Will Auto Normalize over-ride any adjustments to the Master Volume?

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Level 1

8 points

Will Auto Normalize over-ride any adjustments to the Master Volume?

I am confused about the interaction between the Master Volume and the Auto Normalizing feature when exporting to iTunes. I use a digital recorder (Zoom H4n) to record a concert band (50-pieces, woodwinds & brass), then drag the wav file into GarageBand. I do some minor editing - mainly trimming the beginning and ending, then export to iTunes. My GB project contains only one track. The exported projects seem too quiet. This Apple doc
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=GarageBand/5.0/en/6560.html
says to try one or more of the following:

Turn on Auto Normalize (I do that)
Drag the Master Volume slider to the right
Add doubling tracks
Add compression

If I Auto Normalize, will that over-ride any adjustments to the Master Volume?

What is the best solution?

24-inch iMac 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Oct 28, 2009 9:05 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Christoph Drösser

Level 6

11,324 points

Nov 17, 2010 3:48 PM in response to runningcrow

The auto-normalization is a final step in the mixdown, it lowers or raises the volume proportionally so the maximum has a certain value. I don't know the dB value that GB normalizes to, but most people find it not loud enough. So turn the auto-normalization off and adjust the volume with the master volume so it is maximal without clipping. That should give you a good result. Adding compression will boost the softer passages in relation to the louder ones, but it's a matter of taste whether you want that for your style of music or not.

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Answer 2

poflynn

Level 4

1,303 points

Nov 17, 2010 3:48 PM in response to runningcrow

Agreed, leave Auto-Normalize off. Then your export should sound the same in iTunes as it does in GB. Experiment with compression and see what sounds good to you.

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