Whenever I'm done with a recording in my sequencer, in my case, Cakewalk Sonar Studio Edition, I normalize the audio. Then I convert it to an MP3. Then if it's up to snuff, I upload it onto myspace.com.

I notice that on other people's myspace page, the audio is louder than my clips. Is there anything else I can do to make my clip hotter?

thank you,

Beakybird

Normalize can only do so much to raise the overall signal. You maybe should try to apply a small amount of compression first to the track so that when you normalize the overall track level everything will be brought up higher in level.

Normilizing is the wrongest thing to do, it should be the last resource for increasing volume.
As Nigel said, there is other procedures for that as compressing, limiting, maximizing.
Normilizing is the worst word a engineer can hear and its a nightmare.
Try to delete that word from vocabulary and the function from the software too.

Hi Nedim

If normalising is so bad, why is it that virtually every piece of hardware and software that processes audio (Including professional (Expensive) equipment) includes normalising as standard, and makes it as easy to access as possible? (It’s also usually the first item that pops up when you use any of the Process Wizards in software and/or hardware)

Also as far as I am aware, it does not alter anything, but just moves everything up to a higher level, and so is pretty neutral.

Curious

Bill

Well, I learned a lot so far.

I know about compression. I don't know how to use it. I guess I can just choose a preset that says "light." I don't know anything about limiting or maximizing. Is there anything on the web about treating a final mix?

Beakybird

Abacus, it does alter everything, there is a great deal of difference between Normilizing
and Maximizing/Limiting. For Normalize to work properly the audio material has to be pretty
even since normilizing brings everything up, the picks and the noise while maximizing is a
whole different procedure, lets not bring up details about it cuz its a way complex and lost
topic, it took me 4 years of college to understand just a little of it. Normalizing exist everywhere
but its still the last resource to be used if you have nothing else to use. Any process alters audio,
even maximizing/limiting but it all deppends on how they alter it. When i was at college
(Audio Engineering, Mixing/Mastering) the engineers/teachers always tought us to try to avoid
as much as we can, some reasons i understood some i didnt, its complex.
There is also a lot of mathematics involved in it too, as what Compression does vs Limiting or
what Normalizing does vs Maximizing and e tc. An example:
A Maximizer brings up the low level and the high level together to a point you define and wont
let it peak, it will crush it down while Normalizing will bring everything up, Noise, LowLevel and
also Peak which will go way over 0db while a Compressor can raise the low level and crush the
high level and on the other hand the Limiter wont just let the sound go after a point you define.
A Limiter is basically a compressor, nothing else, just with infinite Ratio.
And they dont do only that, they can do other things too, deppends on settings.

It has been my understanding Normalizing is a glorified Volume control. The Waves L1 and L2 do a much better job although tey reduce the Dynamic range of the material and can be overdone real easy. But today that doesn't seem to matter. L O U D limited Dynamic range is the rule. LOL

The important thing is to make all the tracks the same levels and relatively same EQ. The Waves Maximizer Stuff and a little program called T-Racks are good programs which do well for home use. Today's software goes a long way to doing what years ago could ONLY be done by a mastering engineer.

For most homegrown "sell at the gig" CDs it's good enough. If you have a commercial release you will or should have the budget to hire a respected Mastering engineer. Not some guy who advertises in the back of Recording magazine who has T-Racks and Waves

Listen to these samples to understand what even a home SW Mastering progam can accomplish
http://www.ikmultimedia.com/t-racks/audiodemo/
Print this and study it...
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/aug04/articles/computermastering.htm

[This message has been edited by Kingfrog (edited 04-13-2009).]

If you use peak normalization rather than RMS normalization, all you are doing is just bringing up everything equally. Just like turning up the volume. If you use RMS normalization, you're actually changing the dynamics of the original source. Here is an explanation from a list I'm on, though he's talking about orchestral music, the ideas still apply.

I'm back. I just thought I should have probably better explained the
difference between peak and RMS levels. As I said, the peak is the highest
single level in a file. But due to the potentially transient nature of
peaks, they can be quite misleading. For instance, You may have a piece
wherein the highest relative peak is actually something like -4 dB. But, and
here's where it gets tricky. At the end of your symphonic piece you may have
a crescendo which ends with a burst of sound from the entire orchestra. So
that and only that one single peak time may hit 0 or close to it. Analyzing
this can reveal what you have to do; compress or limit that peak to get a
more realistic read on the file. So let's say you compress just that last
measure down to a -2 dB peak. Now you've got 2 dB more headroom to work
with. This in turn gives you 2 dB more of the perceived volume (RMS) you can
raise before the compressor kicks in to protect against overloads. And as
long as it's not too severe, you won't get the perception of squashed
dynamics.

In other words, you can look at the stat's of two files, both having a peak
of 0 dB. But one having an RMS of -21 and the other having an RMS of -18 dB.
So if done right, you can have your cake and eat it too.

I ordered M Audio Ozone 4
http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/iZotopeOzone4.html

As it is reasonably priced, and it looks like it has a lot of features. I hope it's not too complicated.

Beakybird

A pretty easy to use mastering app is T-Racks...