MCompare ALC Not Working?

[Hexspa]

I have MCompare on my master track and just a hihat soloed in my mix. With ALC on as I normally have it, the reference track is super loud. I expect the reference track to match the loudness of the hihat.

[Hexspa]

Anyone else have issues with MCompare Automatic Loudness not working?

[mikhail-meldaproduction]

It takes about three seconds after pressing the "ALC" button for the loudness compensation logic to gather enough information and start working its magic. If you are looking for an immediate effect, please use the nearby "Set" button: it sets the gain instantaneously.

[Hexspa]

Thanks for your reply. I understand that. What I'm saying is that MCompare only seems to work within a narrow range of input level. Please try what I said in my initial post: solo a hi hat then compare that level to a file you load into MCompare. You will not get level matching. While I understand that this is an unusual use case, it concerns me that the level matching window is unknown to the user.

Or the most obvious example is to play back a file through the plugin with no signal going into it at all. If ALC was matching the input, there would be no output.

[mikhail-meldaproduction]

Sorry for misinterpreting your original comment and jumping to unfounded conclusions. I will take a deeper look at this as soon as I am able, which, unfortunately, is likely to be next week. To be continued...

[Hexspa]

Sorry for misinterpreting your original comment and jumping to unfounded conclusions. I will take a deeper look at this as soon as I am able, which, unfortunately, is likely to be next week. To be continued...

Thank you, I appreciate it. Basically, I find it concerning that the ALC is not predictable. As with the examples I gave, zero input does not equal zero output, and a little input does not equal a little output. Only a certain "much input" produces level-matched output.

[MeldaProduction]

When it comes to loudness, the measurement always takes some time. The longer the time, the more accurate it is. I didn't read everything here, but I assume that's the problem. If you use the ALC, both signals should be playing all the time, so the plugin can keep track. But generally I like to use "Set" instead - it temporarily enables the ALC, measures the loudness and sets the gain. It's totally stable then and most CPU efficient.

[Hexspa]

When it comes to loudness, the measurement always takes some time. The longer the time, the more accurate it is. I didn't read everything here, but I assume that's the problem. If you use the ALC, both signals should be playing all the time, so the plugin can keep track. But generally I like to use "Set" instead - it temporarily enables the ALC, measures the loudness and sets the gain. It's totally stable then and most CPU efficient.

Hey, Vojtech. Good to see you and thanks for the tip. Mikhail got back to me. He found out that the maximum gain compensation in MCompare is +-24 dB. That makes sense for its intended purpose. I was just trying to get a hi hat sound while referencing a full track. The difference in level must've been greater than that. From now on I'll just have to build my track more before analyzing it.