Fixing volume problem in audition

  • Thread starter Thread starter singh
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singh

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Hi, I have an audio recording in which the volume goes up and down quite a bit. This is because when the mp3 was recorded, a line out was used from a mixer, and on the mixer the volume was being constantly adjusted (mixer was also hooked up to speakers). How can I level out the volume?

I tried using audition (effects -> amplititude -> normalize) to normalize to "100%" but I dont think this did much. Am I completely off in my method, or should I be changing some value? Is there some other feature in audition for this?

I'm no expert in audio so I'm not sure what to do. Any input would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
Effects>Amplitude>Dynamic Processing

Traditional tab.

Compress 3:1 above -8 dB.

Attack/Release tab: Attack time 20 ms; Release time 50 ms.

If that doesn't work, increase the compression ratio (eg 4:1) or pull the range down (-10 dB, -12 dB etc). Or both.
 
wow.. that's amazing. Thanks so much. There's still a little left, but I'm sure I can work out most of it by playing with the settings.

Could you explain one thing to me though? You said "Attack/Release tab: Attack time 20 ms; Release time 50 ms" What does this do? And do I enter it under the gain processor or the level detector? And do I enter 0 for the output gain (under gain processor) and 0 for input gain (under level detector)?

Thanks again for you help.
 
Yeah, just play with the settings. Not only will you solve your problem, but you'll learn the software a bit as well.

"Could you explain one thing to me though? You said "Attack/Release tab: Attack time 20 ms; Release time 50 ms" What does this do?"

The attack time is the amount of time the signal is unaffected before the compression kicks in. Short, fast attack times mean the compression kicks in quickly; slower attack times allow more of the signal to have its say before the compressor nails it. Similarly with the release times.


"And do I enter it under the gain processor or the level detector?"

Gain processor. Leave the other one alone - use the default settings there.

"And do I enter 0 for the output gain (under gain processor) and 0 for input gain (under level detector)?"

In the gain processor: your choice. If you squashed the wave a bit with compression, you can add a dB or two in that box to make up for it. Alternately, you can leave that value as 0, and then take the wave back into Multitrack and listen to it, and add volume to the track there if you want to.
 
awsome. turns out i needed to set it at -26db with a compression of 11:1

At first I was just shooting in the dark for the right cutoff level, then I check the histogram generated by analyze -> statistics. I check a portion that was too quiet, and a portion that was okay to choose this value.

The recording sounds great now.

Thanks so much again for your help.
 
"turns out i needed to set it at -26db with a compression of 11:1"

I'm glad it sounds better now. But that's a *huge* amount of very aggressive compression. Gentler settings are much more common. There's a chance you can get a good result with a gentler setting.
 
With something like that, you would get better results from longer attack and release. Like attack 50ms release 500ms This way you get the volume smoothed out without squashing the snot out of everything.
 
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