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10-28-2014, 10:42 AM
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#1
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 110
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Track Volume Question
Greetings,
I have a live recording which consists of a single stereo track which I'm processing in reaper 4.731. I've attached a file of what the input levels looks like...
The levels seem low to me - I see in tutorials and other places where the tracks have much more (forgive my ignorance) 'dynamic range' in the levels. I had the digital recorder set up to 64 (a relative term for recorder) and it appears to have captured -24 to -6 db of signal.
I was expecting the levels to have more "body" instead of the 'unsaturated' look i'm seeing in my session.
Is there a way to increase the overall level in the track or is it ok the way it is? I really don't know - I mean, it sounds pretty good, but I just don't know any better.
much thanks,
pg
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10-28-2014, 10:59 AM
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#2
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Portsmouth, UK
Posts: 4,376
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pgodfrin
The levels seem low to me - I see in tutorials and other places where the tracks have much more (forgive my ignorance) 'dynamic range' in the levels.
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Your ignorance is hereby forgiven. The dynamic range is the ratio between the quiet bits and the loud bits.
If it sounds good, then there's nothing wrong with the dynamic range; it's ALL too quiet.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pgodfrin
Is there a way to increase the overall level in the track
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Right click on the item, then;
Item processing > Normalize items.
Last edited by Fex; 10-28-2014 at 11:06 AM.
Reason: dynamic range explained
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10-28-2014, 11:34 AM
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#3
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 110
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Oh my goodness! That's what I needed! Thanks very much.
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10-28-2014, 11:56 AM
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#4
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Portsmouth, UK
Posts: 4,376
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You're welcome. There are some drawbacks to normalization which you should be aware of. Please read up on this.
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10-28-2014, 01:28 PM
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#5
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 110
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Great article thanks. So your comment about the whole thing being too low - how would you determine that?
Also, I made this recording using a Tascam DR07 - first started at 40, next concert 50 this one at 60 (or so) i seem to get no traction in the wave form display in terms of how big it looks.
So - i don't even know what the dynamic range is, if it's appropriate, etc.
The article mentions:
"People often peak normalize their audio just so they can see the waveforms more clearly on the screen. This is a bad idea, your software should have an option to make the waveforms bigger without resorting to permanently altering the audio file."
Would you know the option in Reaper to make the waveform appear larger? Is there a way to put the db scale on the waveform?
Really appreciate your help btw...
pg
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10-28-2014, 02:25 PM
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#6
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: Portsmouth, UK
Posts: 4,376
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pgodfrin
So your comment about the whole thing being too low - how would you determine that?
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Is it fit for purpose? In this case, I took the advice of the recording engineer, who said (and I quote);
Quote:
Originally Posted by pgodfrin
The levels seem low to me
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If there's only one track in your project, it might not matter. If, OTOH, you're trying to achieve an appropriate balance of levels between tracks, then you'll have a finer a degree of adjustment (for a given slider size) the louder the items are. If I crank a track up to the max and I still can't hear it properly in the mix, I conclude that it's too quiet (or the mix is too loud).
If you don't want to normalize, one way to make a louder copy of the track would be to raise the slider and render it throught the File menu, of course.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pgodfrin
So - i don't even know what the dynamic range is, if it's appropriate, etc.
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It's not relevant here, but if you're interested: http://tinyurl.com/q5cw3cx
Quote:
Originally Posted by pgodfrin
Would you know the option in Reaper to make the waveform appear larger?
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There might be a better way, but I'd be inclined to just make the track appear bigger. Grab the bottom of the track ( not the item) in the TCP, and drag down.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pgodfrin
Is there a way to put the db scale on the waveform?
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I have absolutely no idea. Sorry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by pgodfrin
Really appreciate your help btw...
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And I appreciate your appreciation.
Last edited by Fex; 10-28-2014 at 02:34 PM.
Reason: caps
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10-28-2014, 03:23 PM
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#7
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 212
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pgodfrin
Would you know the option in Reaper to make the waveform appear larger? Is there a way to put the db scale on the waveform?
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On the Mac, it's Shift + up arrow
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10-28-2014, 03:42 PM
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#8
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,409
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Yes, as mentioned, shift-up-arrow and shift-down-arrow changes the displayed height of the waveform, and is pretty indispensible for seeing the peaks in your file. Doesn't do anything to the audio, just changes the display.
If your peaks are at -12 to -6, that's great: no need to record hotter than that, and it leaves you some headroom as a buffer against clipping.
If the audio itself seems "too quiet" with peaks up to -6, you probably just need to adjust your monitoring (i.e. the volume knob on your speakers) to compensate, rather than messing with the audio.
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10-28-2014, 04:14 PM
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#9
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Nov 2011
Posts: 3,409
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And incidentally, when mixing your audio and rendering to a finished product you will usually do things that narrow the dynamic range (compression) and bring the over level up, so your waveform will look more like the fulsome blobs you see when importing something from a CD or commercial mp3. This is not a small subject, but if you read up on basic mixing/mastering techniques you'll get the gist. Typically you would apply a little EQ, a little compression, some gain, and maybe some limiting, so that the final product is peaking near to 0 dBFS, and a "finished" waveform like that won't look as anemic as the raw track you were dealing with. Lots of intro to mixing type tutorials and information to be found online.
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10-29-2014, 07:28 PM
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#10
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Human being with feelings
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Texas, USA
Posts: 110
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Thanks folks - still got a lot to learn!
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