Reference Guide

790 Editing audio
Basic audio processing
Using the Normalize and Gain commands
SONAR provides several commands to boost or cut the volume of audio data. The Process > Apply
Effect > Normalize command, and the Process > Apply Effect > Gain commands are used to
control the volume of selected audio data, in decibels. For more information about the decibel scale,
see “The decibel scale” on page 779. The Normalize command “normalizes” the audio data: it
boosts the volume until the maximum amplitude is reached somewhere in the data. By normalizing
the data, you achieve the maximum possible volume without distortion or clipping. The Gain
command lets you edit the volume, phase, and stereo interleave of selected audio data. You can
also use this command to remove center material from a clip (good for removing vocals).
Like all the audio processing commands, these commands work by modifying the waveform data.
You can achieve volume changes non-destructively using automation. For more information, see
“Automation” on page 1001.
When increasing or decreasing the volume of audio clips, you should consider the following points:
• Normalize raises the noise floor; that is, while it increases the volume of the signal, it also boosts
the noise it contains. (This is true when you raise the volume by other means, too.)
• 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 > Apply Effect > Normalize from the menu.
The Normalize dialog box 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 box.
To use the Gain command
1. Select the audio data you want to edit.
2. Choose Process > Apply Effect > Gain to open the Gain dialog box.
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.