Audacity Forum

This is perhaps sort of a newbie question, but i haven't found the answer anywhere else. My problem is this: I'm importing an
MP3 and while playing that on one channel i'm playing a guitar part myself on the other channel. Unfortunately the MP3 track
is way too loud in comparison to my guitar so i end up with a very unbalanced mix. My guitar won't cut through if you get my point. So what can i do about it? I would like to either turn up the guitar channel or turn down the MP3 channel in order to get a more balanced mix. I understand that there's a function called "Effect-Normalize" but i'm not sure how to use it. Do you apply that before or after the recording?

On the left side of each channel should be two little sliders, right under the "Mute" and "Solo" buttons. The bottom one is left-right pan, and the top one is gain. Try increasing the gain on the guitar track or decreasing it on the MP3 track. --Allen

Thanks Allen, you're my hero now! By using those gain sliders i can get a much better mix. It works like a dream now!
//Eric

Note that when you mix the channels, either by selecting them and choosing "Mix and Render" from the Tracks menu, or just by Exporting (from the File menu, which will automatically mix the tracks), if you have the levels too high, the track may distort.

When multi-tracking, it is usually best to Mix within the project (Ctrl+A to select All tracks, then "Mix and Render" from the Tracks menu) and check that the mix does not distort.

If you look in the "View" menu you will see an option to "show clipping". This option should normally be disabled as it can slow down Audacity a lot, but after you have Mixed your tracks you can switch it on to check the mix and clipping will show up as red vertical lines.

If you find that mixing produces clipping, reduce the level of each track by the same amount using the sliders and the the relative levels of the tracks will remain the same. If you double click on the volume slider, you can enter the desired level as a number by typing it in from your keyboard.

Thanks for your input Steve! Let's see if i got this right. If i understood correctly, things should be done in this order:

1. First you set the gain level (using the sliders) of each channel to a level that sounds and feels right according to your ears
and the level meters. (Is there any "normal" level by the way?).
2. Next step is to actually record the tracks (hit the recording button).
3. When the song stops you hit the stop button and the recording is over.
4. Now the song is recorded but it still consists of separate tracks.
5. Next step is to select the tracks and mix them down into one single track, using the "Mix and render" function.
6. Next step is to check the mix and clipping of your track, using the "show clipping" option.
7. If it's good it's good, but if the track is distorting you still have a chance to change the gain level of each track.

Any comments on the above Steve? Have i got it right so far?

Thanks for your time.

//Eric

svanen64 wrote:Have i got it right so far?

Close

This is how I do it:

1) Record each track with a recording level set quite high, but below 0dB (in practice, if the peaks are over -12dB but below 0dB then that is close enough - it is important to stay below 0dB). Don't worry too much about the mix at this stage. If one or more of the tracks that you have already recorded sound way too loud, use the "playback level slider" below the track name to reduce the level.

1a) Export each track after you have recorded it as a WAV file - this is your backup! (Select the track then use "Export Selection" from the file menu).

2) When all of the tracks have been recorded, adjust the playback level sliders to get a rough mix (the playback level meter should stay below 0dB - if not, move the sliders to a quieter level). Note that the playback level sliders do not actually change the recorded data, they just change the playback level, so you play with these sliders as much as you like without damaging the recording. When you apply Effects, or Mix tracks, then that does change the recorded data.

3) Edit and process the tracks as desired - ensure that the waveform in any track does not hit the top / bottom of the track (temporarily switching on the "show clipping" can help you to see if the track does hit the top or bottom).

4) Adjust the playback level sliders on each track to get a nice mix. You can also adjust the "pan" sliders to position each track left / right in the stereo mix.

5) Playback the whole thing and check that the levels are as you want, and that the playback meter does not hit 0dB.

6) When you are satisfied, select all of the tracks (Ctrl+A) and use "Mix and Render" from the Tracks menu.

7) If the mixed track appears to go very close to the top or bottom of the track, switch on "show clipping" to see if you have pushed the levels too high - if you have, select "Undo" to return the mix back to multiple tracks. You can then adjust the level sliders a bit lower and do the mix again.
If the final mix looks very low (less than half the track height), use "Undo" (Ctrl+Z, or select "Undo" from the Edit menu) and adjust all of the levels up a bit.

8) Now you have an almost perfect mix with peaks over half track height (-6dB) but below the top / bottom (0dB).
Use the "Amplify" effect to bring the level up to 0dB and Export your masterpiece. (Even if you want the final mix as an MP3, it is often worth making a WAV format export as a backup. The WAV can be burned to CD.

Thanks for your comments Steve! That's very appreciated! I'll be back with feedback later on.

//Eric

Hey Steve!

I encountered some problems but i managed to solve them myself. The big problem for me is that the incoming sound level (signal) from my guitar is too low (which is a bit strange since i'm playing it through a guitar effect pedal). Even with the gain sliders i can't get it any higher than -24dB. The imported MP3 track has an almost perfect level from the start (around
-6dB to 0dB). What i did to solve this problem was this: first i lowered the level of the MP3 track with the sliders to around
-24dB (same as the guitar channel) and then i recorded the whole thing. After that i used the functions "Normalize" and
"Amplify" from the effects menu. I exported it and was actually quite pleased with the end result. I suppose there are other solutions to this problem as well but this one worked pretty well i think.

Any thoughts?

//Eric

svanen64 wrote:I encountered some problems but i managed to solve them myself.

That's what we like to hear

svanen64 wrote:Even with the gain sliders i can't get it any higher than -24dB.

That seems a bit low.

Not sure if you've looked at this yet, or not....
Near the computer clock you should be able to find a loudspeaker icon. Single click on this will bring up a simple volume control, but a double click (or perhaps right click) can open up a more advanced interface for your sound card (either the "Windows Mixer" or a custom control panel for the sound card. It is through this interface that you can control all available input and output levels. Note that it is usual that some features are hidden, so you will need to study it carefully to discover all of the available settings. In the "Recording" section there should be a either a slider or a rotary control to adjust the recording level.