Reference Guide

562
Editing Audio
Basic Audio Processing
• Due to the nature and limitations of digital audio, the sum of all audio signals played together
cannot exceed the waveform amplitude limit. Even though no individual clip is clipped, the
combination may cause distortion.
If the selection contains any loud signals, Normalize may not seem to have any effect. This is
because the volume increase is determined by the loudest audio in the selection. If an audio clip
contains segments that are too quiet and others that are loud, you should probably split off the quiet
segments into separate clips and then normalize those.
To Normalize Audio Data
1. Select the audio data to be affected.
2. Choose Process > Audio > Normalize from the menu.
The Normalize dialog appears.
3. Drag the Normalize Level slider to the approximate level you think is appropriate.
4. Click OK to process the selected audio.
Listen to the edited data. You can use the Edit > Undo command if you don’t like the results, and
then try a different setting in the Normalize dialog.
To Use the Gain Command
1. Select the audio data you want to edit.
2. Use the Process > Audio > Gain command to open the Gain dialog.
3. If you only want to change the overall volume of the selection, move the New Left Channel-From
Left slider and the New Right Channel-From Right sliders by a similar amount. You can press
the Audition button to try out your edits.
4. If you want to switch the two channels, reverse all four sliders from their present positions.
5. If you want to invert the left channel phase, click the Invert left-channel phase button . If you
want to invert the right-channel phase, click the Invert right-channel phase button in the New
Right Channel section.
6. If you want to remove center material (usually where the vocal track is), set the New Left
Channel-From Left slider and the New Right Channel-From Right slider to 100%, and set the
New Left Channel-From Right slider and the New Right Channel-From Left slider to -100%
(negative 100%).
7. Press the Audition button if you want to audition your edits.
8. Click OK to process the selected audio.
Listen to the edited data in your mix. You can use the Edit > Undo command if you don’t like the
results, and then try different settings in the Gain dialog.
Reversing Audio Data
By reversing audio data, you can make it play backwards. You may wish to do this to obtain unusual
sounds for special effects.