Split stereo amplify

[sombunya]

Hello,

I'm using Audacity 1.3.13 with Windows XP to record analog records. I'll record a vinyl record, apply labels and save the individual tracks in a folder.

Before labeling I delete small sections of a recording, a long pause between tracks for example, by clicking and dragging the mouse over the area I want to delete and then hitting the "delete" key.

When I use "normalize" sometimes the two tracks are not as balanced as I'd like. I then click "split stereo track" and bump up the gain on the channel that need's it.

When try to delete a section of the stereo recording after amplifying one track it appears that only one track is edited, not both. If I try to undo the "split stereo track" function after I amplify one channel it wants to undo my gain edit first.

Is there a workaround for this so I can amplify only one channel and then edit out sections of both channels/tracks of the stereo recording together?

Thanks in advance for any help with this.

[kozikowski]

Stop using Normalize. Normalize operates on each side, left and right, independently and can sometimes seriously mess up the stereo balance. Use Amplify instead.

Both Amplify and Normalize will kill you if you have multiple pops and clicks in the performance. The pops will take over the loudness management -- doesn't matter what the music is.

There is no shortage of tricks to clean up pops and clicks on vinyl transfers. We wrote something on this and I'll post back when I find it.
Koz

[sombunya]

I have been using "normalize" a lot but I will take your advice on that.

What I'm doing now is using "split stereo track" function and amplifying each channel to where I want using the gain control sliders. The green bars at the top show when things are in balance. And I'm doing this AFTER I insert the track markers and edits.

Although most of the vinyl I'm copying is in decent shape even new records have clicks and pops. I'd be very interested in any tutorials you may have on how to clean these things up.

Thanks for your input here. Much appreciated.

[waxcylinder]

I think the tutorial that Koz was referring to was this one from the 1.3 manual: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Samp ... gitization

BTW Normalize will change after 1.3.14 (currently only in Alpha release) and onwards. A new option has been added which enables Normalize to either work on both stereo channels as a pair (the new default setting), or work on the two channels separately as now. You can see the new 1.3.14 interface in the 1.3 manual: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Normalize

So until 1.3.14 gets released do as Koz suggests and avoid Normalize and use the Amplify effect instead.

WC

[waxcylinder]

Although most of the vinyl I'm copying is in decent shape even new records have clicks and pops. I'd be very interested in any tutorials you may have on how to clean these things up.

My favourite tool for this is ClickRepair, it costs a litlle but is well worth it - it produces almost magical results. See this sticky thread: http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1994

WC

[sombunya]

Great info there. I'll definitely look into it.

Thanks very much!