Normalize Multiple regions at once

Hi,
you can go to audiobin and select the files...
but Sample Editor is not allowed on all files simultaneosly...
this should be dangerous...

Normalize function is a destructive editing... must be used with care and only rarely...

Normalize increase Noise with the same percentage of the gain increasing.
Also DC offset should be rise up....

doing decstructive editing massively, is not a good idea... you could not get any advantage... but only disadvantage.

I suggest you to use Adaptive Limiter that is perfect for rise up volume and remove DC offset!

G

doing decstructive editing massively, is not a good idea... you could not get any advantage... but only disadvantage.

Giovanni, this is another one of your crazy rumours...ts ts ts ts

If audio track has been recorded correctly I never use destrictive editing...

Normalize used in a file with incorrect headroom, such as - 20 or more dB lower than 0dB is not a good idea!

This is not a rumor, it is simply my way work!

If I need to use Normalize function on a file that has been wrong recorded:

1) That audio files was not made by myself (because when I'm the sound Engineer every file is recorded perfectly)

2) After Normalize I always check for DC offset (because if the file comes from a unknow recording enginer... there are also serious reason to doubt about the quality of A/D converter that has been used for recording)

3) "bad" A/D conversion may add a wrong (not constant) DC offset.

Anyway if you are working on 10.000 Ring Phones files you can use Normalize as you prefer... but I suggest Limiter with DC cutting in order to avoid "Click and POPs when your iPhone start or end to ringing!

Ther is a special noise... Like a "schiop" when starting an audio file that contain DC... you can see your Woofers that goes to a different offset position!

Just my 2 Cents way

Thanks

G

Mr Fearmusic, your "advice" keep amusing me. Being able to normalize lots of regions at once is a very sought after feature in Logic, the way it works now is very Logic 4. But keep your "advice" coming, they are amusing.

Hi

I don't want to step on any toes and the original question is a little hard to answer as the original poster doesn't say why he wants to do it.

There's lot's of batch processing tools that will allow you to normalise whole folders full of files. I like the software these guys do http://www.monkey-tools.com/ but there's plenty of options.

But there are a number of good reasons to avoid normalising. These being, intersample peaks, plug-ins clipping internally, maintaining logical gainstaging and fader resolution.

Personally I think it's a shame that normalising gets represented as a panacea on some web forums, it isn't a particularly useful tool in most mixing or recording scenarios.

As with all tools it's perfectly safe if you know what you're doing but I tend to agree with the earlier comment that destructive processing should be undertaken with clarity of forethought and all appropriate caution.

Is it a shame Logic doesn't batch process ? Maybe but there's lots of good tools to do those jobs.

Just my two cents

James

I love to be fun 🙂

I think positively.... and
I'm not here to ban the use of Normalize at all ....
but I do believe that Using NORMALIZE in 100, 200, 300, Audio files SIMULTANEOUSLY, without even listening the sound of the various tracks, it is not advisable.

It is only a massive action without any sense! (I.E.: if in a file there is a Click transient at 0 dB?)
When I start to edit some audio file I want hear the original recording before doing something.... (I need, I want to respect the original sound)
this is my opinion... because I know what is the resulting sound that i need!

But you are free to use massive Normalize editing... (but please .. don't send to me this kind of files)

I hope to be fun again

G

I love to be fun as well. I don't think this is gonna be it, though... if you have several tracks with various sound levels, normalizing them all can really put them out of relation with each other. Then you'll have to go through the process of getting them back into the relative spot in the mix you want, and you may as well have just found some way of bringing them up in the first place.

Neither way is necessarily wrong, you just have to know what you are wanting to do and how to do it.

I think there is no reason to normalize so many tracks if you are in mixing phase, because you can use faders.

So this files are i.e.: ring phone or something else for final use...

In any case I personally prefer to use Limiter for finalize the audio files without Normalize (to avoid wrong DC offset)!

G

Personally, I haven't had problems with normalizing, but I'm guessing that's due to the fact that I know when to use them. I do agree with the majority that it's probably not a good idea to normalize a batch of files, no matter how convenient it might be.

