Something to force trim volume around a certain level

I know i can use automation but i need something really “automatic” because i have a track with a lot of volume swings and automation asks me to work for hours if not months.
There is some plugin to check the trim volume and force it to stay around a certain level that i can set?

How large are the volume swings? Have you tried a compressor?

Hi Robin,

the volume swings are too large and too irregular.
If it can help, for this time, i used a trick: imported the .wav file in Audacity, “normalized” the peaks at the desired volume (-18) and “amplified” the rest around or equal to the peaks.
I have not tried with a compressor but it could be a good solution; i should see if i can find some balanced settings. Thanks.

You don’t need audacity for this. Ardour can normalize to a specified level too. Right click on a region and explore the menus (and in Ardour, this is non-destructive).

Thanks for the tip, Paul.
I used the “normalize” option on Ardour just sometime when i exported files, I was not aware of this further possibility.
There is also something like “Amplify” tool in Ardour? Something that can work directly on waveform and let to choose the volume level to reach.

Yes, available from in the same Region > Gain menu as normalize. Shortcut Alt +6 to boost gain. and Region > Properties offers numeric entry, too

Hi underdog,

If I may chime in…yes, a compressor to control dynamics is great, but, for example, many vocals come in with greatly different levels in chucks. So, setting a comp to work on, say, a first verse can get way over compressed during the chorus. Doing clip gain adjustments first is truly the way to go, getting the entire performance in the same range. Doing this automatically, I know of only one plugin designed for this very purpose. And that is Waves Vocal Rider. It can also work of things like Bass. Yet, I don’t know of an equivalent plugin for Linux (assuming you are a Linux user.).

Unless I am mistaken, I wish there was a way to do these clip gain adjustments in the automation lane fast, by selecting a range and being able to just raise/lower the gain line inside that range. If there is a way to do this, I’d love to know.
-Steve

See Robin’s post right above yours. Just split the region into a couple of different chunks and use region gain (ALT+6 and ALT+7 shortcuts IIRC) to raise and lower of the selected region[s].

Of course you can also use an automation lane and just change fader automation, or trim automation, or heck, even include a basic amplifier plugin and automate the gain in it, and you can select a region in range mode on the automation track and click and drag to raise the entire range up and down in the automation track.

   Seablade

I usually also go with splitting the regions and using region gain (mostly because of the visual feedback the modified waveform gives)…

But if you prefer using the “gain line inside that range”, here is a quite comfortable workflow too: switch between range tool (press “r”) and the draw tool (“press” d), like shown here: https://youtu.be/DjlBbao5gMQ?t=135

Seablade and laex

Thank you soooo much for pointing this out!! That’s exactly what I needed.
-Steve

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