Mr. Banshee

i have several samples & synths running all that have different boosts in volumes. Should i use a compressor of some sort to even out the frequencies? Since i am not really sure what it is called that i am looking for (perhaps some would call it a pipe dream), i am having troubles explaining it. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

i have several samples & synths running all that have different boosts in volumes. Should i use a compressor of some sort to even out the frequencies?  Since i am not really sure what it is called that i am looking for (perhaps some would call it a pipe dream), i am having troubles explaining it.  Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks!
-chuck 

simple-but-complex-for-halloween

Are your sound sources generally around the same volume most of the time, except for some short sections where every once in awhile one source might get a lot louder? If so, then a compressor/limiter would likely be the right tool to use.

Or, is each individual sound source generally a consistent volume, but the volume of each sound source relative to the other sources is not the same (or is unpredictable)? If this is the case, then you'd want to implement something more like an "auto-gain" type of thing that would take a look at the average volume of each source over a long period of time (1+ seconds) and then make adjustments to "normalize" the volume of each sound source to the desired level.

Remember that a compressor will mess with the dynamic range of your audio because it will only reduce the volume of audio events that are louder than a particular threshold. Sounds that are lower than that threshold will not be attenuated. An auto-gain approach will not mess with the dynamic range of the audio because it will change the volume of the entire signal, loud parts and soft parts alike.

Are your sound sources generally around the same volume most of the time, except for some short sections where every once in awhile one source might get a lot louder?  If so, then a compressor/limiter would likely be the right tool to use.

Or, is each individual sound source generally a consistent volume, but the volume of each sound source relative to the other sources is not the same (or is unpredictable)?  If this is the case, then you'd want to implement something more like an "auto-gain" type of thing that would take a look at the average volume of each source over a long period of time (1+ seconds) and then make adjustments to "normalize" the volume of each sound source to the desired level.

Remember that a compressor will mess with the dynamic range of your audio because it will only reduce the volume of audio events that are louder than a particular threshold.  Sounds that are lower than that threshold will not be attenuated.  An auto-gain approach will not mess with the dynamic range of the audio because it will change the volume of the entire signal, loud parts and soft parts alike.


The auto-gain type of patch seems to be what i am looking for. i don't know of any such patches in the help files, if you could point me to it, i would appreciate it. Thanks for the help!

Sent: Saturday, November 1, 2008 7:42:23 AM

Subject: [maxmsp] Re: simple but complex (for halloween)

Scott,
The auto-gain type of patch seems to be what i am looking for.   i don't know of any such patches in the help files, if you could point me to it, i would appreciate it.   Thanks for the help!
-chuck 

________________________________
From: Scott 
Sent: Saturday, November 1, 2008 7:42:23 AM
Subject: [maxmsp] Re: simple but complex (for halloween)