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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN">
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<title>Audacity - Meter Toolbar</title>
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<body text="#000000" link="#000099" vlink="#000099">
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<h1>Meter Toolbar</h1>
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<img src="images/toolbar_meter.png" width="527" height="55">
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The Meter Toolbar is used for monitoring the input and output audio
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levels. Typically it is used to make sure that the loudest volume
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is as loud as possible (for maximum fidelity) without clipping or
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The output (playback) meter is the green one, on the left pictured
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above, and the input (recording) meter is in red, on the right.
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It toolbar provides a visual indication of the current audio levels going
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in and out of audacity.
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If you float the Meter Toolbar, either by dragging it out of the toolbar
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or by selecting "Float Meter Toolbar" from the View menu, you can resize it
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and even orient it vertically.
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Normally the meters are only active when you are playing or recording audio.
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However, you can also monitor input when you're not recording - to do this,
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either select "Monitor Input" from the input meter's pop-up menu, or else
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just click on the input meter. If you have a microphone or other input
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source attached, you will be able to watch the level of the audio before
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Each meter shows several characteristics of the audio level at once:
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<li>The right hand end of the meter corresponds to the point at
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which the audio will be clipped, and the left hand end is silence</li>
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<li>For stereo, the top bar shows the left channel, and the bottom
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bar shows the right channel.</li>
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<li>The brightest part of the bar shows the average audio
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level (related to the loudness) and the darker part of the
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bar shows the peak audio level.</li>
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<li>The peak-hold line to the right of this shows the maximum
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audio level achieved in the last 3 seconds.</li>
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<li>Finally, the clipping indicators on the far right of
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each meter will light up if clipping is detected (meaning that
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the audio was too loud and will sound distorted).</li></ul>
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If clipping is detected when you are recording, you should stop, lower
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the volume of your input source, and start recording again from the start.
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If the output meter clips then you need to make some or all of your tracks
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quieter using the track <a href="track_audio.htm">gain control</a>.
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If the level of the input (recording) source is too high, you can try
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to lower the input level using the <a href="toolbar_mixer.htm">Mixer
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Toolbar</a>, but if this doesn't work, you should try to lower the volume
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of the external input source (e.g., your microphone, cassette player, or
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It is possible, especially if you have an older, slower computer, that
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the Meter Toolbar may interfere with Audacity's ability to record or play
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audio with the highest quality, because your computer is so busy redrawing
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the meters that it doesn't have time to process enough audio. In this is the
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case for you, you can disable the Meter Toolbar in the Interface tab of
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the <a href="prefs.htm">Preferences</a> dialog.
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help/wxhelp/toolbar_meter.htm
