Music Volume / Levels

M

MScrip

Gawd
Joined
Feb 8, 2004
Messages
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I cut music for a few dance studios... and I make CDs for them to take to dance competitions. My question is about volume and levels.

Mostly I just take a song and cut it shorter and don't mess with its volume. But even if I edit together multiple songs... I still make sure all the volumes match... and that the final song is near 0dB according to the audio meter on my software.

The dance competitions don't adjust the volume of their sound system between dances... they just play the CDs.

But there's one studio director who says all my music plays quieter than every other studio's music at a competition.

So... is every other studio setting the levels on their CDs too high? Like... higher than 0dB?

Let's say I was using the following song. The song pretty much peaks at 0dB according to my software's audio meter. And I wouldn't mess with it.

ZuGduEx.png


For years I've been saying:

1. My levels are set correctly
2. Playback volume depends on the volume of the sound system at the competition

But she keeps saying "everybody's music is louder than ours"

I'm guessing all the other dance studios have no concept of audio levels... so their music levels are set way too high. And the first song of the day sets the volume of the sound system at the competition.

Then one of my songs comes along... and it's quieter than all the rest.

Any advice? Should I just boost all my music by a few dBs in an attempt to match everyone else?
 
ClutchAutomatic said:
It could be due to the bit rate quality of your songs as well. 128kb vs 320kb is like 360p vs 1080p
Click to expand...

I try to use the best quality source as possible. Music used to come from store-bought CDs... but now everybody gets music from iTunes. It's pretty much an even playing field in that regard.

I was always told to look at the audio level meter in my software and keep it as close to 0dB as possible... without going over.

Isn't that the rule?

Obviously other people don't share the same ideals :(

Most music I deal with peaks at 0dB. It just seems wrong to boost the level artificially. I might have to though... gotta keep the client happy...

My problem is... it's not scientific. I'll never know how loud the other studios' music is... or how loud the competition's sound system is. I'm pretty much shooting in the dark.

I just ran some tests... and I can bump the final output to +3dB without it sounding too bad. With headphones I can start to hear some slight distortion... but it's manageable. Anything higher than +3dB and it falls apart.

I also need to remember that what I'm hearing at home will sound different than what is playing on a PA system in a giant auditorium.
 
Ask someone else that makes competition cds what settings they use? Maybe it's your software.
 
HeavensCloud said:
Ask someone else that makes competition cds what settings they use? Maybe it's your software.
Click to expand...

Hmmmm... but what could it possibly be?

The source music is at 0dB. My output is exactly the same... at 0dB. The software doesn't change anything in that regard. (I'd hope it wouldn't!)

My only option is to boost the output artificially. It would certainly make it louder... but the penalty is distortion.


Look at the example below. The top is the original song. Notice how it peaks at the top where it should... at 0dB.

Now look at the bottom when boosted +3dB. The result is louder... but look at how it gets chopped off. That's distortion.

Like I said... it probably won't sound that bad on a loud PA system. But it still bothers me.

Gdjs0Eg.png
 
Why not try another program just for S&G and see if you get the same results using the same files.
 
HeavensCloud said:
Why not try another program just for S&G and see if you get the same results using the same files.
Click to expand...

Good idea. I am an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber... so I can install Adobe Audition and give it a try. Not tonight though :)

The thing is... if a digital song is already at 0dB... it can't go any higher. That's the top. It shouldn't make a difference which software I use... the file is already at its maximum volume.

From my research tonight... I've learned about software limiters and compressors. The problem is... I want something easy.

I output dozens of songs at a time for these dance studios... so I don't want to spend too much time mastering an already mastered song.

These songs have already been touched by their producers... I'm just cutting them shorter for dance. (plus I have to make CDs at different speeds too. CD players play differently depending on where you are. But that's a whole other problem...)

And now she also wants her music "louder"

Hell... if every other dance studio's music is loud and sounds like crap... I'll do it too. :D
 
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