodhertz controls move in small increments when dragged. If you prefer controls to operate with larger increments by default, change this option to Coarse. N.B. This will swap the behavior of the Shift mouse modifier - i.e. Shift-dragging will move a control with standard granularity when set to Coarse.
Dark Mode Allows you to choose the color palette used for displaying the interface. If you prefer the look of dark colors (or work in a darker environment) enable this option. The Auto option will automatically adjust the color scheme depending on the system preferences of your machine (Mac only).
Enable Hover Markers By default, this is On — i.e. all controls will show markers on hover. If you find this behavior unnecessary, deselect this option and no markers will be shown.
Enable Metering By default, this is On — i.e. in normal operation, all audio meters and visualizations available in Goodhertz plugins are enabled and running. If you’d like to turn them off and disable all metering and visualization, deselect this option. And to turn them back on, simply reselect it. N.B. If you’re struggling to use a large number of Goodhertz plugins on an older processor with an integrated GPU, sometimes disabling metering can help.
Enable Scroll Input By default, all Goodhertz sliders can be scrolled in addition to dragged. If you find this behavior unnecessary, deselect this option and no scrolling events will be used to control Goodhertz sliders.
Enable Tooltips By default, this is On — i.e. all controls will show a tooltip on hover. If you find this behavior unnecessary, deselect this option and no tooltips will be shown.
GPU Acceleration By default, this is Enabled — i.e. the GPU will be prioritized whenever possible to improve graphics performance. If your graphics card does not support GPU acceleration, this preference will be automatically set to Reduced. N.B. If you experience graphics issues, disabling this preference may help.
Keyboard Focus By default, you can get keyboard focus on any Goodhertz control with a single click. Change this option to ensure keyboard focus only occurs on double clicks.
Window Size Enlarge or shrink the Goodhertz plugin window by selecting an option here. This will save your preference for all instances of this plugin.
Diagnostics Displays general information about the plugin and the configuration of your system for diagnostic purposes. If you experience any issues with the plugin, it can be helpful to include this information when contacting us. N.B. Clicking this window will copy the contents to the clipboard.

Mouse Modifiers

Action Combination (Mac) Combination (Windows)
Reset Parameter to Default Value Option + Click Alt + Click
Move Control with Coarse Precision Shift + Drag Shift + Drag
Move Control with Fine Precision Command + Drag Ctrl + Drag
Move Control with Normal Precision Drag Drag

Automation

Unintentional digital clicks and pops are the worst. They happen for lots of reasons and often end up wasting your time with needless revisions or mastering surgery. When they go unnoticed, they can make their way onto commercial albums and releases.

Plugin automation is a common cause of clicks and pops. Sweeping an EQ band, changing a delay setting, and even automating a plugin bypass can cause digital artifacts if poorly handled.

This is not true for Goodhertz plugins. Any parameter in a Goodhertz plugin, even on/off switches, can be automated freely and smoothly without clicks, pops, or zipper noises (unless otherwise noted). You can push them, pull them, LFO them — whatever you do, they’ll handle it gracefully.

Since our Master On/Off controls won’t create artifacts, we recommend that you use them rather than your DAW-supplied plugin bypass if you want to disable plugin processing.

Plugin Settings

Goodhertz plugin settings can be copied and pasted as text urls, which look like this: https://goodhertz.com/vulf-comp/3.0.9?cm=0&wf=0&lf=100&lfc=50

To copy and paste, right click anywhere on the plugin interface and select either the copy or the paste option.

E.g. If you paste “https://goodhertz.com/vulf-comp/3.0.9?cm=0&wf=0&lf=100&lfc=50” into Vulf Compressor it will recall the settings associated with that url. This way you can easily send an exact plugin setting to someone — in an email or even a tweet — without any guesswork or screenshots.”

System Requirements

Mac OS X ≥ 10.12

Audio Unit 64-Bit, VST 64-Bit, VST3 64-Bit, or AAX 64-Bit host

Windows ≥ 8

VST 64-Bit, VST3 64-Bit, or AAX 64-Bit host

Contact Support

To send plugin feedback, please e-mail us at feedback@goodhertz.com.

If you have a quick question, send us a tweet @Goodhertz. We’re often able to respond faster to tweets than emails.

If you’re having trouble, experiencing a technical issue, or you think you’ve found a bug, please email support@goodhertz.com.

Find all our contact info & bug-reporting protocol on the contact page.