Topic: Recording an orchestra (soft music w/loud appplause inbetween pieces)

[Brian_CT]

I recently recorded a pop/rock band performing with an orchestra. I set my levels high since I knew the music would be on the quieter side. I am happy with the way the performance itself sounds, but I find that I often have to quickly reach for the volume knob when I know the song is ending because the applause between songs is so much louder than the music.

I normally use Audacity for my transfers and have not attempted to alter/process my recordings in any way. I also have Cool Edit Pro 2.0 but have stayed away from it due to my being overwhelmed by all of its features.

Is there a feature on CEP that would remove/limit the louder parts while not altering the level of the performance?
Any help/recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
-Brian

[capnhook]

compression of the applause can help.
I'll often bracket the applause, before and after, and reduce it to match the music. Or, I reduce it, and amplify the music, in an attempt to find mid-ground.

Try this recent thread:

http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,76480.0.html

[Brian_CT]

Thanks, guys.

I used the default compression setting in CEP and it pretty muck did the job. Now that I know what direction to go in I can play around with it to fine-tune it. Thanks for your help & the links.

+T

-Brian

[TNJazz]

There's a hard limiter available in CEP too, if I recall correctly.  Set the threshold to just above the normal volume of the music.  It will compress the hell out of the audience and also tame the occasional wild peaks.  Use it carefully though; orchestral music by nature is very dynamic and you don't want to compress it to the point where all the dynamics are lost.