boosting audio levels.

[OmniShadow]

ok, not sure how much help I can get with this due to what Im actually doing.
Im modding game music. replacing the tracks etc. so far I have done 22 tracks, but 6, no matter what i do, stay extremely soft.
the format has to be 16 bit WAV files for the conversion to the game's sound format. I have tried using audacity to boost the sound, even once to the point of sound distortion, and that didn't do much to the volume. I have also tried taking a fresh rip of the music Im using and going into sony vegas and normalizing the audio. and saving, but the sound is still low once the game starts. what's really odd is that I have done the other tracks the same way and they seem to work fine. is there a way to boost the audio level higher than 0.0db and it not have distortion/clipping? or is that just impossible.

[davexnet]

Without looking at it in an audio editor, it's tough to give any advice. However, quite often you have a momentary high peak
while the rest of the file is at a low level. Normalizing to 0db peak does little to increase volume.

Perhaps you could post one of the files showing the problem?

[OmniShadow]

this is the original file that I am converting to wav, keeping it as close to the original as possible. then using the tool that converts the wav to the file that can be read by the game. as I said multiple other files are fine, even from the same CD rip as this file.


so far at about a 9 or 12 db increase with audacity, it is at about the right level, but is very distorted after the opening seconds.

[davexnet]

This file is already loud - peak at 0db, RMS at -13.8.

Are you trying to make it loader?

[OmniShadow]

initially no, I wasn't. but when using the original file, the one posted, it could hardly be heard with the game.I tried boosting it, so that when played by the game, it would be of normal level. I don't know if something is going wrong during the conversion process or what.this file
is another that I converted with the same tool, and it has perfect levels when played by the game and PC.

[davexnet]

The new file has a peak at -5.7, and RMS average at -14.3 - not what I expected to see.
How can this file sound louder than the earlier file?

The other file has a bigger dynamic range and can certainly be compressed and normalized.
This must be the reason for the perceived lack of volume.

[OmniShadow]

wow, like you, I wasn't expecting that... maybe the game has some sort of sound level, and if it is perceived lower or above that specified level it attempts to alter it? did you alter the 7-kakuzu file?

[lacywest]

this is the original file that I am converting to wav, keeping it as close to the original as possible. then using the tool that converts the wav to the file that can be read by the game. as I said multiple other files are fine, even from the same CD rip as this file.


so far at about a 9 or 12 db increase with audacity, it is at about the right level, but is very distorted after the opening seconds.

I opened up your mp3 file in Cool Edit Pro 1.2a ... actually it looks very decent ... nice dynamic range ... I'd for my purposes would probably use CEP 1.2a to keep the peaks within the main window and not be poking into the forbidden zone

I have created my own settings for reducing peaks that are clipping outside the window

[lacywest]

You might want to try using Audition 3 ... to normalize your audio files ... check out this link ... https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/294272-How-to-use-Group-Waveform-Normalize-in-Adobe-Audition-3

I tried it and it does work

[OmniShadow]

You might want to try using Audition 3 ... to normalize your audio files ... check out this link ... https://forum.videohelp.com/threads/294272-How-to-use-Group-Waveform-Normalize-in-Adobe-Audition-3

I tried it and it does work

thanks, I'll try it. though, even with the audio files sounding fine, and loud on the PC, the game Im modding them into, they seem to just be a whisper of what they really are. the file with this post, it is an edited version, with a whole mess of clipping and distortion, but in game it's almost at a normal level, while keeping the distortion. it is still low compared to the other audio files I used and the originals from the game.

the bgm_akatsuki.... is the 7 - kakuzu file edited.
the bgm_kyuubi.... is an original file from the game converted to wav. being originally from the game, it sounds just fine. I have even put it through converting back to the game file the same way I do the 7 -.. file, and it still sounds fine. so Im sure the converson tool isn't the problem considering 16 other files I added are just fine.

[AlanHK]

I haven't downloaded the samples, but you might use dynamic range compression. This boosts the low volume without distorting the parts that are already loud. Audacity has an effect to do that.

[OmniShadow]

I haven't downloaded the samples, but you might use dynamic range compression. This boosts the low volume without distorting the parts that are already loud. Audacity has an effect to do that.

ok, thanks for the tip. I'll find out how to do it, and see if it helps =)

[jagabo]

Use a high pass filter to reduce the bass if you really need to pump the volume up like that. Using a dynamic range compressor is an ugly solution.

If your game is playing those files with vastly different audio levels there's something wrong with the game's audio engine. Fix that before screwing up all your audio files.

[OmniShadow]

Use a high pass filter to reduce the bass if you really need to pump the volume up like that. Using a dynamic range compressor is an ugly solution.

If your game is playing those files with vastly different audio levels there's something wrong with the game's audio engine. Fix that before screwing up all your audio files.

yea, i was messing with the high pass filter in audacity, still looking for a decent setting. also, if I could fix the games audio engine, I would. this has been a bit frustrating. and I make backups of the audio files before doing any changes to them, that way if something doesn't work right, I can always go back to square 1. Im still trying to find what differences the game and the music Im swapping in have different.

would you think comparing the peak's and RMS of each audio file and making it match the original's help?

[OmniShadow]

I finally got the sound boosted without any noticeable distortion (at least to me) here is what I changed. i really have NO clue to what I really did, but randomness usually works for me, and it did.

with this is the kakuzu file from my earlier post, with these settings below.

40HZ -.5db
50HZ -14.5
80HZ .6
100 17.1
630 6.7
800 .2
1k -5.2
4k 3.1
10k 6.1
20k 19.8


high pass filter

rolloff 6db
cutoff frequency 161


hard limiter

db limit -0.15

wet level 0.64

residue lever 0.5

then amplify to desired level.

[Cornucopia]

What a mess! Those eq settings are all over the map (and look like a rollercoaster), and probably have no bearing with the soundfile(s).


Fix your car instead of putting exotic additives in your gas.

Scott

[jagabo]

What a distorted mess.

[OmniShadow]

yea, I figured I'd get a lot of those comments lol. I don't know what I'm doing at all, just randomness like I said. it did however allow me to increase the audio level significantly without it sounding too different from the original file. I was really wanting to know if anything I did actually made a GOOD difference, what part I could have left out and it have the same result of me being able to make it louder. IK louder isn't always better, but for it to work with the game I'm modding, it has to be louder.