MP3GAIN and Sonar

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PsychatoR
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2013/07/18 06:06:39 (permalink)

MP3GAIN and Sonar

Is there a way to know like into MP3GAIN, the volume (dB) average of the master bus? before making the final mixdown in wav ?
so i could know all my wavs songs are at the same dB volume. instead of normalize.
id like to make a CD audio with my final audio waves.
i dont like normalize.
but i have to tranform wav into mp3 to verify the average dB volume, delete the mp3 and remake a new wav etc. its very long for nothing. ty
#1

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    Noel Borthwick [Cakewalk]
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    Re: MP3GAIN and Sonar 2013/07/18 07:48:21 (permalink)
    Turn on peak markers on the bus and play through the entire song. Then scroll though the project and look at the highest peaks.

    Noel Borthwick
    Senior Manager Audio Core, BandLab
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    #2
    The Maillard Reaction
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    Re: MP3GAIN and Sonar 2013/07/18 08:01:50 (permalink)
    Many "limiters" come with this sort of info gathering capability.
     
    For example; Voxengo Elephant will tell you the averaged sound levels as you play through the material.
     
    If you are exporting straight to .mp3 then it is likely you will have a limiter on your SONAR Master Bus. If you don't... give it a try.
     
    You can use the Avereaged RMS values and the Crest factor read outs in Voxengo's Elephant to give you some clue about the loudness.
     
    The cool thing about a limiter like Voxengo Elephant is that it is a VST so you can use it with many of your other DAWs.
     
    You can also purchase one of the newer "loudness meters" which will let you make some more specific predictions about how loud your finished .mp3 will sound. There are a bunch of new loudness meters on the market to consider.
     
     
    best regards,
    mike


    #3
    SteveStrummerUK
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    Re: MP3GAIN and Sonar 2013/07/18 08:09:31 (permalink)
     
    Hi there
     
    If you're looking to create an audio (.wav) CD, the last thing you want to be doing is assessing the relative levels of your tracks when they've been converted to mp3s, no matter how good MP3Gain is at doing this. There are a number of good arguments for not using mp3 files in this process, not least of which is that the mp3 files you create will not be a true representation of your original mixes; mp3 encoding is a 'lossy' process (even at 'good' quality 320kbps) and will not contain all the sonic information of the wave files you created them from.
     
    The process of creating a CD with tracks of similar 'loudness' that you describe is actually one of the main parts of the 'mastering' process. As there are many different approaches to accomplishing this, I'd recommend that you read up a little on the subject.
     
    To assess the relative levels of all your tracks at the most simplistic level, you could simply create a (blank) project in SONAR and import all your songs to separate tracks. You can then 'use your ears' to judge the differences by playing the project and swapping from song to song using the Exclusive Solo feature.
     
    For a more accurate result, you could also enable Peak Markers and SONAR will indicate the highest level any of your tracks attains. To enable this feature, click on the Track View Options menu and select Meter Options > Show Track Peak Markers:
     

     
     
    Play through all the songs in your project and the peak level (in dB) will be recorded in the individual track panes. The feature also marks the track at the point where this peak occurs:
     

     
     
    As this feature also works on busses, you could check the level of the Master Bus in each of your individual song projects to get an idea of their highest level.
     
    Mind you, I would strongly suggest you do some reading about the whole Mastering process, as it involves a lot more than just 'normalising' the levels of the individual songs.
     
     

     Music:     The Coffee House BandVeRy MeTaL

    #4
    Rick O Shay
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    Re: MP3GAIN and Sonar 2013/07/18 14:55:43 (permalink)
    Level meters and amplitude statistics alone don't tell the whole story.  Perceived loudness is a combination of peak levels, dynamic range, mixing style and EQ.  You'll get better results by taking your first mix and, by ear, compare it to a reference mix (such as from a CD of similar music) to make sure your overall level and EQ is how you want it.  Use this first mix as your standard for the rest of the songs you mix; once again, comparing them all by ear.  Of course, meters are useful in making sure you aren't overloading, etc. but every mastering engineer I've watched master an album or CD uses their ears as the main indicators for what sounds right.  I suspect they all do it this way because it's the best way.
    #5
    PsychatoR
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    Re: MP3GAIN and Sonar 2013/07/18 19:19:26 (permalink)
    ty guys your cool :)
    #6
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