Topic: Low audio on my recording

[P-Man]

I just recorded a show and after normalization, its still low in some spots, primarily the acoustic songs. Is there any way to fix it? In the future what should I do? Do I need extra equipment (I currently have an iRiver H120, Church Audio mics and battery box)?
Thanks.
Paul

[Brian Skalinder]

You could apply a volume envelope in post-production to raise up the quiet, acoustic sections while leaving alone the louder portions.  What audio editing software do you use?

Edit to add:  In recordings with very broad dynamic range, there's not much you can do while recording.  Set your peaks appropriately - approaching, but not reaching, 0 dBFS, ensuring you leave some headroom so you don't clip - and record away.  If parts of the recording are too quiet, you may raise them up as noted above.

[rich]

not super familiar with the church gear...but you mention battery box...sounds like you need gain...does the "battery box" just supply phantom power?..or does it also have gain?..perhaps a fixed gain of 20 db.

Rich

[stantheman1976]

The battery box will typically power the mics properly but not provide a lot of gain.  If you are recording loud events this is good because it gives less a chance of overlaoding your equipment.  For quieter music you will need a preamp to amplify the signal coming into the recorder. 

[Brian Skalinder]

The battery box (without gain) v. a preamp (with gain) is an issue with respect to achieving (or failing to achieve) peak levels.  But the OP indicated he normalized in post-production and the recording still has an issue with the quiet portions remaining too soft.  This suggests the issue is the broad dynamic range of the source material, not a lack of gain.  So while a preamp may help with achieving higher peak levels, it wouldn't help with the problem the OP mentions.

[P-Man]

You could apply a volume envelope in post-production to raise up the quiet, acoustic sections while leaving alone the louder portions.  What audio editing software do you use?

Edit to add:  In recordings with very broad dynamic range, there's not much you can do while recording.  Set your peaks appropriately - approaching, but not reaching, 0 dBFS, ensuring you leave some headroom so you don't clip - and record away.  If parts of the recording are too quiet, you may raise them up as noted above.

I use Audacity to edit it.

Can you explain volume envelope? Will it become raspy?

Edit: The battery box is a 6v battery connected in between the mics and the recorder.

[Brian Skalinder]

I use Audacity to edit it.

Can you explain volume envelope? Will it become raspy?

Not sure what you mean by "raspy".  Increasing the levels during the very quiet parts shouldn't impact the audio, it should only make that portion louder.  Here's an example of using the volume envelope to make a portion quieter.  You'll just do the opposite: http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,97253.msg1295450.html#msg1295450

[rich]

Brian

Many thanks for further explanation and clarification.

Rich