Creating Even Volume Within a File

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bethmlyons
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2004 2:38 pm

Creating Even Volume Within a File

Post by bethmlyons »

Hi,

I'm trying to even out the volume on a WAV recording made by phone ... the audio is all spoken voices ... and each person speaking has a different volume level ... and I want to even this out ... so it's a standard volume.

I've been able to make some incremental changes by using the Compressor/Expander preset "Hard limit at -6db" and following with the Volume Maximizer preset "Full Dynamic Range" ... and then repeating until the file is relatively even ...

But this takes about 10 different passes of these paired commands to get a somewhat even volume range.

Is there a way to speed this up?

I've tried to tweak the threshold and multiplier settings so it limits the volume at a lower threshhold than -6 but it seems to do nothing at all ...

Help? Is there a tutorial on how to work with these settings?

It's a great (and fast!) program, thanks! The files I work with are typically 60-90 minutes long ... so your program speed is much appreciated!

beth
Stiiv
Posts: 335
Joined: Sat May 15, 2004 7:29 pm
Location: Fallentown, PA

making diff volumes uniform

Post by Stiiv »

It sounds like what you need is Normalization (not you, your files ;>).
There's no Normalize command in GW that I'm aware of, but there are DX plugins that can do the trick. If I can find any shareware or freeware I'll post here. Happy hunting!
Stiiv
piano nick
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2004 8:33 pm

Post by piano nick »

Beth:

There is a function in GW that I use for music recordings (piano).

You can find it under Effect | Compression, or the four little green arrows icon if your toolbar is set up that way.

I use expansion, which increases the volume/loudness of quieter parts of a song (speech) but doesn't increase the loud parts.

There are a myriad of settings, so some experimentation will be in order.

I use an expansion level of 3.0 which doesn't distort my music to any noticable degree, but gives it some "punch". High levels tend to destroy dynamics or volume expression - which is what you want to do, as you have too much dynamics.

Compression will do the opposite - it will quiet down the loud parts, but then this requires an overall re-working using Maximize Volume - the little circle-like icon with the exclamation ! mark to the right. On the drop-down Presets box, use full range.

After you have levelled the volumes, they can be maximized, if you wish.

PN
BillK
Posts: 34
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2004 5:53 pm
Location: East Coast of Nebraska

Post by BillK »

I do something almost the same as Piano Nick does. I first go to the Effects | Compression, Expansion and use the Reduce Loud parts on the whole wave. That seems to even out most of it. Then, I maximize the volume to an acceptable level. Then I go and use the Effects |Compression, Expansion and Increase the Quiet parts. You'll find the Increase and Reduce functions on a drop down. I just use the "factory settings". The result is quite usable...
piano nick
Posts: 423
Joined: Wed Jun 16, 2004 8:33 pm

Post by piano nick »

BillK:

Thanks for sharing the additional information - that's why these forums can be so valuable.

PN
bethmlyons
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Jun 14, 2004 2:38 pm

Post by bethmlyons »

Thanks for you help and suggestions ...

Since the files I'm working with are all speaking voices ... (recorded from phone calls) ... I'm not as concerned about maintaining the dynamics, as I'd be if I were editing music files.

I've ended up doing a hard cap at -6 ... using the compressor function ... and then boosting the quiet parts, and maximizing the loudness. (Sometimes I end up doing it several times to get the even level I'm looking for) ...

Then I make a sound print of any hum that has resulted from boosting the volume ... and strip it out using the noise filter.

Thanks for you help!

Beth
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