Volume issues when recording with Mixmeister

[DarrenB]

All, first post so be gentle with me.

Firstly, apologies if this has been asked before but I've searched & can't see it anywhere.

I've been using mixmeister pro for a number of years & have no issues with the volumes of tracks - I ensure a minimum of 192kbps on the source & run them all through mp3gain which is set at 96 - which tends to ensure good results. I use mixmeister as I do a lot of "beatmixing" & I've found it particularly good for this.

I've been asked to do an internet radio show which involves me doing a bit of speaking. I've got a microphone which gives me decent enough results http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module...354&U=RTVoice_PodMic & I record the vocal straight into audacity, run the compression & normalize effects ( my voice isn't exactly Barry White'esque in its resonance ) to add richness, save as mp3, run through mp3gain set to 96 then import into mixmesiter & slot in between the tracks where appropriate. I then export the whole lot into a wav file.

However, when it gets broadcast, the vocal bits never seem to be the same volume as the music.

Am I doing something obviously wrong?

Should I be using Audacity to do the "final" mix & import the music from mixmesiter, rather than the other way round?

I have noticed the waveforms do seem to shrink quite a bit in height when I run the compress & normalize effects in audacity?

Any help I can get on this subject would be most appreciated as it's driving me mad......

[steve]

Sorry I can't help with Mixmeister as I've never used it, but you can mix audio and vocals in Audacity.
Here's a tutorial for how to do it - it is talking about making PodCasts, but the process is the same for other mixing.
http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Creat ... h_Audacity

Whenever possible, you should use WAV format during the production. MP3 format always causes some degree of unrecoverable sound quality loss, so for best quality use WAV format throughout the production process and Export as MP3 as the final step (also worth keeping a WAV format backup in case you want to make more edits to it in the future.

A really good tip is to export a backup copy of all recordings (in WAV format) immediately after making the recording. The forum is littered with messages about people making important recordings and loosing them for one reason or another and having no backup. There are tears and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

When mixing in Audacity 1.3.12 you can use the "Mixer Board" (View menu) to tweak the track levels. Keep an eye on the playback meters before you export to avoid clipping distortion. The meters can be made bigger by clicking and dragging the edges - they are much easier to read if you stretch them full screen width.

[DarrenB]

Thanks for that Steve.

I'll give that a watch & start experimenting with WAV rather than MP3's, using the mixer board & probably trying the "final mix" in audacity & see how it goes.

You've given me a great start.

[Trebor]

Just because the music and voice have been normalized to the same level. i.e. have the same maximum amplitude, does not mean they will sound equally loud. The music waveform may have more RMS power and consequently sound louder than the voice.

Also different sound frequencies of the same amplitude do not sound equally loud ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal-loudness_contour

So you may have to alter the levels of music and voice accordingly (by ear): reduce the level of the music and/or increase the level of the voice.

( my voice isn't exactly Barry White'esque in its resonance ).

Try changing the pitch by -3%, and Bassboot 200Hz by 3db, (the result won't be Barry White, but will be more macho).

"Change Pitch" and "Bassboost" are both in Audacity's "Effects" menu.

[DarrenB]

Trebor - those pitch & bassboot changes worked a treat on the resonance.

Goodbye Charles Hawtrey.......hello Brian Blessed!!!!!!!

Much obliged for that & the other info ( which I did not know ).

[bturley99]

Hi
Exactly how do you work MP3 gain with mixmeister please