To Normalize... or to 3db higher? That is the question!

[rushfan33]

I'm trying to make a compilation CD of all the things I've played drums on through the years. The levels are vastly different from tape to tape. I want to get the levels the same but I don't want to normalize for the sake of only level consistency. What would be the drawbacks of using the "3 db higher" function in Sound Forge to get all the lower volume songs closer to the ones near the 0db mark. Many of them were extracted from a cassette and the levels are around -12db.
Thanks
RF

[ecs113]

Originally posted by rushfan33
I want to get the levels the same but I don't want to normalize for the sake of only level consistency.

Why not? I normally (ha) do not normalize, but for your case, you should be able to do a batch normalize, and it should figure out how much gain to add to each song to make it 0dB (or whatever you set it at)

[mixsit]

Why not manually adjust the gains as needed? This would be a more customized result.
Wayne

[rushfan33]

What I meant is that I don't want to sacrifice dynamics by normalizing. Keep in mind... I'm very new to DIY mastering and don't fully grasp the concept of it yet. Is there a way to "semi-normalize"? I've never tried (or heard of) batch normalizing. What does it do?
Thanks,
RF

[mixsit]

Normalizing won't mess with the dynamics of the song, but it also might not make them sound like the same volume. Depends on each track's peak-to-average ratio.

Batch-normalizing?
Like doing 5500 mg of vitamim C every morning just in case?

[5c0tt]

Originally posted by mixsit

Batch-normalizing?
Like doing 5500 mg of vitamim C every morning just in case?

lol

[ecs113]

exactly - lazy man's solution

[crosstudio]

in SEKD Samplitude Master, you can set the volume of each song separately. you can also add a multiband compressor and limiter to each track separately. you can also add plugins to the main mix (something i've never had occassion to do).

this way i can get the levels of each song to flow well.

[musisious144000]

depends on the quality of the recording. You could raise the level, but you also might raise the noise. If you don't care, or if you don't have excess noise, then do it. As for consistency of level use the faders to eliminate cliping and bring the quiet up if you are using sofware you should be able to streatch the wave form and pinpoint positions that need improving. (just my opinion what do I know)

[dachay2tnr]

Actually Wavelab has a feature called Meta Normalize, which is pretty much a "batch normalizer."

I've never been too thrilled with the results, though. Generally you really have to do this stuff by ear. You really can't rely on software to do the work for you.

The idea is not necessarily to get everything to exactly the same volume. Rather, the songs should transition from one to the next without sounding like you had a major jump or drop in levels. Going from a loud, hard rocker to a soft ballad often involves quite different volume levels, and still can sound natural.

Get a program that allows you to lay the songs out one after the other (e.g., Wavelab), and play them that way. When you hit one where the transition doesn't sound natural, start making adjustments.

(Or send the collection out to be mastered. )

[crosstudio]

i agree musisious144000 about stretching the waveform display to spot and reduce peaks.

i do that for my individual tracks as well as my mixes. i still use a compressor but the most egregrious spikes i reduce in the sequencer software.