Members acousticdepot Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 Anybody ever try this software? I downloaded the free version last night and was able to fill in MP3 tag information (Artist, Song Title, etc), do some volume adjustments across the playlist, and burn a CD all through an easy to use UI. Pretty cool! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members totamus Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 I've been using it for a couple of years. started with the free version and eventually upgraded. It is the best I have found, especially for a large library Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kap55 Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 I have used it for several years. It is easily the best library/media management software available on any platform. The lifetime license is well worth the money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members acousticdepot Posted January 5, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 You guys ever have any problems with volume leveling? I looked on the MM forums and it looks like people were complaining about it. I plain to keep my target set at 89 (the default). The disc I burned last night (w/ volume leveling) turned out fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kap55 Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 I tried the volume leveling a couple of years ago and for some reason (can't remember why) I don't use it anymore. The problem may have had to do with ripping CDs more than burning. All of my music (11,000+ songs) has been converted to MP3 - I only make the odd CD to play in my car. Any new purchases of music are done through Napster and converted straight to MP3 and I've never felt the need to do any type of leveling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 I was a big fan of Songbird until they cut Linux support all of a sudden. Totally wild, since Mozilla prides itself on being open source. Oh well. C'est la vie .I haven't used Media Monkey and I'm guessing they don't have a Linux version, so I probably never will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members acousticdepot Posted January 5, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 I tried the volume leveling a couple of years ago and for some reason (can't remember why) I don't use it anymore. The problem may have had to do with ripping CDs more than burning. All of my music (11,000+ songs) has been converted to MP3 - I only make the odd CD to play in my car. Any new purchases of music are done through Napster and converted straight to MP3 and I've never felt the need to do any type of leveling. For you typical MP3s, I agree there isn't much of a need for volume leveling. But the stuff I record myself with guitar and vocals always seems to come out differently, depending on the song, guitar, and mic setups. I do normalize the recordings in audacity after recording them, but I still need to level them as a group ... for whatever reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kap55 Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 For you typical MP3s, I agree there isn't much of a need for volume leveling. But the stuff I record myself with guitar and vocals always seems to come out differently, depending on the song, guitar, and mic setups. I do normalize the recordings in audacity after recording them, but I still need to level them as a group ... for whatever reason. I'm not sure what your workflow is and I don't use that program so I can't help much. Sounds like it's an issue with the way Audacity normalizes. I just checked their website and see that Audacity accepts VST plugins. You might try this: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxl These guys make some pretty decent free VST plugins. Their Classic Master Limiter should (might) do what you want. Good luck. EDIT: I just tried to download latest Limiter (1.06) from above site and it appears to be some type of sleazy ware site. I have version 1.05 and it is freeware. If you want it PM me with you email addy and I'll fire it off to you. EDIT: See below Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kap55 Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 I haven't used Media Monkey and I'm guessing they don't have a Linux version, so I probably never will. From their website: MediaMonkey 3.0 is supported on 32 and 64-bit versions of Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP, but is also known to work with Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, and WINE (Linux). I don't use Linux so I'm not familiar with WINE, but maybe you'll get lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blue2blue Posted January 5, 2011 Members Share Posted January 5, 2011 I'm not sure what your workflow is and I don't use that program so I can't help much. Sounds like it's an issue with the way Audacity normalizes.I just checked their website and see that Audacity accepts VST plugins. You might try this:http://www.brothersoft.com/publisher/kjaerhus-audio.htmlThese guys make some pretty decent free VST plugins. Their Classic Master Limiter should (might) do what you want. Good luck.Normalizing (as the term is typically used) simply means taking the loudest parts of the signal to a given level (often but not always just under 0 dB). But the loudest part of a track is simply that. If most of the track is quiet, there's a wide dynamic range, etc, it's not going to feel like the same overall level as another track that is highly compressed dynamically (ie, has a narrow dynamic trange) if the average levels of both are different from each other, even if they both are 'normalized' to the same exact level. Some software offers what is sometimes called 'RMS normalization' -- and the Replay Gain system (that I imagine the MediaMonkey software uses but I'm not familiar with it), indeed, uses RMS 'average' level computation in order to hopefully deliver gain settings across a range of files that sound like they're about the same level. (I recently used Replay Gain level setting in quickly putting together a somewhat divergent set of files for a spur-of-the-moment rerelease of a bunch of songs from a mid-80s holiday songwriting 'festival' some friends and I ran -- and it worked, overall, pretty well. That said, I'm sure it can get fooled, particularly by tracks with wide dynamic fluctuations.) PS. Not a Linux guy, but, AIUI, WINE is a Windows compatability layer for Linux and deliver the ability to run some Windows software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kap55 Posted January 6, 2011 Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 My apologies for the link earlier in this forum - I was looking for the Kjaerhus Audio VST plugins and after a quick Google search I may have directed people to a site that is pretty sleazy and deals in warez. Kjaerhus Audio used to have their own web site but I can no longer find it. I did however find this:http://www.acoustica.com/plugins/vst-directx.htm The link allows a single download of all free Kjaerhus Audio plugins. I have used these plugins in the past and can vouch for their effectiveness as well as the fact that they are not spyware/virus/malware etc. Place all of these into a single folder and direct your audio editing program to look for VSTs in that folder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted January 6, 2011 Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 PS. Not a Linux guy, but, AIUI, WINE is a Windows compatability layer for Linux and deliver the ability to run some Windows software.Ding! Give the man a prize .WINE is a self-recursive acronym for "WINE Is Not an Emulator" and it lets you run Windows software with varying degrees of success. The simpler the program (like Notepad), the more likely it is that everything will work correctly. More complicated things (like Office) are much more tricky.I've messed with WINE a few times, but AFAIC it's not worth the trouble. It's much easier to just run VirtualBox or dual-boot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members acousticdepot Posted January 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted January 6, 2011 Normalizing (as the term is typically used) simply means taking the loudest parts of the signal to a given level (often but not always just under 0 dB). But the loudest part of a track is simply that. If most of the track is quiet, there's a wide dynamic range, etc, it's not going to feel like the same overall level as another track that is highly compressed dynamically (ie, has a narrow dynamic trange) if the average levels of both are different from each other, even if they both are 'normalized' to the same exact level.Some software offers what is sometimes called 'RMS normalization' -- and the Replay Gain system (that I imagine the MediaMonkey software uses but I'm not familiar with it), indeed, uses RMS 'average' level computation in order to hopefully deliver gain settings across a range of files that sound like they're about the same level. This describes exactly the issues that I have. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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