Audacity 2.0.6
Win7 Ultimate 64bit
I have a stereo track up that I want to equalize the volume of the two tracks because I know there are guitars there that I don’t hear. (this is a copy of music stripped from a youtube video using WavePad}
There is audio showing on both tracks of the cut. The playback meters show audio tracking on both tracks, at subtle differences, leading me to believe there are two distinct tracks to this cut.
In my Sennheiser HD280 pro headphones there is audio I hear faintly that should be more prominent. So my thought is to split the track in Audacity and boost the track that lags. That’s my assessment of what the problem is based on what I see and hear.
I split the track into mono tracks to work on the sub vol track. I see which track is lagging and by how much by using the analyze effect. I’m down 0.7 on the (left/top) track so I amplify the track by 0.7. Hit playback and nothing has changed audibly. The meters show more synchronicity but the guitars are just as lost as they were to start. So I mute and solo and find the right/bottom track has no playback audio. I hear nothing. The track shows content and the meters show playback but no audio into the headphones.
I am not an engineer but I am a musician so I use my equipment enough to know how to troubleshoot it and have found no obvious culprit. I don’t think this has happened before with stripped cuts using WavePad but I’ve only tried to do this boosting a lag track once before and that seemed to work. That was a very clear bluegrass track so I’m thinking that was easier to boost. This is a classic rock track that has been stepped on no telling how or how many times. I’m stumped.
Your thoughts??
I know there are guitars there that I don’t hear.
That could be the second problem. If there are instruments missing in the clip, then you have a damaged clip. If the clip has had post production, then you have no idea what you have and the clip could exhibit insanity no matter what you do.
The first problem is you’re not in Audacity 2.1.0. You will find the sound meters hugely easier to use and many of the other tools are improved.
http://web.audacityteam.org/download/
Koz
You could have a messed up system. This is an aggressively stereo, 39 second test track. See if it plays.
http://www.kozco.com/tech/LRMonoPhase4.wav
Koz
Koz,
Thanks for the prompt reply.
I replayed your voice check track.
When the voice said “this is my voice on the left” I was hearing it on both sides.
I got a slight volume increase “in the middle”.
When he said it was phased I heard no change.
Hmmmm. How does that compare to your expectation?
Thanks
I have a stereo track up that I want to equalize the volume of the two tracks because I know there are guitars there that I don’t hear.
If the guitars are buried in the mix (drowned out) there’s not much you can do.
I’m down 0.7 on the (left/top) track so I amplify the track by 0.7.
0.7dB is not much. 1dB is approximately the smallest difference you can hear.
It’s normal for a stereo track to have some measured/mathmatiical imbalance between the left & right. There’s a time factor, and at one moment the left may be louder and at another moment the right may be louder. The stereo balance is normally adjusted by ear during mixing. It’s not uncommon for one channel to have a different average or peak than the other and for each channel to have different peak-to-average ratios. But when you listen, you shouldn’t get the feeling one channel is louder than the other (assuming a good mix and a good recording/production).
Koz,
Since you mentioned a messed up system being a posibility I should add the signal comes out of the computer via a separate Audigy SB card to a Harmon Kardon hk395i stereo amp and I have the headphones plugged into there. The PC tower is on the other side of the wall from this workstation. Makes troubleshooting more of a mess.
Thanks Again…
When the voice said “this is my voice on the left” I was hearing it on both sides.
No. That’s highly not right. This is a dead simple track with no voice at all on the “wrong” side. If you’re listening to the fourth track on a good stereo system or headphones, you should suddenly hear me coming from behind you or an echo-cave quality when I hit three. This segment is intentionally broken and it should sound very weird.
You are not listening in good quality stereo, so that’s the fix.
See if you can listen to that track on another system or further upstream on the system you already have. Like clear everything out of the room except the computer and simple internal soundcard.
I need to go back and read what you have…
I had a similar experience with a new computer that had Music Hall effects applied to all playback sound—and nobody told me.
Koz
You can plug your headphones into the Audigy SB green or black connectors (line or headphone) and listen there. No other equipment. It doesn’t have to be loud. When I get to “me on the left” and you hear stuff on the right, then you know the problem is upstream from where you’re listening.
My fancy-pants sound card had a bucket of different stereo effects and patches it would do. It would convert between different surround formats, etc. It took a good long while to get it to stop helping me.
I designed this sound clip expressly to do troubleshooting like this because I couldn’t find one when I needed it.
Koz