Amplify individual channels to the clip point

Audacity Help Forum
1

I’ve been away for several years…and I’m trying to recomember how to use Audacity for my =very= simple needs.

Background: I ripped most of my vinyl and all my CDs and found that there was a huge difference between how they were recorded. One album would have the volume I wanted and the next could hardly be heard and the one after that would blow your eardrums out. I also noticed that there were major differences between channel volumes between different media. Say I had an album on vinyl and CD. The channels could be noticeably different between them, and I’m not talking remastered tracks, either. So, here’s my $64k question. How do I amplify a channel after I’ve split the track to L & R channels? I do remember using a box that would allow you to enter a number and it would amplify that track to that point. If it would clip, then you’d get a red line at that point and you could back off a fraction. I simply can’t remember what I was using to do this. Any help is appreciated.

Lyle

2

Probably the best solution is:

1- Loudness Normalize and choose Normalize Stereo Channels Independently. It doesn’t really matter what loudness you choose, and it doesn’t mater if it “shows red” because the waves aren’t clipped yet.)

2- Regular (peak) Normalize, but not independently, to bring peaks up or down to 0dB (or -1dB, etc.) without altering the channel balance.

Some players have ReplayGain. Files are scanned for loudness in advance, and the player adjusts the volume up or down before playback of each track starts.

With Apple devices or iTunes, Sound Check works similarly.

If your player software doesn’t support either of those there are MP3Gain and WaveGain variations which make “permanent” changes to your files.