I am entirely new at this so I was wonderin if there is a program(freeware) that comes highly reccomended for amplifyin wav files like say 1000% , or doing other editing stuff...I dont know what the hell Im doin' but I will sure try...........God Bless.
Ray
PC or Mac?
For PC, I've used and like Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). FYI, you're better off adding the gain at the time of recording than amplifying in post by 1,000%. Even on a budget (a la Sound Professionals or DIY), there are preamps that should get you a helluva lot closer than 1,000%.
Quote from: Brian Skalinder on November 18, 2004, 08:18:11 PM
PC or Mac?
For PC, I've used and like Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). FYI, you're better off adding the gain at the time of recording than amplifying in post by 1,000%. Even on a budget (a la Sound Professionals or DIY), there are preamps that should get you a helluva lot closer than 1,000%.
I second that. Audacity is great tool. It can pretty much do it all. New version just released...
Also - There is the new Sony SoundForge "Audio Studio" - for those of us who have already expended our 30 trial of SoundForge 7 - This gives you another 30 days of pretty much the same stuff...
I use Adobe Audition 1.5 (the old Cool Edit Pro). Very clean and easy to use.
Quote from: spyder9 on November 18, 2004, 09:14:22 PM
I use Adobe Audition 1.5 (the old Cool Edit Pro). Very clean and easy to use.
I don't think believe (CEP) is free. Good s/w, though.
well its free illegally.
use wavelab for recording and soundforge 6 for any editing that needs to be done, and i almost forgot
to add, i use PC
There is also Goldwave, which is shareware, but with very little limitation.
Quote from: Brian Skalinder on November 18, 2004, 09:18:40 PM
Quote from: spyder9 on November 18, 2004, 09:14:22 PM
I use Adobe Audition 1.5 (the old Cool Edit Pro). Very clean and easy to use.
I don't think believe (CEP) is free. Good s/w, though.
Actually Syntrillium offered a trial version of CEP that was fully funtional (limited to a few features at a time - but you could always save & close & re-open when needed :) ).
There's no such thing anymore for Audition (Syntrillium/CEP was sold to Adobe), though, and I don't think you can get the old Cool Edit (legally) anymore...
Quote from: Brian Skalinder on November 18, 2004, 08:18:11 PM
PC or Mac?
For PC, I've used and like Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/). FYI, you're better off adding the gain at the time of recording than amplifying in post by 1,000%. Even on a budget (a la Sound Professionals or DIY), there are preamps that should get you a helluva lot closer than 1,000%.
Just another sign that I dont know what the hell I am doin...I ordered a set of omni mics from sound pros that came with a preamp, but someone said that I needed to amplify the resulting wav file a lot to have it listenable...Hell I dunno...Thats why I came here...Oh and this a great forum, by the way, good folks who seem to be willing to help...A Godsend if you are new and just arrived dragging and screaming in the tech age(Ive been using a damn dictaphone with a minicassette since 97...lol)I now have a JB3 and a mic/preamp combo from sound pros. and a sony ecm that I bought for 35 bucks from a crackhead(literally) musician that I know....Im learnin...In the army (i am stationed in europe) we are behind the curve on this stuff, dont get news of new things till about a year later....One store I know, JUST started selling the JB3 about 7 months ago.....anyway.thanks again.
ray
Open your wave in Audacity...under Edit, pick "Select All"
Under "Effects" select "Amplify" - make sure the "Dont allow clipping" box is checked. -
Then click Ok...the program will automatically add the right amount of gain to bring the highest peak up to 100%
save and export as wav
Done...
PS - make sure you know what your pre-amp outputs...line level or mic level...? that will help...
Quote from: Ray76 on November 19, 2004, 09:27:25 AM
[snip]
I ordered a set of omni mics from sound pros that came with a preamp, but someone said that I needed to amplify the resulting wav file a lot to have it listenable.
[snip]
(Ive been using a damn dictaphone with a minicassette since 97...lol)
Should produce a much better recording than a dictaphone + mini-cassette! Only one way to find out if you'll need to add gobs of gain in post: give it a try.
The problem with adding lots of gain in post: noise. The lower your recording levels, the lower your signal:noise ratio (SNR). With a low SNR, when you add gain in post you're amplifying the signal (music) AND the noise by the same relative level. With higher recording levels you achieve a higher SNR. Since you have higher signal levels, you amplify
less in post production, which means you're amplifying the noise (and the signal) less. To illustrate, and since I never pass up an opportunity to do a little ASCII diagram. Full scale represents your desired signal levels.
Recording with low levels, low SNRRaw Recording Amplified in post
_____________ Full Scale _____________
------------- Amplified Signal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amplified Noise
------------- Raw Signal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raw Noise
With very low recording levels and a low SNR, amplifying the signal by a LOT - to get your signals up to Full Scale - also amplifies the noise by a LOT. And since you're applying the same amount of amplification to both the signal and the noise, and the ratio stays the same, you now have a strong signal, but also plenty of noise. B-a-d.
Recording with high levels, high SNRRaw Recording Amplified in post
_____________ Full Scale _____________
------------- Amplified Signal
------------- Raw Signal
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amplified Noise
~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Raw Noise
With higher levels and a high SNR, the noise is relatively quieter to the signal. So if you do need to amplify after-the-fact, [1] you can amplify less, and [2] since the SNR is higher, even with added amplification the noise will still remain significantly lower relative to the signal.
If memory serves, you're recording unamplified voice/piano or some such, right? If you have the option, use the high-gain setting on your SP preamp, run line-in to the JB3, and see what happens.
Quote
Actually Syntrillium offered a trial version of CEP that was fully funtional (limited to a few features at a time - but you could always save & close & re-open when needed :) ).
There's no such thing anymore for Audition (Syntrillium/CEP was sold to Adobe), though, and I don't think you can get the old Cool Edit (legally) anymore...
Quote
The last time I checked, Adobe has a fully-functional 30-day trial version of Audition. It is probably my favorite of all the editing software I've tried. I wish I had some extra cash to buy a copy.
There's a strong Academic Discount on Wavelab5, FWIW.
Waves is one of the nicest top-end progs, if you are looking for "no-holds-barred"