01
Peak Level
Instantaneous sample-accurate peak. The fastest measurement โ responds to transients within a single sample period.
Audubon ยท Plugins
OWL-001
ยท
Released v1.0.1
Volume Assistant
Owl.
Levels, linked.
Two plugins. One shared memory channel. Seven measurements per track flowing in real time โ so your Receiver always knows exactly what the Carrier is doing, without a single audio bus or send.
Free Add to Cart ยท v1.0.1
Free
01 / 06
01 โ Overview
Two plugins. One conversation.
Owl is a two-part volume assistant: Owl Carrier sits on a source track and measures it; Owl Receiver sits on any other track and reads those measurements directly via Windows named shared memory โ no sends, no buses, no routing overhead.
Named shared memory is a Windows OS mechanism for passing data between processes at memory speed โ no audio signal is transmitted, no latency is added, and no routing changes are required in your DAW.
Place Owl Carrier on your kick drum, your vocal, or any track you want to use as a reference. Place Owl Receiver on your bass, your synth, or any track that needs to compare against the Carrier. The Receiver reads all seven measurements continuously in real time.
02 โ The Engine
Named shared memory. OS-level speed.
The Carrier writes seven measurements into a Windows named shared memory segment every processing block. The Receiver reads from the same segment โ zero copies, zero inter-plugin audio routing, zero added latency.
Windows Named Shared Memory
The Carrier creates a named shared memory segment in the Windows OS. The Receiver opens the same segment by name. Both plugins access the same physical memory โ the fastest possible inter-process communication available on the platform.
No Audio Routing Required
Owl doesn't need a sidechain input or a send track. The data channel is entirely separate from your audio graph โ which means it works cleanly in any DAW, on any channel type, with any buffer size, without modifying your routing at all.
Per-Block Updates
Measurements are written and read every audio processing block. At 128 samples / 44.1 kHz, that's 344 updates per second โ fast enough to track transients, volume rides, and automated fader moves with no perceptible lag.
Channel Name Matching
The Carrier and Receiver are linked by a shared channel name you type into both plugins. Multiple pairs can coexist in the same session with different names โ route multiple reference tracks to multiple destinations independently.
03 โ Seven Measurements
Everything about your source, delivered live.
The Carrier measures seven distinct values per channel and transmits all of them simultaneously. The Receiver can display any combination.
02
RMS Level
Windowed RMS with configurable time constant. Tracks perceived loudness over time rather than individual peaks.
03
Hold Peak
Peak hold with configurable hold time and fall rate. Identifies transient maxima without watching a live meter continuously.
04
Short-Term LUFS
3-second integrated loudness per ITU-R BS.1770-4. Standard measurement for segment-level loudness comparison and streaming targeting.
05
Integrated LUFS
Full-program loudness from playback start, gated per BS.1770-4. The number streaming platforms use for normalization.
06
True Peak
Inter-sample peak detection via 4ร oversampling. Catches peaks that occur between sample points and would clip after D/A conversion.
07
Diff Window
30-second rolling difference between Carrier and Receiver RMS. Shows how the gap between two tracks has evolved โ a history of your relative balance.
04 โ The Protocol
Carrier sends. Receiver listens.
A โ Setup
Name Both Plugins
Type the same channel name into both the Carrier and the Receiver. The name is the key used to open the shared memory segment. Any string works โ use something descriptive like "kick", "vocal", or "ref_master".
B โ Multi-pair
Multiple Independent Pairs
Each unique channel name creates a separate shared memory segment. You can have a "kick" pair, a "vocal" pair, and a "master_ref" pair all active simultaneously โ fully independent of each other.
C โ DAW-agnostic
No DAW Routing Changes
The shared memory channel is handled by the OS, not by the audio engine. Owl works identically in Ableton, FL Studio, Reaper, Cubase, and any VST3 host โ the DAW never needs to know the plugins are talking.
05 โ Diff Window
Thirty seconds of relative history.
A โ Rolling Delta
Carrier vs. Receiver Balance
The diff window plots the RMS difference between the Carrier and Receiver tracks over the last 30 seconds. If you're using Owl to balance a kick against a bass, the graph shows whether the relationship has been stable, widening, or narrowing.
B โ Consistency
Mix Balance Over Time
Mix decisions made in the first chorus don't always carry through. The 30-second window makes drift visible โ if the balance in the second verse is creeping away from where you set it, you'll see it without re-listening from the top.
C โ Reference Line
Target Delta Marker
Set a target delta value on the Receiver and a reference line is drawn on the diff window. Keep the live trace near the line and the two tracks maintain the relationship you set โ useful when the Carrier is being volume-automated.
