I want per-channel metering, but I hate looking at the laptop.
The solution to this problem is surprisingly expensive: a high-end mixer or a DAW controller. An avowed cheapskate, I made my own per-channel meter using Novation Launchpads I already had. The first version had two modes: one measured your computer’s sound; the other tunneled into professional music software for 8 channels of metering.
The DAW mode is what inspired me to build it: I reverse-engineered the Mackie Control protocol and transplanted the metering portion into the Launchpad. A new version is in the works, and it will be free.
In the meantime, Tabmeter does the first half of the job in a browser: it turns the sound in a tab into lights.
Follow along at hardwarevu.com ↗
