XPost: rec.audio.pro, comp.dsp   
   From: mrivers@d-and-d.com   
      
   On 11/21/2010 2:01 AM, glen herrmannsfeldt wrote:   
      
   >>> I sometimes record live high-school orchestra concerts.   
   >>> Because it is hard to know the level, I record 24 bit, then   
   >>> find the peak and RMS of each track.  Then I figure out how many   
   >>> bits to scale each track by so that peaks stay below FS, and   
   >>> they should sound about right together.   
      
   > Well, the idea is that they should sound about the same level,   
   > such that one shouldn't want to run up and change the volume   
   > control for each track.   
      
   Oh, you mean mixing in the sense of "mix tape" rather than   
   mixing a multitrack recording down to stereo. Well, of   
   course the listener shouldn't have to run up and change the   
   volume control, but, too, he shouldn't be subject to a flat   
   program unless he isn't actually listening to it. Elevator   
   music is good for that. Concerts, and even interesting radio   
   programming don't work that way, however.   
      
   If there's risk of hearing or speaker damage when switching   
   between songs in a program, sure, that should be fixed, and   
   normalizing to equal peak level can work. But unless each   
   piece of the program has very little dynamic range (which   
   isn't all that unusual in pop music today) you'll still have   
   differences in perceived loudness.   
      
    > I don't think I could do that very   
   > well just listening to them, trying to memorize the average   
   > level over a 15 minute track.   
      
   That's not the way you do it. You consider how annoyed you   
   are when going from song to song. This is the money crop for   
   mastering engineers.   
      
      
      
      
   --   
   "Today's production equipment is IT based and cannot be   
   operated without a passing knowledge of computing, although   
   it seems that it can be operated without a passing knowledge   
   of audio." - John Watkinson   
      
   http://mikeriversaudio.wordpress.com - useful and   
   interesting audio stuff   
      
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