That said, however, batch processing can be done in your Logic Studio suite, though not with Logic Pro itself. Soundtrack Pro is the answer. It's AppleScript-able. In fact, there's a tutorial here:

http://www.rippletraining.com/batchprocessing_audio_in_soundtrackpro.html

-droo

Andrew Tokuda wrote:
.... no matter how convenient it might be.

On my experience the convenience is the point!

The question is: what you think to obtain with normalize?

1) The SN Ratio will remain untouched.. for sure!
2) if the file comes with Dithering processing...: you got adding noise FOE SURE (WRONG)
3) DC offset rise up for sure!

MAYBE ...the only advantage by using Normalize is:
When you bounce in Logic a Mix that exceed 0dB... you will get a good mix without clipping!
(but I'm not so sure about that)

NOTE: please don't send Normalized files to mastering studios
please... don't send to me Normalized Audio files! 😉

Cheers

G

I will try to clarify what I meant- and maybe what my Italian friend means- there is no reason to necessarily normalize most things. Take a mix of a rock and roll band, one with a lot of mics and even better a good deal of dynamics. The soft parts, after normalizing, will be much more prominent in the mix than you would want them to be, you will have added noise from normalizing, and all to accomplish little, as you will be having to pull it down in the mix anyway.

That is, if you had a very soft brushed cymbal, it would all of a sudden be as loud as the bass guitar (if it was on it's own track) and you would just be pulling it back down. And you would have added noise from normalizing.

If it was a stereo miced symphony, then you would want to normalize that probably, because you won't be doing as much mixing in this sort of situation... you dig?

For a bigger mix, normalize after you have everything mixed on the bounce portion... unless, as Giovanni tells us, you are sending it to be professionally mastered, in which case they need the headroom, so give them plenty by among other things not normalizing.

If it is your mix, keep it low, plenty of headroom (and less noise), and normalize on the way out. The professors in my audio program bad mouth it even then. Hope this was helpful...

fermusic wrote:

Andrew Tokuda wrote:
.... no matter how convenient it might be.

On my experience the convenience is the point!

Huh?

The question is: what you think to obtain with normalize?

No, the question was:

minus1 wrote:

Is there any way to normalize, or increase gain, or basically to apply any of the Sample Edit functions to multiple files at once?

You continue:

fermusic wrote:

1) The SN Ratio will remain untouched.. for sure!
2) if the file comes with Dithering processing...: you got adding noise FOE SURE (WRONG)
3) DC offset rise up for sure!

MAYBE ...the only advantage by using Normalize is:
When you bounce in Logic a Mix that exceed 0dB... you will get a good mix without clipping!
(but I'm not so sure about that)

NOTE: please don't send Normalized files to mastering studios
please... don't send to me Normalized Audio files!

What does this whole thing have to do with the convenience of batch processing?

I say this--verbatim:

Andrew Tokuda wrote:

I do agree with the majority that it's probably not a good idea to normalize a batch of files, no matter how convenient it might be."

To break that down (even though I think the statement is clear enough):

+*While it would be convenient to simply toss a bunch of files in a batch to be automatically normalized, it's not a good idea to do so.*+

That statement is not much different from yours, which was:

doing decstructive editing massively, is not a good idea... you could not get any advantage... but only disadvantage

The original question of this thread was whether it's possible to "apply normalization, increased gain or other sample edit functions on multiple files at once."

...and my answer in a nutshell was:

*1. yes, it's possible...*
*2. ...though it's not a good idea...*
*3. ...but if you want to know how, here's a link*

Clear?

-droo

minus1 wrote:
Ahh, that's what I wanted to know...if batch processing was possible. Okay, it's not.

But it is possible. Just not in Logic. I provided a link to do batch processing in Soundtrack Pro which is part of the Logic Studio suite.

http://www.rippletraining.com/batchprocessing_audio_in_soundtrackpro.html

While Logic itself doesn't do everything, the apps that come with it, such as Soundtrack Pro, WaveBurner and Compressor, extends the feature list in a way that doesn't force Logic into becoming bloatware.

-droo

Well, I'm clocking out on this one, I can agree that it is getting into opinion which was not what the post was about. I was losing track of that myself. I will say, thanks for the Apple Script link, I didn't know that, and it's going to be handy sooner or later. Muchas gracias, L