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Normalize audio switch not working
I recorded a discussion with my mic levels set low to avoid clipping. I boosted all the audio afterwards, but sometimes the discussion gets very noisy. Rather than going through each peak with the audio envelope and lowering the audio there in a 12 minute discussion, I tried using the normalize switch, but it seems to do nothing. The peaks are still going way over 0 db. Am I missing something? I thought it’s supposed to bring the highest point down to 0 db and adjust all other levels relative to that.
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6 Replies
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You generally can’t have audio above 0dB in an audio file (or camcorder footage), so you must have increased the levels somewhere in editing – check track and master faders and envelopes.
Normalize will typically bring the source level UP (if possible) to 0dB peak (or whatever you set in the audio preferences). If the peak(s) are already at 0dB then it can’t increase more without clipping the source audio.
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Oh, so that’s what it is. I raised the track level audio because I recorded at such low levels and was hoping to use Normalize after that just to adjust the peaks.
http://www.scenethroughglass.com
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Take a look at Levelator (it’s free!!) and see if it will do what you need.
It’s been discussed here numerous times so a search will turn up several hits. -
Normalize basically scans the audio event to find the highest peak, then sets the (constant) gain for the whole event to make the peak equal to 0dB.
You can also try the compression effects supplied with Vegas. Track compressor is a straightforward compression effect. You might have some luck with the presets such as Soft Limiter. This can be used to boost the overall level (set track gain to 0dB and adjust the compressor input gain) and clamp down on occasional peaks.
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As Matt suggested you want to use the Track Compressor on the original audio. Whatever you did to “boost the audio” forget about it! Use the original low audio with the Track Compressor. The more compression you add (Amount x:1), and the lower the Threshold setting, the louder the low parts will get without the loud parts getting any louder (because it’s compressing the dynamic range). This is pretty much what Levelator is doing which Mike suggested. (Levalator is quite good for this stuff too)
~jr
http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasst.com -
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