magic.METER free hit vocal analyzer
Your vocal vs. the hits
A free plugin that grades your vocal against 3,054 hit song vocals, live in your DAW, and tells you what to fix first.
Free Mac: AU / VST3 / AAX Windows: VST3 Never changes your audio
What it compares you to
2005001k2k5k10k 3,054 hit song vocals, measured one by one. Every line is one of them; the white line is the middle. A typical hit vocal scores 90 in magic.METER (they land 80-100), hit compression lands around 16.3 dB, and about a minute of singing gets you a full read.
Seven tabs. One move each.
Each tab grades one part of your vocal against the hits. When something's off, you get the move, with the amount.
TONE
Your EQ curve against the curves of the hits you compare to.
Compare to
16groups of hits
All Hits, or one of 9 genres: Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B, Country, Latin, Rock, Electronic, Alternative and Christian/Gospel. TONE can also compare by era or voice type.
DYNAMICS
How compressed your vocal is, read as peak over body.
The hits
16.3dB
Peak over body in a hit vocal (median). 8 in 10 sit between 15.1 and 17.8 dB: a window about 3 dB wide.
Hip-hop runs more dynamic: 17.6 dB.
It tells you
Over-compressed: squashed flat
Ease off about 2 dB of gain reduction
Fix it with
magic.PRESS Coming soonLEVEL
With the beat on the sidechain: how loud your vocal sits against it, and where the beat covers it.
The hits
-0.4dB
Vocal minus beat while singing (median). Hit vocals sit about as loud as their beat: 8 in 10 land between -4.1 and +3.1 dB.
Masking is read in 5 bands: warmth, body, core, presence and clarity.
It tells you
The beat covers your vocal at 1.6-3.2 kHz
Dip the beat about 7 dB around 2.3 kHz, or lift your vocal's presence there
Fix it with
magic.RIDERECORDING
A checklist for the take. P-pops get tagged live, right where they happen.
What it checks
8checks
- Clipping
- P-pops
- Noise
- Hum
- Recording level
- Mic distance
- Room
- Mic range
Best on the raw take.
WIDTH
How wide your vocal sits in stereo.
The hits
30%
Stereo width of a hit vocal (median). 8 in 10 land between 11% and 62%: mostly centered.
Hip-hop runs narrower: 22%.
It tells you
On the narrow side of the hip-hop hits
Fix it with
magic.PRESS Coming soonSPACE
The reverb and delay tail after each phrase.
The hits
-13dB
A hit vocal's reverb tail, 100 ms after the phrase ends (median).
It tells you
Wetter than the hip-hop hits
Turn the reverb and delay down about 7 dB
Fix it with
magic.PRESS Coming soonESSES
How loud your esses sit against the rest of the vocal.
The hits
+0.3dB
Hit esses sit right at the vocal's body level (median).
Insert it. Press play.
- 01
Pick a mode
PROCESSED grades the vocal you're mixing. RAW checks the recording.
PROCESSED Last on the finished vocal, after your reverb and delay.
VOCAL CHAIN REVERB + DELAY magic.METERRAW First on the dry recording, to check the take and the room.
MIC magic.METER YOUR PLUGINS - 02
Send it the beat (optional)
Send the beat to the sidechain input for the level and masking checks.
BEAT magic.METER - 03
Pick what to compare to and play the song
About a minute of singing is a full read. It grades before that.
All HitsPopHip-HopR&BCountryLatinRockElectronicAlternativeChristian/GospelPlus 3 eras and 3 voice types on TONE.
Heard 1:00By then the score is within 2 points of the whole song's, 3 times in 4.
Plugin or web analyzer?
Both are free and both grade against the 3,054 hits. The web analyzer checks a bounce you upload. The plugin runs live in your session while the song plays.
| What it checks | Web analyzer | magic.METER |
|---|---|---|
| Tone (EQ) | ||
| Dynamics (compression) | ||
| Recording | ||
| Level against the beat | with the instrumental | with the beat on the sidechain |
| Where the beat covers the vocal | - | |
| Width | - | |
| Space | - | |
| Esses | - | |
| Open it |
When a tab finds something
Each tab points you to what fixes it.
Quick questions
The short answers.
Is it free?
Yes. Enter your email at the top of this page and the download shows up right there.
Which DAWs and formats does it work in?
Mac: macOS 11 or later (Apple silicon and Intel), as AU, VST3 and AAX (Pro Tools). Windows: Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), as VST3 - Pro Tools on Windows is coming. For the level and masking checks, your DAW needs to be able to send the beat to a plugin's sidechain input.
Does it change my sound?
No. It only measures. It doesn't change the audio.
How long does it need to listen?
About a minute of singing is a full read. The HEARD meter shows how much singing it has heard so far, and it starts grading before it fills up.
Do I need to send it the beat?
No. But with the beat on the sidechain input it adds the level and masking checks: how loud your vocal sits against the beat, and where the beat covers it.
Why I made it
I started measuring hit vocals for my videos. 3,054 songs later, those numbers became the web analyzer, and now this: the same measurements, live on your vocal while you mix.
It's free. I hope it helps you finish songs.
Find out what to fix first
magic.METER is free. Enter your email and download it.