Bill: Its true a VU meter has less meaning in the digital world, but it was chosen as part of the style of Piezo. It conveys the flow of sound and people love the needles.

Something made by Studer was amongst photos collected when we began this. Apart from inverted colors I thought it was reasonably similar - the photo might not be of the same equipment you remember though.

Michael: No confusion with XLR interconnects, The 4dB offset is part of VU meters. You clearly know analog better than I do, but I'm aware that 0dBU is just a voltage level and analog signals can run hotter than that. Piezo is digital, but we chose a VU meter and it just doesn't make sense without the offset (I've seen it).

Chris: I'm happy you like the earlier artwork since I glued it together. But it was only ever meant as something temporary till it could be polished.

As for the arc of the needle vs the scale, most real equipment was like that (including the Studer!), which undoubtedly was a compromise. Its not so obvious in use with just one needle in motion.