sound level across multiple files

[serendipity]

The big problem with simply normalizing them all and hoping they all come out the same is that I don't read in a monotone. I read exciting stories that have shouting and gibbering and stuff (Lovecraft, among others), and while I do a certain amount of distance from the mike, etc., even something like a gasp can alter the overall silhouette of an entire chapter.

The peak size doesn't help, unless I make sure every track is showing exactly the same number of minutes on the screen, then sort of visually guess that they're the same.

Is there anything like a hard number somewhere that shows a basic overall volume, like something that could, say, eliminate the top 10% of highest volume peaks and any periods of complete silence and then say "this track is a 3 on a scale of 1 to 5"?

If I had something like a number to look at and write down, it would help immensely with trying to even things out.
--Julie

[steve]

The big problem with simply normalizing them all and hoping they all come out the same is that I don't read in a monotone. I read exciting stories that have shouting and gibbering and stuff (Lovecraft, among others), and while I do a certain amount of distance from the mike, etc., even something like a gasp can alter the overall silhouette of an entire chapter.

Absolutely right - Normalizing alone will not make each chapter sound the same volume.

If you listen to radio plays or stories on the radio, you may notice that usually dynamic compression is used. Someone listening to the radio while driving does not want to have the volume turned right up so that they can hear the quiet bits, then suddenly be blasted with an ear splitting yell just as they are negotiating a roundabout.

Dynamic compression should be used with care. You do not want to make your animated performance to sound dull and monotonous, but at the same time you need to keep the volume level within a reasonable range.

As I said before, I have had much better results with the SC4 than with the standard Audacity compressor. Using a "soft knee" setting will give a more gentle transition from uncompressed low level signals, to heavily compressed high level signals and will sound more natural. Also, using the "RMS" setting rather than "peak" will sound more natural, although "peak" is good for "limiting" the loudest peaks.

I would start off by Equalising the track to reduce any low "breath" pops, then normalising a track (chapter) to 0dB - this will bring the audio into the correct range for our dynamic processing.
I would then apply compression to the track with a relatively high "threshold" and maximum compression ratio and minimum attack time and minimum knee radius. This will apply our "limiting" and help to "tame" any overly exuberant exclamations.
I would then "Amplify" or "Normalise" back to 0 dB, and apply a more gentle compression with a softer (greater) knee radius.

After that, I would "Export" the track as a WAV file and repeat the process for the other chapters.

When I had processed all the chapters, I would import them all into a new project, and using the "solo" button on each track in turn, I would adjust the volume levels so that they sounded right against each other.

Finally each track could be Exported again by selecting the track and using "Export Selection".

It's all a bit time consuming, but to use your expression "ear-balling" will give you a better result than a fictional magic button.

[kozikowski]

I feel as if I've known you forever. Can I call you by your first "Yo?"

Just to stress the English a little bit. By "Tracks" you mean top to bottom, track two being directly underneath track one. This will not work right if your "Musical Tracks" are side by side on the same timeline, that is, you started a vinyl capture and just let it go through all the songs.

Koz

[steve]

Can I call you by your first "Yo?

So long as you don't call me "mama"

By "Tracks" you mean top to bottom, track two being directly underneath track one.

Yes. When the tracks are imported, that's the way they will be.

[kozikowski]

<<<Yes. When the tracks are imported, that's the way they will be.>>>

This is me writing that down. I knew normalize didn't do dynamic compression within any one track (like everybody wants), but I didn't know it would treat stacked tracks like that. That may easily get the original poster out of trouble with a minimum of fuss.

Koz

[steve]

Actually, I should modify my earlier (disparaging) remarks about the "Normalise" function.

In Audacity 1.3 it has two rather handy features:
1) It can be used in "batch processing" (chains)
2) It can normalise multiple tracks (stacked one above the other) at the same time, and will normalise each selected track to the set level. (This is different from using "Amplify" which will amplify each track by the same amount, not to the same peak level).