Normalise 'spikes' in a recording

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trevreav
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2010 7:13 pm
Location: Dorking, England
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Normalise 'spikes' in a recording

Post by trevreav »

Hi, I've been using Amadeus for quite a while now, but mainly just to chop up recordings into bite-sized chunks for the band to listen to.

Now we have a website and I'd like to get some better recordings up there. I'm fine with eq settings and getting a decent balance of sounds in the end, but the problem I'm having is in the odd bits of loud spikes from the high hat, a bass pluck or the odd word in the vocals being shouted a bit louder than the rest.

I *think* Normalise' could be the effect to use for this, but I just can't seem to find a setting that evens things out - I don't mind a bit of variation, but sometimes the spike is twice the volume of the surrounding music.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions chucked my way.

Trev
Many thanks
TrevReav

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Jim Edgar
Posts: 118
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 7:20 am
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Normalise 'spikes' in a recording

Post by Jim Edgar »

Normalise would not be the best approach. 

Take a look at the AU Dynamics Processor.  You are really looking for a Compression type function.  You want it to begin acting at a certain dB level, and apply itself more forcefully as sound volume increases.  The preset Fast and Smooth would give that type of response and you can play with the threshold to determine when it starts. That would be a good place to start.


- JIm
Jim Edgar

jimedgarvoices@gmail.com (jimedgarvoices@gmail.com) - @jimedgarvoices
http://www.jimedgarvoices.com  -  http://about.me/jimedgar

trevreav
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Joined: Wed Nov 03, 2010 7:13 pm
Location: Dorking, England
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Post by trevreav »

Perfect, thanks very much Jim.

So what does Normalise do then? I thought it was a 'sort of' peak limiter?

Regardless of that, your suggestion works perfectly, thanks again.
Many thanks
TrevReav

philxm
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:55 pm

Normalise 'spikes' in a recording

Post by philxm »

I would use the Peak Limiter effect for this.

Normalize amplifies or deamplifies (dpending on the nature of the source
material in relation to the effect setting) a selection entirely in
self-proportion. It is an alternative to the Amplify effect, with the
software (rather than human user) calculating the level of
increase/decrease.

The primary intent of Normalize is to achieve maximum volume level without
overreaching the maximum headroom (and thus causing "clipping", aka
distortion). Accordingly, a commonly-used setting is 95%, which will bring
the signal very close to the maximum without threat of clipping.


trevreav wrote:
Hi, I've been using Amadeus for quite a while now, but mainly just to chop up
recordings into bite-sized chunks for the band to listen to.

Now we have a website and I'd like to get some better recordings up there. I'm
fine with eq settings and getting a decent balance of sounds in the end, but
the problem I'm having is in the odd bits of loud spikes from the high hat, a
bass pluck or the odd word in the vocals being shouted a bit louder than the
rest.

I *think* Normalise' could be the effect to use for this, but I just can't
seem to find a setting that evens things out - I don't mind a bit of
variation, but sometimes the spike is twice the volume of the surrounding
music.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions chucked my way.

Trev

------------------------
Many thanks
TrevReav



User avatar
Jim Edgar
Posts: 118
Joined: Mon Mar 01, 2010 7:20 am
Contact:

Normalise 'spikes' in a recording

Post by Jim Edgar »

Normalise can be thought of as a "targeted" Amplify.  You are setting a specific level (e.g. -3 dB) and aspect to be targeted (typically the PEAK, but you can also set Normalization with RMS type values).  

So, if you set a Peak Normalize of -3 dB, your audio (or the selected audio) would be amplified (positively or negatively) so that the maximum Peak was -3 dB.  It's keeping the same relative amplitude within the audio, but increasing or decreasing the level so that the target value is met. 


For example - if you had a drum bit where the peak of your recording was 0 dB, but the bulk was in the -20 dB range (I know... "quiet drummer"...) and you Normalized that section to -3 dB, you would actually decrease the amplitude so the peak was now at -3 and the bulk was in the -23 dB range.


Jim Edgar

jimedgarvoices@gmail.com (jimedgarvoices@gmail.com) - @jimedgarvoices
http://www.jimedgarvoices.com  -  http://about.me/jimedgar

Cherrill P. Heaton

Normalise \'spikes\' in a recording

Post by Cherrill P. Heaton »

How would Peak Limiter be used in conjunction with Normalize, or would it? Thx.
CP
On Mar 18, 2016, at 12:29 PM, Phil X Milstein <pm@philxmilstein.com> wrote:

I would use the Peak Limiter effect for this.

Normalize amplifies or deamplifies (dpending on the nature of the source
material in relation to the effect setting) a selection entirely in
self-proportion. It is an alternative to the Amplify effect, with the
software (rather than human user) calculating the level of
increase/decrease.

The primary intent of Normalize is to achieve maximum volume level without
overreaching the maximum headroom (and thus causing "clipping", aka
distortion). Accordingly, a commonly-used setting is 95%, which will bring
the signal very close to the maximum without threat of clipping.


trevreav wrote:
Hi, I've been using Amadeus for quite a while now, but mainly just to chop up
recordings into bite-sized chunks for the band to listen to.

Now we have a website and I'd like to get some better recordings up there. I'm
fine with eq settings and getting a decent balance of sounds in the end, but
the problem I'm having is in the odd bits of loud spikes from the high hat, a
bass pluck or the odd word in the vocals being shouted a bit louder than the
rest.

I *think* Normalise' could be the effect to use for this, but I just can't
seem to find a setting that evens things out - I don't mind a bit of
variation, but sometimes the spike is twice the volume of the surrounding
music.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions chucked my way.

Trev

------------------------
Many thanks
TrevReav




philxm
Posts: 128
Joined: Sun Nov 12, 2006 6:55 pm

Normalise \'spikes\' in a recording

Post by philxm »

They would indeed be contradictory -- both establish peak levels, but affect
other parts of the signal quite differently.

I meant them as separate suggestions. Or rather, I was suggesting that Peak
Limiter might suit Trev's needs, while also describing what Normalize does.
I have only a basic grasp of how each of those works, but since Trev appears
to be a novice at them I reckoned I'd be a good one to address his
questions.


Cherrill P. Heaton wrote:
How would Peak Limiter be used in conjunction with Normalize, or would it?
Thx.
CP
On Mar 18, 2016, at 12:29 PM, Phil X Milstein <pm@philxmilstein.com> wrote:

I would use the Peak Limiter effect for this.

Normalize amplifies or deamplifies (dpending on the nature of the source
material in relation to the effect setting) a selection entirely in
self-proportion. It is an alternative to the Amplify effect, with the
software (rather than human user) calculating the level of
increase/decrease.

The primary intent of Normalize is to achieve maximum volume level without
overreaching the maximum headroom (and thus causing "clipping", aka
distortion). Accordingly, a commonly-used setting is 95%, which will bring
the signal very close to the maximum without threat of clipping.


trevreav wrote:
Hi, I've been using Amadeus for quite a while now, but mainly just to chop
up
recordings into bite-sized chunks for the band to listen to.

Now we have a website and I'd like to get some better recordings up there.
I'm
fine with eq settings and getting a decent balance of sounds in the end, but
the problem I'm having is in the odd bits of loud spikes from the high hat,
a
bass pluck or the odd word in the vocals being shouted a bit louder than the
rest.

I *think* Normalise' could be the effect to use for this, but I just can't
seem to find a setting that evens things out - I don't mind a bit of
variation, but sometimes the spike is twice the volume of the surrounding
music.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions chucked my way.

Trev

------------------------
Many thanks
TrevReav




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