He’s probably talking about just db in general. I was also taught to begin with the kick.. Once I have all my tracks ,and start a mix I want it around -8db. That’s from the meter “on the actual track” in protools for example. That’s the level I want it coming into the track. Establish this level by using the clip gain on your track. Then you will have a good signal that still has some headroom. Afterwards you can lower it with your fader if it seems to loud. But, you may like -5db. But, I never let my overall mix go over -6.

Thank you, @Jeremy Bitner, so when you say dB you mean dBFS (the one I have in Cubase metering) right?
Today I wanted to try VU meters and I ended by confusing myself a lot... 😨
Until now I started gain staging each track with peaks around -12 (or sometime -18) dBFS, using pregain level that are included in Cubase channels so to keep faders at unity) then beginning to raise/lower various tracks and I was trying not to go over -6dB(FS) on master channel too; all before starting to apply fx, automation and other 'trickeries'...

Yeah I was referring to the db meter on the tracks in your DAW. Sounds like you’re on the right track.

I guess it IS dbFS, but I just always refer to it as db. Lol “technical mastermind” here

At the end ears should probably be the final judges but in a studying phase I think it's important to learn, and understand, possibly ;-), as many things as possible and sometimes this is 'a bit' confusing... Thank you for supporting me!

The thing about VU meters is that they have a reference point. AND 0VU isn't standardized in reference to dBFS. For example, some interfaces will have 0VU calibrated to -20dBFS. Others have it calibrated to -16dBFS (usually the less expensive ones with less headroom). Some at -18dBFS. Others at -22dBFS... you get the gist.

Technically speaking analog VU meters have a voltage reference. 0VU is equal to a +4dBu reference (professional line level refeence) which is equal to 1.2275 volts RMS. Some meters have buffers which allow the meters to reference voltages up to +14dBu.

Keep in mind that VU meters are great at getting an average. They're more analogous to how our ears hear sound pressures. Peak level meters will tell you the actual digital peak of any given word.

All that is to say, it helps to know what the reference point of a VU meter is and how it relates to dBFS. I think Mr. Owsinski is allowing 5dB of headroom above the peak of the kick drum. On a VU meter set to -18dBFS, it might register as clipping.

(BTW, Pro Tools meters can be changed to show different reference points, too, including VU.)

This is a rabbit hole that takes awhile to grasp. Don't sweat it too much. Just give yourself some headroom above the kick. Because of the low frequencies, it will likely have the most energy, therefore take up most of your dynamic range.

Don't even get me started on how different DAW's mathematically figure their summing of tracks. A different lecture for another day...

Thank you, @Jay Harper, for answering and explanations :-)
I din't want to dive too much into numbers, actually, but only try to understand the exact meaning of words in Bobby Ovsinski's book (that I think is very good, by the way).; I think my ideas are clearer now, after a bit of tries and comparisons among different plugins (Cubase Supervision analyser tool has a VU meter too but settings are a bit tricky to understand compared to the Klanghelm one or the free mvMeter2 from TBPro Audio).
Gain staging, that was my starting point for having to do with VU meter plugins, is a vaste and very controversial topic but I wanted to understand it better and find my way out of it... Hope I'm on the right way ;-)
Best, Art

It sounds like you are on the right track.

One thing that I've found helpful for gain staging is to have the average levels ride around -18dBFS. Summing like instruments together (drums, guitars, etc...) helps the DAW math, so you're not overloading the summing a lot of tracks into the stereo bus.

It's a lot like plumbing. If you have one faucet filling up a bucket, it's manageable. Two and it fills up twice as fast. 4 and it starts to get too fast to manage. If 4 faucets feed a single faucet into the bucket, it's back to manageable.

Do this experiment. A single track with a sine wave tone generator at -18dBFS panned in the center will appear on the stereo bus likely around -20 or -21. Add a second and see how high it goes up. A second should get you back to around -18. Make 2 more and see what happens. Usually, by around 8 tracks, the stereo bus is peaked.

Here's a short video I did a few years ago demonstrating this.

The -18dBFS also allows the plugins some headroom to do their math more easily. Some like to be driven, but most do not.

Hi @Jay Harper, sorry for my delay. I watched the video and it's very clear in showing the question practically. As I wrote, anyway, I consider numbers just a starting point to refer to, then I go by ear and, last but not least, by taste 😊🎶