Hi, not sure how to ask this properly or even look up previous posts for what I’m after so apologies if this has already been asked or is blatantly obvious how to do. I’ve got sound files where majority of the sound is between the -.05 , 0 , +.05 range, but there are parts here and there that smash up passed the +1 range. I know you can use Normalize which lowers that, but the problem is that it lowers everything. Is there a way to like specify everything ONLY above +.05 to drop down to the same limit as majority of the sound, or do I need to do all of this slowly and manually. Thanks for the help.
The effect you need is called a “Limiter”.
See: Limiter - Audacity Manual
Try it with the default settings (The defaults are shown in the manual).
Soft Limit is the one that contributes the least sound damage and is the one recommended for Audiobook readings. As you go up the scale through Hard Limit and then the dreaded Clipping, the more brutal the effect is and the more likely to damage the sound.
Koz
Thanks a lot, that really helped.