I wonder if I could get some help with my learning curve on Sound Forge 5.0?

I hadn't touched the program for a few years because the via chips in our Compaq computer were not compatible with my studio Mia sound card from Echo Audio.

Jen just built me a new computer with all the right gizmo's so now I can record at the higher rates.

In using Sound Forge over the Magix Audio Cleaning program there seems to be some differences in the way the two normalize.

What settings do you recommend to normalize?

I have tried the default average RMS setting and also the Peak setting. I am just kind of suprised to see the pic of the sound waves going past 6 db.

I notice some of my volumes vary too much on my site since I started trying to switch to Sound Forge.

What's the easiest way for me to get a handle on this?

If you can give me any tips so I can normalize basically everything with one setting would really speed up my situation.

Also, if you have any suggested setting when lowering the bit rate and when resampling that would help also.

I guess for now I'm just looking for some good all around settings. Like one setting for each step: normalize, bit lowering and resampling.

I sure do appreciate the help.

I want to have my site pretty much up to where I want it to be by Monday because down here, March is when it warms up, when the long term gigs start, etc.

This is when I need to re-contact some club managers and also do a blitz in the area for new prospects.

Thanx gang

http://www.scottlmusic.com/Listen.html

Scott Langholff



[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 03-05-2005).]

Hey Scott,

I sent ya an email regarding your question.

Bottom line, I didn't do a very good job of answering Scott's question since I don't have much experience using "Normalize" as a finishing process. I've used some of the other plug-ins that come with newer versions of Sound Forge (WaveHammer, for example), but not Normalize. I did some goofing around with it this morning and it seems pretty powerful for changing the overall levels.

Hopefully somebody else will share their experiences with Normalize and be able to help Scott.

-mike

Very long time since I've been fooling around in SF now,
but just a few thoughts around it:

If "Normalize" is a kind og taking the high level peaks
down without drag down the rest and vice versa, then it
should be used very carefully.
If it's so, the music often sounds "lifeless"... just as
when recorded in "automatic level adjust", weak parties
are rised (so are the noice), and higher sounding parts
are put down so everything don't sound natural at all.

But SoudForge are a quality software, so it's maybe not
what "Normalize" do other than protect the high peaks to
be distorted?

GJ

As I was going to bed last night I remembered from the Sound Forge forum that I was reading a few years agothat a lot of Sound Forge users will record on that program, make use of it's great features, in this case, recording at higher levels and then using another program that is easier to work with on the remaining things.

So, in this case, it seems to me that I will do exactly that. Record in SF at the high rate, bring back down to 16 bits and then use my very easy to use Magix Audio Cleaning Lab to do the normalizing, which is just a way to set all volumes for each tune so that they have a consitent volume from one to the next and to prevent clipping. Then I'll do an ear test and if anything needs a volume tweak, I will adust from there.

I know all my original recordings with Magix were very well normalized, so that's what I'm going to do.

I also know that any other editing of recorded music is best done at the higher levels as it destroys less of the original recording. Things like EQ, removing noise, clicks, crackle etc.

In this case it appears that no extra editing will be needed except for possibly an occasional EQ tweak.

So, that's my fix on it this morning.

Any other ideas welcome.

Best
Scott

Scott, I suggest you go to Amazon.com and get a copy of Scott Garrigus' book "Sonar 5 Power". It will tell you everything you need to know about how to use the program.

Tom

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