... haha, is that a really dumb idea? Here is a thread about balancing overall midi song volumes... as in doing a batch at once.

However, I was thinking about adjusting the volumes of the various channels with the keyboard itself and using a decibel meter. Gary Diamond taught me how to do the menu commands correctly and I never would have figured it out if he hadn't told me! And I was thinking that if you had a decibel meter, could you use that as your reference rather than your ears? (I'm talking about adjusting the ENTIRE song volume AFTER you tweak the various individual song parts.) Rather than rely on your ear to adjust the overall song volume. Because your ear might tire after x-number of listening to songs.

Point being, you're trying to keep your overall song volume for each song fairly constant during your entire performance.

Then again, if a decibel meter costs a lot, forget it!

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Bill
SmallGig.com

[This message has been edited by SemiLiveMusic (edited 12-28-2006).]

Check out Radio Shack's Digital Display Sound Level Meter -- Product number 33-2055. It's only $50. I have been very happy with mine.

Charles

I bought the Radio Shack digital decible meter, but found it to be inaccurate and very technical to use. If you need to be performing, you don't want to have to press three buttons and turn a wheel to get your meter readings.

I then bought this one from Guitar Center. Although it is also a big technical, at least I can get the reading with one hand in two seconds. It is also much more accurate.

Radio Shack ($49): http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2103667

Guitar Center ($69): http://www.guitarcenter.com/shop/product...l_sku=102671419

All the best,
Chony

Sorry, I missed the part about metering DURING the live performance (which, now that I've read the original post more carefully, seems to be the point of the post). I've only used my Radio Shack meter in home studio work, and in setting up speakers prior to live performance.

Charles

No, I'm not really talking about making these adjustments during a live performance; I mean doing this when you are tweaking your songs, adjusting this and that. You could have a reference decibel level, say, with your Main Volume knob at 50%, max decibel level is not allowed to go over 70db or whatever number you choose.

You would be adjusting via the "Song Volume" button on your keyboard. Uh... I've confused myself... I guess you can Save this parameter in the midi file. If not, you'd have to lower each channel's volume setting.

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Bill
SmallGig.com

It seems, then, that what you want is a handheld/portable in-line signal level meter, with timeframe-adjustable signal level averaging and peak hold. Alternatively, you could use a mixer that incorporates such signal level monitoring and metering.

Charles

I've never heard of a mixer that could do speaker decibal readings.

The relative level of songs is something I worry about. I'd set one track as a "reference" and compare all the other to that, otherwise you will tend to creep louder or softer as time goes on.

I have wondered whether to record all the songs using a PC (at a low bit rate like 8khz to save space; also most of the loudness is at lower frequencies) then examining the waveform (using Soundforge).

Trouble is peak amplitude is not a very good measure of loudness which is more a question of "density". If you look at a professionally mastered track it is astonishing how crushed together it looks. I think the UK magazine "Sound Technology" pointed this out for the U2 song "Elevation".

So for now I'm trusting my ears!

Normalization of song volume levels can be accomplished by monitoring either the "sound" level or the "signal" level. My last post pertained to monitoring the signal level "in-line," in other words, prior to final amplification. I didn't think that would need explaining, but apparently (for someone, at least) it did.

Charles