The Sound Board

There are quite a few tools that allow you to look, in various ways and in varying detail, at the dynamics and/or dynamic density of your tracks or mixes, so it’s quite possible you have no immediate need for this one, but Ian Shepherd’s Dynameter, the v2 update for which has been just released, is quite special nonetheless. Special enough, in my opinion, to give it some of your attention.

Rather than me trying to describe what it’s good for and excels at — I can’t improve on what Bill Lacey (Resolution Magazine) says anyway: “An essential tool for assessing the way music finds a place in the loudness managed streaming world” — , simply watch Ian’s 10 minute ‘Explainer’-video below.

Dynameter isn’t exactly cheap. And if you’re convinced you have use for it, I’d hurry with the purchase because the introductory discount (40% off the regular price, use code DYNA2INTRO) ends today, August 15th.



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Piet. Thank you for the reminder. I saw I was offered update rate but didnt think I needed it. Did you upgrade? And why, if you did? Thank!

DIdn't upgrade, because I never bought v1. Until a few days ago, I wasn't even aware of the plug-in.
So I did buy v2 (at the introductory price).

Why? Because I didn't have anything yet that tells me what this plugin can tell me. I suppose Izotope has similarly informative tools, but I never went with Izotope. The only plugin I have, prior to getting Dynameter, that gives me some info about the dynamics of a track, is ADPTR Metric A/B but that's showing just a single curve and I can't read much from that. Besides, I'm more interested in the info related to density — areas that may be dynamically congested — anyway. Dynamics I can judge quite well with my ears, density however is a different matter.

I've meanwhile also discovered that Dynameter is a great aid to study other mixes with. Running some of my favourite tracks through it, there's a lot to be learned. And that's important to me because I really would like to crack the secret of why all my favourite recordings abound with energy (sonic energy) while my own tracks hardly have any. Or, if they do, it's that pseudo-energy (generated with compressors, expanders and transient designers) that I don't like the sound of.

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I appreciate that Piet. We also use ADPTR. And Ians Perception here.