Questions for making a mix CD

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If you've got one track whose volume levels are much lower than all the other tracks, do you:

A. Leave it as it is, and adjust the volume knob on your player once the song comes on;

B. Readjust the levels for all the rest of the tracks (or would that entail data loss?);

C. Remove the track from the mix?

― Leeeeeeee (Leee), Thursday, 4 August 2005 19:35 (twenty years ago)

If you use Nero or even Itunes I think, there are options that levels the volume of the tracks....

― Johann (johann), Thursday, 4 August 2005 19:37 (twenty years ago)

I do use Nero! Is it a feature in the burning ROM itself, or do you mean either the WAV Editor or that Soundtrax utility?

― Leeeeeeee (Leee), Thursday, 4 August 2005 19:40 (twenty years ago)

It's called "normalization". Check the menu options.

― Making a Mix CD, Thursday, 4 August 2005 19:44 (twenty years ago)

The "Soundcheck" setting on Itunes is pretty spotty. When making mixes I use Audacity, which is free & easily downloadable.

― Bong Boy (sgertz), Thursday, 4 August 2005 22:46 (twenty years ago)

Important: does "normalization" affect the sound quality of the tracks??

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 4 August 2005 22:50 (twenty years ago)

shouldn't think so

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Thursday, 4 August 2005 23:08 (twenty years ago)

If the normalisation works by peak volume then the quality will be the same. If the normalisation works by average volume then dynamics will be adversely affected, but maybe not to a level that is noticable.

Unfortunately the Nero help doesn't explain what method is used.

― Raw Patrick (Raw Patrick), Thursday, 4 August 2005 23:09 (twenty years ago)

i use a program called volume balancer, i had to pay for it but it can be used to match volume levels (*not* peak levels) very closely. no nasty volume surprises caused by 80s mastering vs 00s mastering for example.

― shine headlights on me (electricsound), Thursday, 4 August 2005 23:10 (twenty years ago)

If your using iTunes, I find the best way is to go into the options for each track and manually adjust the volume offset for that track. That way you can have some control over what sounds right to you.

― walter kranz (walterkranz), Friday, 5 August 2005 01:15 (twenty years ago)

http://mp3gain.sourceforge.net/
http://members.home.nl/w.speek/wavegain.htm

― eek, Friday, 5 August 2005 02:35 (twenty years ago)

I use Audacity (free for Mac) to tweak levels. I also use it to edit tracks so there's no blank space at the beginning or end...

― Douglas (Douglas), Friday, 5 August 2005 04:32 (twenty years ago)

http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0DIUENIJ21G5J0K0E3101PAICP

I've used Nero to normalize JAMC's "Just like honey," and I can't tell if it sounds distorted or not (I'm leaning towards not). Anyone care to listen to it?

― Leeeeeeee (Leee), Sunday, 7 August 2005 19:03 (twenty years ago)

three months pass...

iTunes's "sound check" option never ceases to astonish me with its total and utter fucking uselessness. it works fine within iTunes, or on an iPod, but for burning purposes it might as well not be there.

i've just wasted three blank CDs trying to balance the bloody levels on a mix CD by hand. a combination of iVolume (which is shonky, but at least - sometimes - provides a benchmark), the crappy equaliser graphic, and trial and error seems to be the only way i can ever get this stuff right. gaaah. mind you: perhaps i just worry about perfectionism too much.

audacity is no use: it can't handle .m4a files.

― grimly fiendish (grimlord), Tuesday, 6 December 2005 00:43 (twenty years ago)

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