Audacity Forum

How could I make a song thats low volume louder so when I play it on my phone I can hear it clearly without it being fuzzy or messed up?

To make a song louder, first try "Normalize" under "Effects". Try choosing -.5dB. If that doesn't do enough, try the "Compressor" effect. Start with default settings, and if that's not enough, try increasing the ratio and/or decreasing the threshold. If you end up wanting to get deeper into compression, I recommend Chris Capel's compressor plug-in: http://pdf23ds.net/software/dynamic-compressor/. --Allen

I'm not sure if Chris's dynamic compressor works with Audacity 1.2 - you may need to upgrade to Audacity 1.3

Another good (but different) compressor is the "SC4 compressor" - for maximising sounds, the SC4 is probably better than Chris's (Chris's compressor excels at evening out dynamics as described on his web site).

SC4 - http://plugin.org.uk/ladspa-swh/docs/ladspa-swh.html

I'm not trying to talk you out of upgrading, but Chris claims his work runs nicely under 1.2.6.

Yes, Chris has the graceful compressor. I tell people it sounds like the local NPR FM station. It doesn't appear to be doing anything until you compare it to the show without it. If you download the podcast or the streaming version of the air show, you find yourself reaching for the volume control more and more because the streaming show doesn't go through any compressors. When the announcer leans into the microphone, it gets seriously loud.

Koz