How do you play Backing Tracks

[GAJ52]

Hi All

This may sound a strange subject but I have a few problems playing UB Hank backing tracks. I have copied them to my computer hard drive in high quality MP3 format and play them via Windows Media Player or a Sony program called Sonicstage (similar to WMP) through monitor speakers. The trouble is if I play UB Hank1 the backings are at a certain volume but if I play a track from UB Hank 4, Diamonds for example, the backing is a lot louder and I have to either turn it down or increase the volume of my guitar rig. This is not a great problem I admit but it got me wondering how other people play their backing tracks.

Can anyone suggest any software that I could copy these files to, so they play in a 'playlist' (of the tunes I know) and also pre-adjust the volume so they all play at the same level.

Glen

[tom1951]

Hi Glen
Here,s a prog that may help you Go to Download,s and you will
see one for your O/S Hope this help,s....... Rgd,s Tom

mp3gain.sourceforge.net/index.php

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Glen,
I think with most copying methods from CD or wav to mp3 there is a way of setting the normalisation level for each track, say to 80%, 95% or 100%, or whatever settings would make the tracks similar levels. You should probably convert one track at a time until you are happy with all the balances.
Regards,
Charlie

[olemuso]

I rip tracks from CD using Sound Forge.
I ALWAYS rip to .WAV as I don`t like to compromise quality - I use mp3 only for uploading to the web to save space.
When I`ve ripped the track I use the "Normalise" function set at 98% of peak. That gives me a good starting point in as much as I know that no part of any track will exceed 98% of maximum level.
Be aware that doing this can still make some tracks "sound" louder than others as this can depend on a lot of variables - how many instruments, the amount and type of compression..etc.
Hope you get to grips with it

[tonybiker]

Glen.

May seem like a strange subject but it ain't. If you gig then it is far from strange, more like a right pain. The problem is, the louder you play the worse it becomes. The only issue with more 'fuller' tracks is when you use normalisation, it will over compress it so you can end up with another problem.

I use mini disc's on gigs, and I use 'Acoustica' which allows you to list all your tracks you have ripped, and play/listen and adjust each volume of each track before burning it off. So I sit there for hours until they are all something like level and then burn and listen again. But you will get the odd one thats either too loud or too low, so remember it and go back and do it again. It really is hard to get them all level, and when in a live situation I still have the odd one that needs more guitar so I use a booster pedal to compensate.

If you find a proven 100% way of getting them level each time let me know!

[tonybiker]

Following on from my post I have had a look at Sourceforge. Is it possible to take a full set on backing tracks and burn them to CD and then use that to record to my mini disc player. In other words, the conversion is done on the mp3, will remain that way while burn to CD?

[graeme]

Aug 19, 2009 12:37:30 GMT Charlie Hall said:

Hi Glen,
I think with most copying methods from CD or wav to mp3 there is a way of setting the normalisation level for each track, say to 80%, 95% or 100%, or whatever settings would make the tracks similar levels.

For once, we are working in an area that I really do know something about .

Because of the way the ear hears things and the manner in which the brain interprets the information the ear is supplying, simply 'normalising' all the tracks to the same level is not going to do anything for you. All normalising does is to set the maximum peak level of the loudest part of the track. This does not really set the 'loudness' of a track - particularly one that has anything like a dynamic range.

If you imagine a track where there is one very loud snare drum beat and the rest is a quiet acoustic guitar, you can understand that normalising is going to give you a nice loud snare drum and pretty much nothing for the rest of the track. I know that's an extreme case, but I'm trying to get the idea across here.

The ear determines the loudness of the track from its average (RMS) level. What you have to do is to ensure the average level of each track is much the same. Then, you won't have the problem of having to turn individual backing tracks up and down (I'm leaving aside the fact that you might actually want some tracks quieter, that's another question altogether).

For those of us involved with this sort of thing, there is a plethora of tools available to automate the job (although some would say it's still best to do it by ear) but most of these are part and parcel of expensive audio packages that members here would neither need or want to pay for.

However, there is one solution (at least for .wav files) and you can find it here - www.delback.co.uk/volbal/ . You can try the demo, but you'll need to purchase the full version to make use of it. Believe me, it will be the best $15 you spend this year.

[shadfan4]

Wouldn't putting a compressor followed by a limiter to catch those spikes the comp can't deal with prior to stage amplification effectively allow the lower track dB's equal levels with the higher?

Cheers

Mike

[Charlie Hall]

Hi Mike,
It probably would, but most backing tracks have already had that treatment, or should have had.
I think the best and simplest solution to the problem here is to adjust the levels either manually or by setting different normalisation rates to balance different tracks. Then the backing tracks will sound as they were intended to sound, (unless one wanted to deliberately change that, and I would agree that it wouldn't be a bad idea on some, and also including some EQ to tame lower end, but that would be more suited to a different discussion).
Regards,
Charlie

[GAJ52]

Gentlemen

Many thanks for the great ideas offered to my query.

I have taken Ian's advice and 're-ripped' my UB Hank backings to my hard drive using the wav format instead of mp3's. Unfortunately the software I used (Sonicstage) does not have a means to normalise during ripping so I tried the VolBal program suggested by Graeme and it works very well - thanks Graeme

This program initially checks the 'loudness' of each track and shows this on a bar graph type display. I was surprised how much more volume Diamonds had (disc 4) compared to Apache or Wonderful Land (disc 1), the finished result was excellent, now all play with a nice balanced volume.

Thats another problem solved thanks to the very helpful members of this forum

Glen

[noelford]

I play all my BTs using iTunes, which has an option to equalise track volumes. It's not absolutely perfect (when, for instance, there is a big difference in volume between some of the recordings) but for ninety-five percent of the time it works fine.

I output from the computer into either my Peavey Escort PA or my Fender PowerStage 100 Monitor/PA.

Noel

[bluesnote]

I'm glad I found this thread. I've got 38 backing tracks (mostly Shad) that I have on memory stick and cd. This has always been my problem...getting them to the same level. I'm always changing the settings between songs.
So, going by the advice on here I downloaded "MP 3 Gain" and after an afternoon of sorting out the songs....they are all the same level. What a difference it makes. Thanks for the advice on this matter.