There is a lot of ways to increase volume in audio recording, take note the following before you increase volume :
a. Maximizing volume is important to make the music as loud as it can be without distortion.
b. Loudness is a subject in mastering although anyone would have the necessary tools to make the music as loud as possible.
The Importance of Headroom in the quest for “Loudness”
OK. You need to make it loud? Remember that in music production, it is not all about loudness but keeping the music dynamics as balanced as possible is an important objective.
As a rule, it is best to have the maximum amplitude of around -6 dB to -3dB during your mix down. This means that after mixing, there should be no peak louder than -3dB. The basic reason is to give some headroom during the mastering process.
If you are a serious music production professional (either as an engineer in recording, mixing and audio mastering); it is recommended you read the following tutorials regarding the importance of headroom:
a.) Introductory guide on appropriate gain staging -implement the proper recording levels during the tracking session.
b.) Assigning the right headroom for your mix – this will prepare your mix for mastering.
Quickest Tip to Maximize the Volume
This is for non-music production professionals and beginner in audio editing. OK supposing you are having some MP3 and WAV files which you find very soft (lacking in loudness). Below are the quickest steps you can implement loudness without ruining the original audio:
Step1.) Download audio recording software. For example you might to use Audacity which is a free recording software. Or if you are technical savvy you might want to install Reaper.
You can read this tutorial on installing Reaper in Windows. You need to install that first to your computer.
Step2.) Altering the volume of an existing audio file (whether it is an mp3 or a wav file) is a dest¬ructive form of editing. You need to make sure that you have done a backup of these audio files before editing.
Step3.) You can check this procedure on how to normalize audio using Audacity software.
Or if you are using Reaper, you refer to this quick tip on normalizing audio using REAPER.
Step4.)When maximizing volume (through amplification/normalization), allow some small headroom such as -0.2dB and not 0dB (maximum possible digital audio volume).
Maximizing audio in mastering (Limiting vs. Normalization)
The mastering process involves the following important processes :
a. Track Trimming and Noise Reduction
b. Equalization
c. Limiting
14 Responses
You can use Voxengo R8brain for both dithering and sample rate conversion. I have tested it previously in Linux and it works. In their download page here: http://www.voxengo.com/product/r8brain/
You can add it as VST for Mac and it should work. Regarding headroom you can read the following tutorials:
https://www.audiorecording.me/proper-gain-staging-maximizing-clarity-minimizing-noise-or-distortion.html
https://www.audiorecording.me/correct-audio-mixing-levels-and-headroom-in-preparation-for-mastering.html
Hi Emerson,
Congratulations for these best articles! I have a question about the conversion of the sample rate and dithering. You suggest in some place in the text to use a Voxengo r8 dither converter for better quality and more headroom, but it can be downloaded only for Windows. So, what the situation with MAC DAW – for example if I use a Presonus Studio One (or other software) do I need to make the dithering not within my software for more quality conversion?
Regards
Boris Ivanov
Mexico
What is the unit? Is that in dB? Probably you either set the limiting maximum to below 0dB or you are not recording in 24 bits that results to lower dynamic range.
You have two options here:
a.) Apply stereo widening during mastering. Do that before EQ, Compression and Limiting. I would write some tutorials on stereo widening in the future but I believe Waves has some stereo widening plugin, you can read first their manual.
b.) Make your mix sound wide, this is not in mastering but during the mixing process. This is done by careful panning, application of reverb, etc. This would make the mix sound wide which also translates to mastering.
Anytime I analyze other commercial tracks in wave lab, the maximum and minimum value is always 0 and -144, but my own is not like that, what is the problem?
I really love this post, I master my tracks with wave plugins.. My tracks sound loud compare to commercial track, but not as wider as commercial one…what can I do?
In response to the article’s last picture, Waves L2 is not a compressor, nor does it use compression at all. It is a Brickwall Limiter. Brickwall limiters take any peaks past the threshold, in this case -8db, adjust them back down to the threshold, and then raise the overall audio up to the given output ceiling. The imagery you can use would be that of someone controlling the master volume knob on your mix. If it gets too loud, he turns it down and then back up once it is quiet again.
Mastering usually uses a variety of compressors and limiters to achieve an overall competitive volume. The compression is usually done with hardware compressors and then a final limiting is done with a software brickwall limiter. Hardware limiters are slowly fading out of use because, simply put, they are not as effective as software limiters. With hardware limiters, the hardware cannot perceive a sound level above threshold until it has actually happened. This is a weakness because it cannot react as quickly or as effectively. With software limiters, you can have a lookahead feature that knows when the higher levels are coming up. Waves L2 is an incredibly popular plugin, and it is used in many high end mastering studios for this purpose. As you can imagine, the transitions between analog and digital requires some pretty important conversions, so top of the line A/D converters are used also.
Along with equalizers, reverb, and a few other tricks, mastering is a necessity for taking any recorded music and putting into a happy consumer’s hand.
Hi Kareem,
“how can I make sure that others will feel the same loudness on their speakers (mp3 players, car audio systems, …etc) that I produce in my home studio?”
Answer:
The numerical way to measure the average sound pressure level of the audio. This is in dB and most recording has this feature. So for example, if you measure the audio and it provides -13dB average SPL then it should sound the same with other monitoring systems except if the wave has been substantially altered or some effects are introduced.
“Does using Wavelab (as an example) for measuring audio characteristics give a good indicator that I can refer to ?”
Yes, any reputable software provides good indicator for measuring audio. Its all up to your ear.
I have a question please, how can I make sure that others will feel the same loudness on their speakers (mp3 players, car audio systems, …etc) that I produce in my home studio? Does using Wavelab (as an example) for measuring audio characteristics give a good indicator that I can refer to ? If not, is there any useful tool that I can use to assure a stable (or equal) loudness among different types of speakers? Knowing that I use Shure headphones for critical listening. Thank you..
I’ve got a lot of hardwares, compressors, big bottom aural exciter, vitalizer jack and big mixing boards. Do i master with this or am i better with softwares? However, thanx for your tips.
If you start with hardware gears, better master it first as the principles of those are mostly the basis of those used in the softwares. In fact, those in softwares are said to “emulate” the features found in the hardware.
very helpful, thanks for this.
Absolutely! Those long rectangle are distorted wave and will sound horrible at louder volumes (by turning up the volume of a monitor or audio player). Thanks for comment Jim.
I agree with you… but the fact of the matter is that compressed audio looks more like a long rectangle with a few dents in it 😉