HELP!-I NEED A LOUDER AIFF!

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Level 1

0 points

HELP!-I NEED A LOUDER AIFF!

are there any programs that boost the master volume of an AIFF file?

i've finished an album i've been working on in my bedroom with garageband and my blue snowball microphone. i've mastered it so none of the tracks "clip" and go into the red during the loud parts...when i export the songs to itunes it's significantly quieter than other recorded music.

i don't know how to make the AIFF file as loud as normal recorded music. here's what a tried though:

i cranked the master volume in the garageband file. almost the whole time it's "clipping" and in the red, but when i export that to itunes nothing sounds distorted or different at all to me. what is it suppoed to sound like when it's "clipping"?

i'm sending the full album to a CD duplication company to make 1000 copies...i'm wondering if the AIFF files that have been cranked up and sound great (even though it shows constant "clipping" in the garageband file) will sound distorted and low quality in the 1000 copied cds.

reply on here or write to me at froseph@crimethinc.com

macbook Mac OS X (10.4)

macbook Mac OS X (10.4)

Posted on Apr 17, 2007 6:18 PM

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Answer 1

HangTime

Level 9

53,853 points

Apr 17, 2007 6:38 PM in response to froseph

i've mastered it

What you've done is not Mastering. search the web for "Mixing and Mastering", it is a rather complex topic ( books are written on Mastering alone), but getting some background may help.

i don't know how to make the AIFF file as loud as
normal recorded music.

http://www.bulletsandbones.com/GB/GBFAQ.html#commercialcdquality

what is it suppoed to sound like when it's "clipping"?

I don't know if it's the best description, but I guess kind of crackling.

As a sidenote, I worked with a guitarist who, even when the horribly clipped sections were pointed out, could not hear the problem.

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Answer 2

Apr 17, 2007 6:34 PM in response to froseph

You might consider a program like Peak, or Sound Studio.
It's definitely true that there is a lot involved in professional Mastering, as HT pointed out.
However, if you read up on the subject (as he also suggested) and experiment with a program like one of the two mentioned, you will probably be able to noticeably improve your final product.

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Answer 3

Apr 18, 2007 9:19 PM in response to froseph

Bias Peak is a real great sound recorder/editor and one of the things you can do (basic to most sound editors) is to increase the amplitude/volume of a waveform (either whole track or "sections"). Remember this though...when you increase the volume of a waveform you also increase the amount of relative noise. Therefore I also recommend (and use) Bias Soundsoap. Peak LE is about $99 and SoundSoap about $79. I use both of them to digitize and cleanup my old cassettes. Soundsoap is VERY easy to use. You select a quiet area and hit the "Learn" button and the program then removes that noise from the track.

These two programs work great and give you a relatively inexpensive way to do sound editing/restoration. You can also save your cleaned up work as MP3 or AIFF files.

However, if you are strapped for cash you might try and find a program called "Audacity" which is a shareware Audio editor. Have no experience with it but you can poke around on the web to find it.

Good luck....

Mac Mini G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Mac Mini G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

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Answer 4

Apr 18, 2007 10:26 PM in response to SeattleMoose

Audacity is free and is found here:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

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Answer 5

Apr 19, 2007 12:18 AM in response to froseph

http://www.rogernicholsdigital.com/inspector.htm

Is a good tool to show clipping and spectral shape. iZotope Ozone is a good tool also for home based "mastering" - the presets are a good starting point.

If you are going to spend all that money on producing CD's it is worth spending a bit to ensure the sound is clean.

Clipping is bad for speakers, so I am sure if you intended audience cranks up your possibly clipped tracks, they might not love you.

Better to have a lower sound ( -1 to 3 db's ) and let people turn it up themselves.

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Answer 6

Zorbov

Level 4

1,678 points

Apr 19, 2007 3:34 PM in response to froseph

Hello ...

You could try a couple of the mastering settings in ChannelStrip for GarageBand too ...

http://www.mhlabs.com/metric_halo/products/channelstrip/CSGB/

Try out the demo ....

If you don't like the mastering settings .. I have found that it works great as a plug in on the individual instrument tracks ....

Cheers ...

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Answer 7

Zoomman

Level 1

89 points

Apr 20, 2007 3:44 AM in response to Windham Hillbilly

Another vote for Audacity.

Export the GB file to disk and open the resultant mp4a file in Audacity.

Then use EFFECT and NORMALIZE, this will boost the amplitude of the track.

If you're going to get the CD duplicated you need the best sound you can get and unless you're an expert sound engineer you just ain't gonna be able to do that at home. Although good mastering software such as Ozone will help you're better off getting someone who knows what they're doing to master it.

So, my own view is that once you've mixed the tracks to your satisfaction you create a CD of the wav files and take it to a local studio and pay someone to master it properly.

The problem of course is finding someone you trust.............

Good luck with the project.

Cheers

Dick

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