My podcast has ads applied automatically that are always way louder than the content I produce, so my listeners have to ride the levels the whole time. Tech support says my episodes are averaging around -24 LUFS, but the ads will play at about -17 LUFS.
How do I boost my levels in Amadeus Pro to a specific LUFS in order to match the ads?
How to Boost/Match LUFS?
Moderator: Martin Hairer
Re: How to Boost/Match LUFS?
LUFS or dB units are going to be interchangeable here I think.
You can see the average dB levels for any given file in AP by opening the ‘Statistics’ dropdown window for said file and looking at; 'Average RMS Power' which will show you the current average dB levels for that file.
If you don’t have the ‘Statistics’ button in the window Tool Bar you can open it from the app’s Menubar; Analyse > Waveform Statistics…
Amplifying a -24dB file by around 7.5dB should bring it up to around the -17dB Average RMS Power range.
You can see the average dB levels for any given file in AP by opening the ‘Statistics’ dropdown window for said file and looking at; 'Average RMS Power' which will show you the current average dB levels for that file.
If you don’t have the ‘Statistics’ button in the window Tool Bar you can open it from the app’s Menubar; Analyse > Waveform Statistics…
Amplifying a -24dB file by around 7.5dB should bring it up to around the -17dB Average RMS Power range.
macOS 12.7.6 | 15" Macbook Pro, 2017 | 4 Core i7 3.1GHz CPU | Radeon Pro 555 2GB GPU + Integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 1.536GB | 16GB RAM | Wacom Intuos4 M
Re: How to Boost/Match LUFS?
This is super-helpful—thanks so much!
Re: How to Boost/Match LUFS?
OK, I'm back!
Boosting my audio tracks to -17 db to match the volume of the ads makes my tracks sound distorted. Right now I'm just going to EFFECTS > AMPLIFY to do it. Is there a method that would have better results?
Boosting my audio tracks to -17 db to match the volume of the ads makes my tracks sound distorted. Right now I'm just going to EFFECTS > AMPLIFY to do it. Is there a method that would have better results?
Re: How to Boost/Match LUFS?
Unfortunately amplifying any sound file will also amplify any deficiencies within it as well, so if you are getting unacceptable levels of distortion after amplifying the initial recording, it might be worth looking again at your recording setup, levels, etc… to see if you can’t a) get closer to the desired -17dB level when making the original recording and b) get a cleaner sound.
The better the initial recording can be, the more wriggle room one has for any post processing that might be needed later.
Another option to using Amplify might be to try Normalize…
Have a look at the Editing section in AP’s handbook, page 26 for some notes on using the Normalize function. But to be honest I'm doubtful it will be significantly better but worth a try...
Macs also ship with some AU plugins which can be used in cleaning up some sound files, maybe one of them can help…?
Sorry I can't offer any better ideas right now
The better the initial recording can be, the more wriggle room one has for any post processing that might be needed later.
Another option to using Amplify might be to try Normalize…
Have a look at the Editing section in AP’s handbook, page 26 for some notes on using the Normalize function. But to be honest I'm doubtful it will be significantly better but worth a try...
Macs also ship with some AU plugins which can be used in cleaning up some sound files, maybe one of them can help…?
Sorry I can't offer any better ideas right now
macOS 12.7.6 | 15" Macbook Pro, 2017 | 4 Core i7 3.1GHz CPU | Radeon Pro 555 2GB GPU + Integrated Intel HD Graphics 630 1.536GB | 16GB RAM | Wacom Intuos4 M
Re: How to Boost/Match LUFS?
This is all great info. I'll investigate the Normalize feature but also see if there's anything I can do on the recording side to boost levels more cleanly. Thanks!