FabFilter

I am using the Pro-L Limiter for mastering and I am still quite confused as to how to read the metering on the right-hand side. Forgive my ignorance. I have used Slate Digital's FG-X plugin in the past and I usually go by having RMS levels hover around -8.5 DB for a really nice loud master.

On the Pro-L, this measurement doesn't seem to be the same thing (unless I'm reading it wrong). What is my benchmark for a hot and loud pop master? I simply can't tell. The meter gives so much info that I can't understand where I should be looking and how to interpret how loud my actual master will be.

The Slate -8.5 always worked for me. What is it for Pro-L?

Thanks...really would appreciate some advice. Yes, I did watch the video about this with Dan Worrall. It still did not make it clear.

I've seen large discrepancies between meters (e.g. between the Level Meter in Studio One and Pro-L, and I'm talking about 3-4 dBs some times) so maybe there's also some discrepancy between FG-X and Pro-L.

In Pro-L the white line in the animation gives you a good, slow-moving, easy to read indication of your average RMS level. You can adjust it by ear: load one of each in your master bus, bypass Pro-L, adjust FG-X to taste, bypass it, engage Pro-L, adjust it to give you a similar subjective monitoring level, make a mental note of the value around which the white line hovers and that would be your target in Pro-L.

Or if you no longer have access to FG-X, use something you've mastered in the past as a reference. In any case, if you find that there's indeed a discrepancy (say that Pro-L shows around -10 where FG-X would show -8.5) you can safely ignore it, what matters is what you hear.

Cheers,