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Luis Hunn · Posted - Thu Mar 07, 2002 3:07 pm

hi all, i'm newbie in using cool edit pro and i like to know how to normalize --Same level of audio all the way-- a song example: i made a mix and record on cool edit but not all the songs have the same level of audio then i have to boost or atenuate the volume song by song there's some way
cool edit can do it and all the mix sound at the same level ????
Thanks and perdon my grammar but i'm actually talk spanish.

Graeme · Member Location: Spain

What you want to do is not normalising - that is something different altogether.

What you want to achieve is RMS Averaging - the net result of which is to make each song sound at approximately the same level for the whole of the CD.

There is no way to do this directly in CE - that is, you can't just push a button and have it happen. There is a method which works and this is it;

This manuscript lists the steps you have to go in Cool Edit Pro if you want to build a compilation of wavefiles.
The volumes of the wavefiles will be tuned in an average manner to give the listener a harmonic and easy listening feeling overall the compiled wavefiles.

Before you begin, make sure that you have your wavefiles ready mixed in final version
(16-bit or 32-bit, just a format, which can be invoked into Multitrack Mixer View).
These files will not be altered by the procedure.

1.
Begin in Multitrack Mixer View.
If you are in Single Waveform View then switch to Multitrack Mixer View (F12).

2.
Open menu "Edit/Snapping".
Select "Snap to Waves" only.

3.
Open menu "File/Open Waveform" (Ctrl-O).
Dialog "Open a Waveform" comes up.
Select all the wavefiles which you want to compile.
Click or push the button "Open" to open them all.

4.
Open menu "Insert/Waveforms List..." (F9).
Place the dialog window anywhere at the right edge of the screen.
Select the first filename with a left click.
Hold down the left mouse button and drag the filename out of the dialog window.
Place this first wave snippet to the very beginning of track 1.

5.
Select the second filename with a left click.
Drag the second filename resp. wave snippet to track 2 near the end of the first wave snippet.
Left adjust the start position of the second wave snippet with right click dragging to the end position of the first wave snippet.
There comes up a helping snapline to do the exact aligning automagically for you.

6.
Repeat step 5 until you have dragged all of your titles into isolated tracks.
If the view is getting to small then click the button "Zoom Out Full".
At end of your drag work the Multitrack Mixer View will show you a nice staircase down from the upper left to the lower right edge of the multitrack mixer view.
Save this session file. As it is the first saving, give it a wonderful name.

7.
Click double on the first wave snippet in track 1 or right click on it and select "Edit Waveform" from the contextmenu.
Single Waveform View will come up, displaying the first wavefile in entire view.

Open menu "Analyze/Statistics...".
Waveform Statistics starts immediately.
Make sure that there is value=0 in editfield "Window Width".
If there is yet another value, then cancel the gathering process.
Go to editfield "Window Width" and fill in value 0.
Restart the gathering process with the button "Recalculate RMS".

If gathering process has stopped, take a look at the line "Average RMS Power".
There will be displayed the values for left and right channel in units minus dB.

Right click with your mouse into the field onto the digits with the _lower_ db value
(that is the greater absolute value) (value=max(abs(left),abs(right))
From the contextmenu select "Copy".

Close the dialog "Waveform Statistics".
Switch to Multitrack Mixer View.

Right click into the little Volume editfield at the left side of the track 1.
The dialog "Volumefader" opens, editfield "dB" will be highlighted.

Right click into the editfield "dB".
From the contextmenu select "Paste".
Delete the minus sign (that's important).

Press "OK" to close the volume fader.

8.
Repeat step 7 until you have gathered all the minimum Average RMS Power values and copied them into the allocated tracks's volume control editfields.
All values must be positiv (greater or equal zero).

9.
Find out, which value is the greatest.
(value=max(trackvol1, trackvol2, ..., trackvoln))

Right click into the editfield with the greatest value.
(that should be a volume fader editfield)
From contextmenu select "Copy".

Right click into the "Master" editfield.
The dialog "Main Volume Fader" opens, editfield "dB" will be highlighted.

Right click into the editfield "dB".
From the contextmenu select "Paste".
Put a minus sign in front of the value (that's important).
Save this session file.

10.
Now you have to set some cue points.
The first cue point must set to the hard left
(click on the button "Go To Beginning or Previous Cue"),
press F8 or use the right click contextmenu.

The next cue point must set at the end of the first snippet
(click near the end, exact snapping will be done automagically), press F8.
Repeat this setting of cue points until you have set all needed cue points (e.g. 9 cuepoints for 8 snippets)
Save this session file.

11.
Make sure that in "Options/Settings" (F4),
on tab "Multitrack",
in editfield "Mixdowns" the entry "16-bit" is selected (CD-quality).

Make sure that in Single Waform View,
menu "Edit/Convert Sample Type" (F11),
the appropriate values are set
(stereo, 16-bit, maybe dithering enabled)
(that's important because Mixdown will "auto-dither" to 16-bit,
using the selections from the dialog "Convert Sample Type")

12.
Back in Multitrack Mixer View.
Open menu "Edit/Mixdown/All Waves".
(now you have some time to wait, depending on your hardware power,
don't smoke, better drink a cup of tea ...)

13.
When Mixdown is done, the compiled wave is displayed in Single Waveform View.
You can easily see the averaged tuned shapes of the wave snippets.

Open menu "View/Cue List".
Highlight all the cue point entries and "Merge" them.
If button "Batch" is greyed then highlight the displayed cue ranges again.
Use button "Batch".
Save the wavefiles as Windows PCM *.wav file using a numbered template into any folder.

The compiled wavefiles are now ready to burn.

14. Close window "Cue List"
Discard the MixDown file.
Save the session file for later use.
Close the session.

15. End of RMS Averagesizing.
Burn!

Alternatively, you can get a separate program which will do the job for you with a lot less hassle (but, in my opinion, a lower quality result, since it will compress files to achieve its end). The program is called Volume Balancer and a net search should turn up a website for you.

Personally, I find it just as quick to and no less effective to do it by ear, so the choice is yours.