Standardising volume levels

booleybooley

Hi
Have no tech knowledge and use mp3 files as backing tracks for live band performance. Is there any cheap way of getting the tracks to play at approximately the same volume level?
Help!!

krd

booleybooley wrote: »

Hi
Have no tech knowledge and use mp3 files as backing tracks for live band performance. Is there any cheap way of getting the tracks to play at approximately the same volume level?
Help!!

Have no tech knowledge <- Well there's your problem, innit.

There's several things you can do. You could make sure your MP3s are at the same level before you use them. You could play them through a compressor/limiter to make sure there neither too high or too low.

You could spend time learning the techniques or just chance your arm. If you use a sound editor like Goldwave - free software. You can load up the MP3's and see the volume in track by the shape of the wave. Then you can maximise the volume. If the MP3s look even - or the samish with each other, they'll be close enough.

There are other tricks for making them precisely the same volume. Compression and limiting - there kind of the same thing as each other - to over simplify: compression can make sure things are loud - up in volume and limiting can make sure they don't get too loud.

booleybooley

Thanks krd. I'll give it a go!

madtheory

What you need to do is set up the PA in a typical room, play your original tracks through it and adjust level and add a touch of eq when needed. I hope you have and know how to use a DAW?

DO NOT MAXIMISE.

Avoid compression or limiting with tracks meant for live use, because if you reduce the dynamics too much the track will swamp your live instruments. Best to use WAV too, the loss of quality with mp3 becomes very obvious on most PA systems.

drumdrum

What do you mean by "standard" really? If its equality between the tracks then do as krd suggested.

But if its volume matching to a commercial CD, just be aware that:
1 - it was probably recorded in a top-notch studio
2 - it was most likely recorded/engineered by a professional
3 - most modern pop/chart music is too loud these days anyways. Have a google for loudness wars and you'll see what I mean.

As said before, be careful about compressing / limiting as it will destory the dynamic range of the track and can make things sound smudged together. The key to a good mix (IMHO) is clarity between the instruments etc which over compression will remove.

Once you have the volume more or less matched between the tracks, sure then you can advise the listener to turn up their ipods or whatever.

madtheory

It's for live use, not a release. So that he doesn't have to keep changing the level...

Dord

Ideally you should do a ReplayGain analysis on the tracks using an audio player that supports it (eg. Foobar, Winamp etc.). The software writes a volume adjustment -/+ dB for the player to read. There's no permanent change made to the actual file, just a tag added.

What software/hardware do you use to play the tracks?

booleybooley

I create a playlist in I Tunes and then load them onto an ipod and then play them live from a Cortex HDC500 through a deck. Thanks for your advice.

Dord

Cool, that's pretty easy then. I use a program called iVolume with my iPod & iTunes that uses the ReplayGain calculation. It cost a few quid but was well worth it. I don't like getting blasted out of it when I go from a 30 year old track to a 6 month old one.

Here's the link - http://www.mani.de/ivolume/

madtheory

If it does what it says on the tin, that's a very cool app!