mike_mccue
K Metering was proposed as a system to calibrate listening levels. The idea is to select a target level on your meter, use the target consistently, and coordinate playback at that target with a Sound Pressure Level while listening to playback. The idea is that the consistent experience will allow you to preserve your ability to recognize dynamics as you mix and you will have lots of digital head room for transient peaks that rise above your average levels.
 
If you turn down your pre fx levels so that the fx outputs stay well below clipping, that is exactly what you are doing. The only relationship track levels have with K metering is that you have may a K-meter running on the master/main outs bus.
 
Anyone who reads the A.E.S. paper will see that K-metering is a "system" specifically describing the calibration of digital meters with SPL listening levels.

Thanks, that helps!

What Mike is saying is very important re SPL levels too and I have not been talking about that much at all, mainly what goes on inside your DAW.  But it not just about SPL levels either, it is whole way of life inside your DAW. Why not take right back into that and hence into tracking correctly. No harm because it just works great.
 
re tracking if you talked to some famous engineers eg Bob Clearmountain or David Pensado etc about tracking this is what I think you would find:
 
These guys when tracking would be using a pretty decent analog console and there would be VU meters in that situation. (not just on the output but more than likely on every input channel too, very nice!!)
 
So when they are setting input levels you can bet your boots they would be using a VU meter to do it.  It is easy fast and accurate.  If the console and the DAW are calibrated correctly then that level would just appear in the DAW at the right level.
 
You don't need an expensive console to do it though.  A decent hardware VU meter attached to your input and monitoring console will do the job nicely.  And if you don't want to go down that route there are some nice VU VST's that will allow you to get it right in the all digital world too.
 
Mike (slightly OT) I have studied the harmonic relationships with toms quite a bit and they are interesting too. They are all bunched up and very close together and they all rise up and peak and fall on the other side too. When you measure the frequency of the loudest ones and then re tune the drums to suit the key of the song the drums can all sound better.  (yes I agree rather fiddly to do and if there are key changes things get tricky too but you can compromise though)

Good thread.

It is a very good thread I agree, and I don't want to trivialise what Mike started with either. I respect Mike for getting involved with fine technical details. He is good at bringing attention to them.  It is people like Mike (and Daniel) that help to make the finest recordings we can and that is vital.  I love the fact that the tools we have now are just so good and we are making the best recordings we can right now.  And WAY better than ever before in the past too in my opinion. 
 
I used to be very similar too.  But as I have got older I have just sort of lost interest in all of that to a certain degree and become very interested in things like composition, arrangements, performances and emotional response that the listener is feeling.  When you start to think about all that, all the technical stuff becomes very small in importance.  Getting older changes your perspective bigtime!
 
That interview between Bob Clearmountain and David Pensado actually brings out the same thing too.  Bob is not sweating the technical stuff at all.  He does not care about it that much.  He is into something else.  It is that something else that keeps me searching for that truth.

If these pictures don't make sense...  give up. :-S
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
You can right click view image in new tab to see it at full size.
 
 
 
 

What tone generator is that by the way? Is it a VST or part of Audition?

It is part of Adobe Audition (or Cool Edit Pro)  It is very handy for creating quite a variety of test signals. I wish it could generate more harmonics than it does but I guess what they are providing is useful enough.  It is great for generating very precise level calibration tones too.
 
It can also generate asymmetrical waveforms too. (different shapes above and below the line) These are very handy for checking polarity relationships throughout your system too.  You do need some sort of CRO or scope though to see them. I was quite amazed what I found out in terms of polarity reversal taking place especially when I had multiple sound cards installed at one stage.  (don't now though) It is interesting how many bits of outboard gear can flip the polarity as well.
 
You can feed an asymmetrical signal into a power amp and speaker for testing microphones too. I was quite surprised when I tested every microphone I had that about 1/4 of them were wired the other way around compared to the others.

Melda Productions have some great noise generators and Oscillators as part of their freebie pack if that helps anyone.

Sanderxpander
What tone generator is that by the way? Is it a VST or part of Audition?

The tone generator is built in to Adobe Audition and was part of Audition's predecessor "Cool Edit".