From: Syd Curtis <>
>
> May I pose a question Walter? PEAK software has a facility for what it
> calls "normalising". It scans a recording, finds the loudest sound in it
> and then (if set to 100%) amplifies the whole recording so that that loudest
> sound is as loud as possible without clipping.
>
> But you can also set it to less than 100%. And with PEAK's excellent
> facility for allowing you to undo any editing you have done (up to the point
> where you do a 'save') you can try as many levels of normalising as you
> like, until satisfied you have the best for your requirements/taste.
>
> (I imagine that there are other software packages that do something similar,
> but PEAK is what runs on my Apple Mac.)
>
> And as you haven't mentioned PEAK and normalisation, Walter, I wonder if
> this is because the results aren't as good as I imagine them to be, or
> whether it is just that you prefer a more hands-on approach, and to control
> any amplification yourself.
I use Peak's change gain... after first checking with clipguard which is
part of that. Clipgard tells the maximum number of dB the sound can be
increased without clipping. It works fine, does not, in itself,
introduce any problems. Note this is different from the normalize
command in Peak, though the function is similar.
I do tend to think over each track before doing this. Say I'm making up
a CD and have a quiet site's recording, I won't want that set up high,
like a loud site might be. The goal would be that the listener does not
feel the need to be constantly adjusting the volume.
As a general rule I don't normalize fully. If I'm after bringing the
volume up as much as possible, I'll do clipguard and do a couple dB less
gain than it says I can. Note for this to work you have to first go
through the recording removing any unwanted pops and crackles or such
like that might be the only high sounds.
Part of why I don't like going closer than a couple dB is I've noticed
variation in how various equipment might play it. Even some filters can
make a difference. With a couple dB you are less likely to have clipping
problems with something down the line. Though it pays in sound
processing to check with clipguard for what it is once in a while.
Gain adjustment of some kind is fairly basic to sound editing, so I'd
expect any software editor to have it.
Walt
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