06 โ Controls
Carrier writes. Receiver decides.
The Carrier has minimal controls โ it names the channel and measures. The Receiver is where you configure what to display and how to respond to the incoming data.
Channel Name
Text field
The name used to identify the shared memory segment. Must match on both plugins. Case-sensitive. Change it at any time โ takes effect immediately, no restart needed.
Display Mode
Receiver only
Choose which of the seven measurements to show prominently. All seven are transmitted regardless โ this only affects the Receiver's visual layout, not the data being shared.
RMS Window
10 โ 3000 ms
Time constant for RMS measurement on both Carrier and Receiver. Shorter windows follow transients; longer windows show sustained loudness. Matched on both sides for consistent delta readings.
Target Delta
ยฑ30 dB
The desired RMS difference between Carrier and Receiver. Sets the reference line on the diff window โ lock in a balance relationship that holds even when the source is being automated.
Hold Time
0 โ 5000 ms
How long the peak hold value stays before beginning its fall. Longer hold times make it easier to catch brief transient peaks without watching the meter continuously.
07 โ Workflow
Linked in seconds, balanced in minutes.
01
Insert Owl Carrier on the source track โ the kick, vocal, or any reference element you want to measure.
02
Insert Owl Receiver on the destination track โ the track that needs to compare against or respond to the Carrier.
03
Type the same channel name into both plugins. The link is instant โ no restart, no reconnection, no DAW routing changes needed.
04
Press play. Watch the Receiver populate with live data from the Carrier โ all seven measurements updating every buffer cycle.
05
Set your target delta on the Receiver to lock in the desired balance. The diff window shows you if it drifts over 30 seconds.
06
Add more pairs using different channel names. One Carrier per source, one Receiver per destination โ as many simultaneous pairs as your session needs.
08 โ Specifications
Everything, on one page.
Format
VST3
Platform
Windows 10 / 11 ยท 64-bit
Version
1.0.1
Plugin count
2 โ Owl Carrier + Owl Receiver
IPC method
Windows named shared memory โ zero-copy, zero-latency
Measurements per channel
7 โ Peak, RMS, Hold Peak, Short-Term LUFS, Integrated LUFS, True Peak, Diff Window
Update rate
Every audio processing block (up to 344 Hz at 128 smp / 44.1 kHz)
True Peak oversampling
4ร โ inter-sample peak detection
Diff window duration
30 seconds rolling
RMS window range
10 โ 3000 ms
Target delta range
ยฑ30 dB
Hold time range
0 โ 5000 ms
Channel pairs
Unlimited simultaneous pairs via unique channel names
LUFS standard
ITU-R BS.1770-4 with gating
State save
Full settings saved with DAW project as XML
09 โ Fine Print
Documentation.
DAW
Any VST3-compatible host โ Ableton Live 11+, FL Studio 20+, Reaper, Cubase, Studio One, Bitwig. Install both Owl Carrier and Owl Receiver as separate plugin instances.
Operating System
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit). The named shared memory IPC mechanism requires Windows. Mac support is not currently available.
Installation
Both plugins (Carrier and Receiver) install via the same installer. Your DAW will find both automatically. No separate downloads.
CPU
Very light โ both plugins perform measurement and display only. No audio processing beyond analysis. CPU impact is negligible even with multiple pairs active simultaneously.
Updates
Current release 1.0.1. Free updates for all future 1.x releases.
v1.0.0 โ Initial Release
First public release. Carrier + Receiver plugin pair communicating via named shared memory IPC. Real-time volume display on the Receiver, cross-channel volume visibility, zero audio processing overhead.
v1.0.1 โ Stability Update
Fixed an edge case where the IPC channel could fail to reconnect after a DAW project reload without restarting the host. Improved shared memory cleanup on plugin removal.
Full User Guide
Step-by-step walkthrough of the Carrier and Receiver setup, upstream/downstream placement, reading all seven meter rows, Match Volume, Auto Match, and common use cases for level-matched A/B comparison and loudness compliance.
Open User Guide โ
Personal & Commercial Use
Use Owl in any project โ music production, mixing, mastering, post-production, broadcast. No royalties, no project restrictions.
Single User
One license per user. Install on up to 3 machines you personally own or operate.
Serial Activation
Your license includes a unique serial number tied to your email. Your serial and download are permanently accessible in your Members Area.
Free Updates
All 1.x updates are free. Your serial activates the current version and all future updates in the 1.x line.
No Redistribution
The plugin binaries may not be shared, resold, or redistributed. Each user must obtain their own license.