I don't know if you have ever used a MiniMe, but setting levels with just 4 LED settings, one of which is "over" is almost impossible. I strongly disagree with the MT levels, even with the new firmware update.
Impossible? Woo hoo.. I have recordings that were "impossible" to make!
I suppose that no meters recording I did the other night.. was "beyond impossible"..
So why doesn't the peak hold tell you where you are peaking? I find it very clear on the mt. It would be nice if the scale was calibrated but it isn't hard to put a sticker on the face as a reminder. The r09 meters are extremely fast with no peak hold and it is difficult to see where it is peaking.
The mt meters will *NEVER* be fast because it is an LCD display.
I have a minime.. I found the 4 LEDs challenging when I was starting out.. I even bought an SVU so I'd have a lot of LEDs to look at... I quickly grew accustomed to the minime meters and stopped using the svu. I now think the minime meters are just fine. Just a question of how often/hard I'm hitting the -12 and if I'm ever seeing -2. One downside to the minime is you can't easily set it to 30 dB of gain.. You have to set the gain dials to 1:30 or whatever.. So my minime recording notes tend to be in clock terms. I think that is a main source of challenge, the setting and not the metering.
These days I need even less metering. I always think in terms of how much dB gain I need for a particular venue/band combo. I usually have most of the meters on the 722 taped over because I don't want to annoy people. The only thing exposed is -12 thru 0 and I expect to rarely see the -12 lit.
There was a time when I thought peaking at -1 was perfect.. But many A/Ds distort at those levels and many pre amps are beyond their optimal range. I've seen the results myself. Just send some sine waves through the gear.
