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Gear / Technical Help => Post-Processing, Computer / Streaming / Internet Devices & Related Activity => Topic started by: PushingMe on July 29, 2007, 07:24:38 AM
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Hello everyone,
I'm taping for quite a while now and I'm still not happy with the level on my recordings so I'd like to be helped a little.
I'm using Cool Edit Pro 2 and I'd like to know how to get a good level because I'm not satisfyied with Normalization which just raise the volume until the highest peak distorts and the problem is that this highest peak is most of the time a crowd noise and so the global level is still low.
Hope someone can help me.
Thanks in advance.
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Highlight the offending areas (crowd between songs) and reduce the volume/gain by maybe 10 db. Then normalize. Limiters and compressors can help make things "louder" to.
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There are two mechanisms in CEP I use for this, AMPLIFY-'Hard Limiting' and using expanded view to see and highlight just the peaking sections to reduce just the peak section similar to what was already suggested.
If you have a lot of crowd noise sections, then 'Hard Limiting' is easier with simply amplifying everything by 5-12 dB to more normal levels, and letting the program automatically 'squeeze' all excessive peaks to stay below clipping. However, hard limiting does induce some artifacts that might be audible and sometimes adjusting the parameters of look ahead and timing of this feature can help minimize the effect.
If there are not to many places where the peak levels occur, then expanded view of each peak with -2 to-6 dB amplify reduction action of each small section has benefit of producing NO audible artifacts.
To be sure of this, I often use the 'zero crossing' feature to find where the signal crosses zero (sometimes placing a 'cue marks' there before and after the peak) and de-amplify that section. Finding the zero crossing is sometimes easier if just working on left, or right channels independently to find zeroes in each channel peak sections so less of the waveform is de-amplified so it is not audible for sure, then just apply regular normalization to whole waveform to get levels up for best listening experience.
I had to do the manual approach to recent Los Lobos concert by reducing peaks manual method by 2-3 dB and then normalizing. Used independent left/right channel zero crossing as most times peaks were ONLY on one or the other channel, but not always.
Manual process took about an hour of time. Results can be found at www.sonicstudios.com/mp3_2slp.htm#los_lobos (http://www.sonicstudios.com/mp3_2slp.htm#los_lobos)
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There are two mechanisms in CEP I use for this, AMPLIFY-'Hard Limiting' and using expanded view to see and highlight just the peaking sections to reduce just the peak section similar to what was already suggested.
If you have a lot of crowd noise sections, then 'Hard Limiting' is easier with simply amplifying everything by 5-12 dB to more normal levels, and letting the program automatically 'squeeze' all excessive peaks to stay below clipping. However, hard limiting does induce some artifacts that might be audible and sometimes adjusting the parameters of look ahead and timing of this feature can help minimize the effect.
If there are not to many places where the peak levels occur, then expanded view of each peak with -2 to-6 dB amplify reduction action of each small section has benefit of producing NO audible artifacts.
To be sure of this, I often use the 'zero crossing' feature to find where the signal crosses zero (sometimes placing a 'cue marks' there before and after the peak) and de-amplify that section. Finding the zero crossing is sometimes easier if just working on left, or right channels independently to find zeroes in each channel peak sections so less of the waveform is de-amplified so it is not audible for sure, then just apply regular normalization to whole waveform to get levels up for best listening experience.
I had to do the manual approach to recent Los Lobos concert by reducing peaks manual method by 2-3 dB and then normalizing. Used independent left/right channel zero crossing as most times peaks were ONLY on one or the other channel, but not always.
Manual process took about an hour of time. Results can be found at www.sonicstudios.com/mp3_2slp.htm#los_lobos (http://www.sonicstudios.com/mp3_2slp.htm#los_lobos)
Thank you very much. I used the Hard Limiting. Works great!
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Thank you very much. I used the Hard Limiting. Works great!
Glad you're happy with hard limiting on this one. In the future, if you find it introduces too many artifacts, or doesn't sound quite right, try compression - it'll provide more flexibility which may produce a better result in some cases.
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Thank you very much. I used the Hard Limiting. Works great!
Glad you're happy with hard limiting on this one. In the future, if you find it introduces too many artifacts, or doesn't sound quite right, try compression - it'll provide more flexibility which may produce a better result in some cases.
I will. Thanks everybody fr your help!
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I am having troubles with vocals...the instruments are great but my vocals could use a bit of enhancement...any ideas?