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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 330
Journeyman
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Journeyman
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 330 |
I render my BIAB files to WAV and then move them to an MP3 player to use as backups at gigs. I've noticed that once rendered, the files have differences in volume, that I then have to adjust individually. Is there an easier way to normalize the volumes of rendered WAV files?
Thanks.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Normalise the wav files BIAB produces in Audacity
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I agree with the suggestion to use Audacity. (I generally use a setting of -3db)
BIAB & RB2026 Win.(Audiophile), Windows 10 Pro & Windows 11, Cakewalk Bandlab, Izotope Prod.Bundle, Roland RD-1000, Synthogy Ivory, Session Keys Grand S & Electric R, Kontakt, Focusrite 18i20, KetronSD2, NS40M, Pioneer Active Monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I use Audacity, but I don't suggest using the normalize function. Why? If song A has a loud part near the end, and song B has a constant value, normalize will adjust both to be as loud as it can. It does this by using the loudest part of the song and maximizing that. They effect would be the loudest part of song A would be at the same volume as the entire song B, the result would be that song A sounds softer than song B, unitil it hits the end. This is what I discovered when I started making backing tracks for my duo http://www.s-cats.comI have found no easy way out. I have a few songs I use as reference tracks. One disco, one energetic rock, one mellow rock, one cool school jazz one soft dinner-music set song, etc.. Sometimes a few in each genre. Then I play the new song and the reference song back-to-back and use Audacity and my ears to get the new song close to the reference track. If anyone has an easier way to do this, I'm all ears. BTW, years ago I tried an app that was supposed to make them all seem like the same volume by adjusting the average volume. Thoughtfully, I made a copy of the tracks in a separate folder, ran the app on that folder and tested. The results were worse than normalizing the whole bunch. Some were much louder than others. Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton  Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Sep 2001
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I didn't think normalise acted like compression. I thought it raised peak volume to the set level but left dynamic range unchanged not compressed so quieter bits were still quieter but the whole mix was louder. Was I wrong?
Last edited by Bob Calver; 05/19/25 10:30 AM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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You are correct Bob. Normalize has nothing to do with compression; quite the opposite. One extreme blast of volume in a track throws everything off.
The LUFS standard is one way you can try to get the average ‘energy’ of two tracks to be reasonably matched up. No, I wouldn’t call it easy. Mastering engineers used to do this work when preparing an album or CD.
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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I agree, normalize and compression are two different things.
I don't like compression of vocals or backing tracks for live performance. It weakens the dynamics.
Compression for a guitar will allow more sustain, but that's different from compression of the finished product.
I've not tried LUFS, but I'll look into it. Still, if it requires ears, it probably won't save that much time.
We have over 600 songs, and I keep a note pad on stage. If a particular backing track seems too loud or too soft, after I thought I had it right, I make a note and then use Audacity to boost or cut it a bit.
I'm usually pretty good with the first judgment, but sometimes it needs some more.
Insights and incites by Notes ♫
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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And put the project aside for a day. When you come back to it, do the levels still seem correct?
BIAB 2026 Win Audiophile. Software: Fender Studio One 8, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Fender Quantom HD8 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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And put the project aside for a day. When you come back to it, do the levels still seem correct? Usually, once I get them settled, they are good. When I introduce a new song, I balance them by ear in my home studio, and that usually works. But on the job, on a different day, things can be different. I also like to adjust the volume the day after I finish mixing the song. 'Untired ears' help that a lot. Usually one volume adjustment, say cut the mixed audio by .5db or raise it 1db or whatever, does the trick. Sometimes two. I think the most I had to tweak was 5 adjustments. Creating a backing track for a new song might take a couple of long days. Re-tweeking volume takes a few minutes. It's no big deal. Some songs come together quickly, others take time. I record the drums, bass, and many of the comp instruments in real time, especially if it is a song BiaB can't help me with. But, if I'm lucky, I'll get to play that song to an appreciative audience hundreds and hundreds of times. If it's as good as I can make it, I'm happy, and it's worth whatever time I have to put into it. Insights and incites by Notes
Bob "Notes" Norton Norton Music
https://www.nortonmusic.com
100% MIDI Super-Styles recorded by live, pro, studio musicians for a live groove
& Fake Disks for MIDI and/or RealTracks
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