v2 n times 74HC595 of 8 Leds each & choose which leds you want

You can use n X 74HC595 IC and choose exactly the leds for each VU meters.

Example : 8 leds from the master's 74HC595 and 8 leds from the slave's 74HC595.

v1 74HC595 8 Led

v1 for a simple 8 Leds of one 74HC595 only