The LEDs indicate when the first stage of the circuit is overdriven by the input signal.
The more the LED is lit, the more your signal will be colored by saturation and harmonic distortion.
(The equalizers have no effect on input stage.)
The Vu-meter needles are monitoring the preamplifier output signal.
Consequently, boost or attenuate the signal with the EQ will affect the Vu Meter.
All our preamps are featured with an automatic gain compensation.
This allows to properly listen the effect of the preamp processing, without being influenced by a volume change.
Stereo & Dual Mono
Stereo: This mode is automatically enabled when opening the plugin on a stereo track.
The left side of the preamplifier will affect the left side(L) of your stereo track, while the right side will affect the right side(R).
Dual Mono: In this mode, each of the two channels works independently, as if they were mono channels. Therefore, any adjustments made on one channel will not be followed by the other, and will affect ONLY that channel.
Note: In this mode, unlike the Mid/Side, each channel is processed in Mono mode.
Mid-Side
Mid (Left track): The adjustments made will affect and be perceived in the center of the stereo spectrum (we can think of it as the mono compatible image).
For example, a boost in the Mid channel will make the sound more “mono” and will affect both channels equally. (L/R)
Side (Right track): Meaning that the adjustments made will impact the width of the stereo image only.
Changes on this channel will increase (+) or reduce (-) the stereo feel of your sound.
Tip: When mixing a track, to avoid phase issues, people use to attenuate the lower frequencies on the Side channel.
However, on the bottom right of the interface, by clicking on the -18dB button, you can access the Vu-meter calibration menu, and adjust it from -18dB to -14dB or -8dB.