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Recording, Mixing, Performance and Production
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While my BIAB track volumes are almost all set to 90, the songs often sound louder or softer. During a gig, this means I have to take one hand away from my guitar and fiddle with the volume controls on my iPad.
I’d like to be able to do that hands free. I’ve thought about foot controls but afraid they would over compensate too easily. I’ve searched the internet for some kind of automatic volume interface without any luck.
Has anyone satisfactorily solved this problem?
Thanks for your thoughts.


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I’ve searched the internet for some kind of automatic volume interface without any luck.

iPad volume control? I've not found one except for those that control audio output of my controllers.


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Run the songs through a DAW with a mastering plug that can adjust to a specific level. Then you should also test it by playing the song to verify.

All the songs on the radio are set to certain standards so you, the listener, aren't constantly grabbing the volume knob. Do the same thing with your music


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I like to keep things simple for BIAB in a gig: a Surface Pro on my music stand and a PA speaker.


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The free software Audacity has Compression used with Loudness Normalization effects that can be applied to your playlist.

The screenshot is a two song example showing a fairly large variation between the two songs volume levels that have these two effects applied. Using Labels after the effect have been applied will export each file separately into a folder and the exported songs will all be matched to the -14 LUFS level depicted in the 2nd screenshot. This technique can just as easily be applied to a 30 song playlist.

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Songs Not Normalized.jpg (116.98 KB, 45 downloads)
-14 LUSFS Normalized.jpg (129.68 KB, 44 downloads)

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I think Charlie and Herb have the right approach, to adjust the perceived volume of the song files before they become a playlist on the iPad.


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It looks like Replay Gain is a proposed standard to do just what you're asking for. The link contains a list of various implementations for different operating systems, including the MacOS.


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Vocal control, you say. Never heard of it. Is that some kind of ProTools thing?

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Thanks. I’ll check those out.


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Originally Posted by Guitarhacker
Run the songs through a DAW with a mastering plug that can adjust to a specific level. Then you should also test it by playing the song to verify.

All the songs on the radio are set to certain standards so you, the listener, aren't constantly grabbing the volume knob. Do the same thing with your music

+1
That was the answer for me.

After working with some mastering plug ins in my DAW I was able to output MP3's (or Wav or FLAC, etc) of my backing tracks with very consistent volume levels.
I have almost 200 tracks and i would NEVER think of adjusting volume for the tracks on stage. I set them at setup/soundcheck and never touch them the rest of the night.

Early on I used mp3Gain to adjust my mp3's to a consistent volume. As I got better in the DAW I could hit the right output levels without mp3Gain. Now I use it from time to time to confirm my work is still on target.


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