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Gear / Technical Help => Post-Processing, Computer / Streaming / Internet Devices & Related Activity => Topic started by: MakersMarc on January 27, 2019, 03:44:15 PM

Title: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: MakersMarc on January 27, 2019, 03:44:15 PM
So a typical seated 😈 show at the Fox. Music before amplifying has peaks around -6, but the audience peaks at 0. How do I compress those peaks before amplifying the music I’m Audacity.

Thanks!
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: noahbickart on January 27, 2019, 04:20:12 PM
So a typical seated 😈 show at the Fox. Music before amplifying has peaks around -6, but the audience peaks at 0. How do I compress those peaks before amplifying the music I’m Audacity.

Thanks!

Use a “brick wall” limiter with a threshold of -6db fast attack. Slow release. No makeup gain. Then normalize.
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: capnhook on January 27, 2019, 05:27:37 PM
Envelope tool first.
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: MakersMarc on January 27, 2019, 05:28:16 PM
Sweet, thanks Rabbi!
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: MakersMarc on January 27, 2019, 05:28:46 PM
Envelope tool first.

?
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: capnhook on January 27, 2019, 05:40:29 PM
Envelope tool first.

?

Yeah, bring the loud area down a bit with the envelope tool, save, re-load, and then hard limit if at all necessary.  Sounds more natural that way.
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: heathen on January 27, 2019, 09:41:31 PM
http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=117279.0

Specifically see the links under "Compression / Limiter / Volume Envelope."
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: MakersMarc on January 27, 2019, 11:11:28 PM
That’s a great resource thanks!
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: Scooter123 on January 28, 2019, 12:18:01 AM
I don't use Audacity, but I use a limiter and sometimes combine it with a volume reducer for the area. 
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: morst on January 28, 2019, 09:23:24 AM
Envelope tool first.

?

Yeah, bring the loud area down a bit with the envelope tool, save, re-load, and then hard limit if at all necessary.  Sounds more natural that way.


I have done this with excellent results on acoustic house concerts. Use envelope tool to reduce ALL applause sections manually. Hopefully there are not many more than one per song ending. If you do this, you might even get to use some make up gain at the limiting stage.
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: tim in jersey on February 19, 2019, 05:41:10 PM
Ditto the envelope tool in Audacity. I use it aggressively, perhaps over-zealously on applause. Especially on 007 recordings where I've got a loud clapper on one side or the other (or both) at a seated venue.

Can sound a little weird/un-natural at times but who gives a shit what crowd noise sounds like? After applying envelopes, I can often get 9 to 10 or maybe even 12 dBFS gain on the actual music. And not blowing a gasket in my ears/playback system is worth it to me...

YMMV, of course.

https://archive.org/details/bfft2017-08-08.mk4v.flac16 <-example of mine squashing the crowd between tunes using the envelope tool...
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: opsopcopolis on February 20, 2019, 11:46:55 AM
So a typical seated 😈 show at the Fox. Music before amplifying has peaks around -6, but the audience peaks at 0. How do I compress those peaks before amplifying the music I’m Audacity.

Thanks!

Use a “brick wall” limiter with a threshold of -6db fast attack. Slow release. No makeup gain. Then normalize.

This, or you can use makeup gain instead of normalizing
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: morst on February 20, 2019, 02:42:22 PM
So a typical seated 😈 show at the Fox. Music before amplifying has peaks around -6, but the audience peaks at 0. How do I compress those peaks before amplifying the music I’m Audacity.

Thanks!

Use a “brick wall” limiter with a threshold of -6db fast attack. Slow release. No makeup gain. Then normalize.

This, or you can use makeup gain instead of normalizing


Yeah, make up gain is BEFORE the limiter so it gives you a chance to use a little bit more than if you just normalized it afterwards. I don't ever normalize, I limit.
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: opsopcopolis on February 20, 2019, 06:21:56 PM
So a typical seated 😈 show at the Fox. Music before amplifying has peaks around -6, but the audience peaks at 0. How do I compress those peaks before amplifying the music I’m Audacity.

Thanks!

Use a “brick wall” limiter with a threshold of -6db fast attack. Slow release. No makeup gain. Then normalize.

This, or you can use makeup gain instead of normalizing


Yeah, make up gain is BEFORE the limiter so it gives you a chance to use a little bit more than if you just normalized it afterwards. I don't ever normalize, I limit.

Yup. Actually calling it makeup gain in the context of a limiter is kinda misleading. It’s just gain. Make up gain refers to post compression gain, where as limiter gain is pushing the track pre limiter, allowing it t hit the out ceiling at the desired rate
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: morst on April 03, 2019, 04:10:34 AM
Yup. Actually calling it makeup gain in the context of a limiter is kinda misleading. It’s just gain. Make up gain refers to post compression gain, where as limiter gain is pushing the track pre limiter, allowing it t hit the out ceiling at the desired rate
Whoops, you are correct! Make up gain is last!
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: jerryfreak on April 03, 2019, 04:12:36 PM
whats a good resource for understanding attack and threshold setting on limiters?
Title: Re: How to suppress audience peaks in audacity ?
Post by: morst on April 04, 2019, 02:45:28 AM
whats a good resource for understanding attack and threshold setting on limiters?
Off the top of my head!?

Attack is a time control. Faster settings catch faster peaks (like drums)


Threshold is the signal level at which the limiter starts reducing gain (at the set ratio, or infinite ratio for hard limiters)