Hello,
I had hearing loss (right ear) eons ago, i have hard time ensuring two L/R signals are the same volume.
Do you know any volume matching technique or plug i could use, for example on two rythm guitars panned 100% L/R, to ensure they are the same volume ? (Watching cubase meters seems not reliable enough because of the peaks)
Thanks for your help.
Hey there. Something like the MixDelay in Control Room would allow you independently change the gain on the right channel with all other effects turned off. That way it would work on whatever monitoring you wanted to use.
Another potentially simpler option would be to just turn up the output gain on the right monitor itself, leaving all other things equal. That way you’d “hear” it at the same volume, but metering, mixing, etc wouldn’t be affected. A stereo gain or similar plugin in CR would work though, and you wouldn’t run the risk of bouncing your “corrected” gains to the mix.
EDIT: AFA volume matching, you may consider a pink noise signal so you capture the entire spectrum and set it appropriately. Of course, if you suffer hearing loss within a particular frequency range (which is probably the case) then a dynamic EQ in CR may better suit your use-case.
Thanks for the advices, unfortunately i am not confident enough with my right ear for those direct monitoring techniques.
It would be easier if a plugin, maybe, was able to do some " average " volume matching between two tracks or average volume measuring so i can have some numbers to help.
Haven’t found any so far…
Not sure I understand the end-goal then. Are you saying you want some kind of plug-in to “hear” for you, and you make mix adjustments based on what the plug-in says, and not what you hear? Meaning, you don’t want to “hear” both channels of the aforementioned L/R panned guitars as the same level, you just want the plug-in to tell you when the levels are the same regardless of what you’re hearing? If the latter, then any number of metering plugins will give you averaging over time, etc. Though I would think you WANT the peaks, while I understand that you can’t hear them and thus want to accommodate for them - but that’s a bit closing the barn door after the horses have already bolted.
Some of the iZotope mixing assistants and auto-matching tools may help, but the real problem is that you won’t know what it actually sounds like. Maybe try and do both - use the plugins as a guide and retrain your mind to identify what you can with what you have and see if you can come to a happy medium. Still not sure any of that helps - sorry if that misses the mark.
What @Thor.HOG said.
If I may add a thought:
Just listen to well known reference tracks that you have been familiar with for eons. Take it from there. If your mix is in the same ballpark you are good to go. If you need to, check the left/right distribution the way @Thor.HOG suggested but I would not overdo it.
I mean, listen to songs from the 1960s and 1970s using extreme LCR panning. An approach that has not lost its attraction up to this day even though you would tend to go for a more moderate appoach these days. I would like to assume that you are nowhere near these extreme LCR settings that were and have been fine up till now.
To sum it up: Relax, don’t overthink it 
That’s it exactly ! Sorry for misleading, i am french and my english might not be that accurate from time to time… 
I still want to use my ears of course, just need some plugins to help my ears with numbers.
Do you guys know some accurate plugins which would be able to compare 2 track average volume to help my ears ?
Try a different meter…something that is averaging level like a lufs meter may work a little better.
I’ve purchased the Blue Cat Audio analysis suite, which include multi-channel analysis tools etc, but you’ve already got SuperVision included with Cubase, and it’s a very capable metering system in its own right. iZotope Insight 2 is a good one as well.
I may also add this - your challenge may be two-fold. You need to understand what you’re hearing, but you also need to identify what you’re not hearing. A spectrogram-based histogram can really come in handy as you retrain your brain to fill in the gaps of what you can and can’t hear (it can be done, even with permanent hearing loss). The visual representation of both frequency analysis and the deltas in amplitude are invaluable for folks with hearing loss. Just a suggestion as you embark upon this journey
Steinberg’s “Supervision” plugin has a loudness module included as well as other types of meters. What you could do is set up two mono output buses and put that plugin on each. Then take only the left side of your mix and send that to one output and the right to the other. Each meter should now reflect one side only. So soloing the two panned guitars should show on the meters.
I haven’t tried this but it seems like it would be a solution.
Thanks for all the valuable advices.
Someone told me to check this neat plugin : LetiMix / Products / GainMatch
Use it in “Left”<->“Right” mode to get a perfect balance of hard-panned tracks
There’s a free trial, will test it and let you know
At the risk of misunderstanding the OP’s requirements…
Because of my hearing issues, I will often monitor in mono (via the Control Panel).
My music is rather simple, once an instrument is panned, it stays there, so monitoring in mono helps me get the correct left/right volume balance.
I, too, use panned guitars (different sample libraries, different amp plugins, etc), and looking at the meters and listening in mono helps me get it right.
Flip the Left and Right channel around at regular intervals while mixing would be my way to handle the/your issue
That’s all good advices indeed. Thanks.
Although GainMatch does a whole lot more than this, if all you want is to swith left and right channels, Brainworx have this freebie (well, you have to open an acount):
https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products/bx_solo.html
There’s an excellent free plugin which is not only capable to switch channels but also to monitor 5 adjustable bands separately in left/right and mid/sight modes. Might come in handy for the OP. Moreover, it’s one of my favourite plugins which always resides in my Control Room:
Underwater Isol8
The very same company (TBPro Audio) offers a free VU meter which is great for metering and gain staging. In regard to this thread, this VU meter might also serve as a possible alternative to relying on LUFS alone (I know the difference, yes 
).
Both plugins are really good, no artefacts and absolutly stable. No subscription or account necessary, just download and install. I have been working with them for quite a while now.
LOL!!
HAHAHAHA 
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