diff --git a/Helpers/MeterScale.cs b/Helpers/MeterScale.cs
index a352e99..3901a83 100644
--- a/Helpers/MeterScale.cs
+++ b/Helpers/MeterScale.cs
@@ -34,6 +34,20 @@ public static class MeterScale
          : dbfs >= CautionDb ? MeterBand.Caution
          : MeterBand.Nominal;
 
+    /// <summary>The master ladder when no session is running.
+    ///
+    /// <para>`AudioMixer.MasterLevel` measures the buffer the encoder receives, and that buffer only
+    /// exists while the mix is being pulled (streaming or recording). Idle, the master would read
+    /// zero while the source ladders move — so the monitor level is computed from the same measured
+    /// sources and the same gains the mix applies. It is an estimate of the mix, not a substitute
+    /// for it: once a session starts, the real measured value takes over.</para></summary>
+    public static float MonitorFraction(float micLevel, double micGain, float gameLevel, double gameGain)
+    {
+        var linear = Math.Max(0f, (float)(micLevel * micGain) + (float)(gameLevel * gameGain));
+        if (linear <= 0.001f) return 0f;
+        return ToFraction(20f * MathF.Log10(linear));
+    }
+
     /// <summary>Ballistics for a level: reach a new peak quickly, fall back gently. Raw per-block
     /// peaks sampled by a UI timer look like a stutter; this is what makes the mic feel fluid, and
     /// TRAX gets the same curve so the two ladders move alike.</summary>
diff --git a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Audio.cs b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Audio.cs
index 412c427..abd2aa5 100644
--- a/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Audio.cs
+++ b/ViewModels/MainViewModel.Audio.cs
@@ -262,8 +262,14 @@ public partial class MainViewModel
         }
     }
 
-    /// <summary>Master ladder input: the measured mix, 0…1 on the same display scale.</summary>
-    public double MasterMeterFraction => AudioLevelMeter.ToDisplay(_audioMixer.MasterLevel);
+    /// <summary>Master ladder input: the MEASURED mix while a session runs (that is the buffer the
+    /// encoder receives), and an estimate from the measured sources when idle — otherwise the master
+    /// sits at zero between sessions while every bay below it moves.</summary>
+    public double MasterMeterFraction =>
+        IsLive || IsRecording
+            ? AudioLevelMeter.ToDisplay(_audioMixer.MasterLevel)
+            : Helpers.MeterScale.MonitorFraction((float)AudioLevel, MicVolume,
+                                                 (float)GameAudioLevel, GameAudioVolume);
 
     public string MasterLevelLabel => Helpers.GainDb.Label(Helpers.GainDb.ToDb(_audioMixer.MasterLevel)) + " dB";
 
diff --git a/ytLive.Tests/MeterScaleTests.cs b/ytLive.Tests/MeterScaleTests.cs
index b1b587b..06180d6 100644
--- a/ytLive.Tests/MeterScaleTests.cs
+++ b/ytLive.Tests/MeterScaleTests.cs
@@ -33,6 +33,14 @@ public class MeterScaleTests
         Assert.True(MeterScale.NextLevel(0.9f, 0.1f) > 0.8f);          // decay is gentle
         Assert.True(MeterScale.NextLevel(0.1f, 0.9f) > 0.5f);          // rise is fast
 
+        // The idle master estimate: sources × their gains, on the same display scale. With nothing
+        // playing it is zero; a quiet source at unity is visible; two sources add.
+        Assert.Equal(0f, MeterScale.MonitorFraction(0f, 1, 0f, 1));
+        Assert.True(MeterScale.MonitorFraction(0.05f, 1, 0f, 1) > 0.3f);
+        Assert.True(MeterScale.MonitorFraction(0.05f, 1, 0.05f, 1) > MeterScale.MonitorFraction(0.05f, 1, 0f, 1));
+        // Gain is applied in the LINEAR domain, like the mix does — not to the display fraction.
+        Assert.True(MeterScale.MonitorFraction(0.05f, 0.5, 0f, 1) < MeterScale.MonitorFraction(0.05f, 1, 0f, 1));
+
         // Peak hold rises instantly, then decays at the stated rate.
         Assert.Equal(0.8f, MeterScale.NextPeak(0.2f, 0.8f, 0.05f));
         Assert.Equal(0.7f, MeterScale.NextPeak(0.8f, 0.1f, 0.1f / 0.35f), 3);   // 0.1 fall at 0.35/s