Topic: level matching

[garybsc]

I have a recording that during the first song I turned the levels down several times because the level was hotter than expected (though it never clipped).  The rest of the recording was left alone.  Is there any way I can adjust the first song levels to match the rest of the recording?  Or possibly bring the rest of it up to match the initial levels.

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks.

[Brian Skalinder]

Depending on how I changed the gain (levels), I've used two different ways to fix this:

• for stepped gain changes, I highlight each section and amplify so it matches the others;  for example, with my old V3, I'd occasionally have to bump levels up or down ~6 dB in the first song - I'd zoom in, highlight the selection that's lower or higher than the rest, and then apply +/- 6 dB of amplification;  FWIW, I found it worked best when using a zero crossing as the end point on my selection
• for variable gain, a volume envelope;  allows the user to define the curve / slope / volume change in a very flexible way

What s/w are you using?

[flarcus]

what software is good for this

i have cd wave editor

can i do that with that?

if not, whats a good shareware d/l

[Brian Skalinder]

It's more than CD-Wave can handle.  Audacity will handle it, and it's free.  If you use it, probably worth reading through the following:  http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,71191.0.html

[garybsc]

I have Soundforge, protools, and goldwave.  I'm just not sure how to adjust the level exactly without very tedious work.  I've tried but it results in odd jumps since it's not aligned.

[flarcus]

thanks, i should soon have my tom waits all ready to go

[Brian Skalinder]

I have Soundforge, protools, and goldwave.  I'm just not sure how to adjust the level exactly without very tedious work.  I've tried but it results in odd jumps since it's not aligned.

A volume envelope should allow you to smooth it out.  I always found it easiest to zoom in, apply the volume envelope visually, then verify the results with my ears.  Even if the alignment isn't perfect, the envelope should allow a gradual enough change that it reduces or removes the "odd jumps".

Now, in all my cases except one, I adjusted levels up, or down in the field - and not both.  If you adjusted both up and down, then it's definitely more difficult, and in that case it gets much more tedious.  The "odd jumps" should give you an indication of where you need to smooth things out.  I'd start with the last odd jump before the levels stabilize, and get it smoothed out.  Then move to the next previous jump.  And the next, etc.  That's how I did it in the one case I made level adjustments both up and down.

[garybsc]

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

[easy jim]

Another option, if you have editing software that supports it, is to use automation to even out the level adjustments.  I prefer to manually set an automation line using the pencil tool in Digital Performer when adjusting volume levels in post to balance out an awkward gain adjustment made at the show.