An experiment in fair comparison. Louder almost always sounds better, so it is hard to tell whether an effect improves a sound or just makes it louder. Loudmatch runs your input through a rack of six effects, measures the dry and the processed sound, and brings the processed sound back to the level of the dry one, so you can judge the effect on its own merits.
How it works
Your dry input is always the reference. The effects rack offers the same six effect families as MultiFX, which you can reorder and adjust, or shuffle with Randomize FX. Loudmatch listens to both signals and applies a single gain correction to the processed sound, the same on both channels so the stereo balance is kept.
There are two ways to match:
- Learn & hold listens for a few seconds of playing, then holds that correction. The processed sound keeps its own dynamics; only its overall level changes. If you change the effects afterwards, the match is marked as out of date until you match again.
- Continuous keeps adapting as the sound and the effect settings change.
Three meters show the Dry signal, the Unmatched processed signal and the Matched result. Click a meter's label to listen to that signal, so you can switch between them on the same phrase without changing inputs.
Getting started
Loudmatch takes a stereo audio input: play a recording, a guitar or a voice through it.
- Choose the Quiet signal · learn & hold preset, where the processed sound starts 18 dB quieter than the dry one.
- Press Match loudness and keep playing until the capture completes. Only actual sound counts, so pauses make it take longer.
- Compare Matched with Dry, then try another preset, such as Heavy distortion, Big reverb or Moving phaser, or press Randomize FX and match again.
Each preset comes with a short note on what to listen for. Advanced opens the detector and protection settings, Details shows live diagnostics, and Help walks through the listening workflow.
Limits
This is an experiment, not a mastering tool. Its loudness measurement is not an integrated LUFS meter, and its optional peak protection is not a true-peak limiter. The learned correction is not saved: after you reopen or reset the module, match again.
