Low audio level when recording

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Antoni Scott
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Low audio level when recording

Post by Antoni Scott »

Version VII has the same recording feature as Version IV. When I recorded a piece of music with Version IV the WAV recording was at an acceptible audio level where I could download it to an external thumb drive and listen to it on other devices. With Version IV the recorded audio was at the same level as the performane, as I would expect.

When I recorded a piece of music on Version VII and played it back, the audio level is the same as the performance. The desktop displays the WAV files that were just created. When I transfer the WAV file to a thumb drive file with Version VII the audio level is barely perceptible. It is so low that I can hardly hear it. Is there default adjustment that I can make to bring the recorded audio of Version VII to the same audio level as Version IV ?

Antoni
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mdyde
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Re: Low audio level when recording

Post by mdyde »

Hello Antoni,

There's actually no difference at all between Hauptwerk v5, v6, v7 or v8 with regard to audio recording or levels, so I think you must unintentionally have changed a settings somewhere (either in Hauptwerk or in your audio player software), or be doing something else differently when loading/importing the audio into your audio player.

It's important to be aware that the "Volume" and "Audio Trim dB" settings on the "Audio, MIDI and Performance" large control panel (which can be opened via "View | Large floating control panels ...") do affect both audio output level (to speakers/headphones) and recording level. To set those levels properly, load the relevant organ, leave the "Volume" setting set to 100%, and adjust the "Audio Trim dB" setting so that Hauptwerk's audio level meter shows almost (but not quite) goes into the yellow when playing on full organ. You can then use the volume knob on your audio amplifier to turn your speakers/headphones down if desired.

Also, on the "General settings | General preferences" screen, you can select 32-bit or 16-bit for the "Audio recording format" setting. 32-bit is better quality, but some non-professional audio players aren't fully compatible with it (and might play it at the wrong level), so you could instead try 16-bit, just to see whether that works better in your audio player software.

Also, after creating the recording in Hauptwerk and exiting Hauptwerk (but before transferring it to your other devices and their audio players), you could try opening the recorded .WAV file in the freeware Audacity software on your Hauptwerk computer, to see whether the levels in the recorded file look reasonable:

https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

If you then still want to adjust the recording level, in Hauptwerk go to the "General settings | Audio mixer" screen, make sure that the "Master mix 1 ‘Stereo mix 1 (main/recording)’" entry is selected in the left-hand list, and in the right-hand pane change its "Audio recorder: Level adjust (dB)" setting. Zero (the default) means 'normal' recording levels, with numbers greater than zero increasing the level.
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.
Antoni Scott
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Re: Low audio level when recording

Post by Antoni Scott »

The recording from the internal Hauptwerk recorder records at the correct level. The Hauptwerk playback is at the same level as the original recording. The WAV icon that appears on my desktop also plays at the same level prior to transferring. So the WAV file is at the correct recording. The volume drop is when I I transfer the file to an external thumb drive and review it on another device. The volume of the Hauptwerk generated WAV file is at the correct level before I transfer it. I even used a different USB output thinking that that may be the cause.
I'm guessing that once the WAV file is created and is sitting on my desktop it is outside of the Hauptwerk software so that Hauptwerk has nothing to do with it (once it has been creatd). The computer is a PC with Windows 10 so I'm wondering if there is a "normailzing" volume adjustment that will keep the audio level the same as the original recording before it transfers to the thumb drive ?

I never had this problem with the MAC. On the MAC the saved audio file, WAV or MP3, was always the same audio level as the recording which was the same level as the original sample. I do have a third party (Wavepad Sound Editor by NCH ) software that has a "normalize" function that will raise the audio level to the acceptible level but I am afraid that boosting a very low audio level to higher levels will introduce noise of distortion.
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mdyde
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Re: Low audio level when recording

Post by mdyde »

Thanks, Antoni.
Antoni Scott wrote:I'm guessing that once the WAV file is created and is sitting on my desktop it is outside of the Hauptwerk software so that Hauptwerk has nothing to do with it (once it has been creatd).
Correct.

In that case, it could still be worth trying 16-bit for the "Audio recording format" setting on the "General settings | General preferences" screen in Hauptwerk -- it might be that the audio player software that you're using on your non-PC device doesn't like 32-bit .WAV files.
Antoni Scott wrote: I do have a third party (Wavepad Sound Editor by NCH ) software that has a "normalize" function that will raise the audio level to the acceptible level but I am afraid that boosting a very low audio level to higher levels will introduce noise of distortion.
If the .WAV files are 32-bit (as Hauptwerk's are by default, unless you change the above setting), then you shouldn't need to worry about loss of quality if raising/normalising the level, since the 32-bit format has plenty of quality 'in reserve' anyway (unlike 16-bit).
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.
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mnailor
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Re: Low audio level when recording

Post by mnailor »

I'm a little confused by this. Hauptwerk doesn't have an audio file playback function, only a MIDI playback, right? HW just recordscan audio .wav file and is out of the picture.

So you're saying your HW PC's audio/media player application (not Hauptwerk) plays the .wav file at a level you perceive as the same as the level you played in HW and that's what you expect to hear.

Then you copy/transfer the .wav file away to another PC, which doesn't change the file in any way including its internal "volume" -- it's just a file of bits being copied like any other file.

You play it back on (the same or a different?) audio/media application on this other PC, with possibly different speakers or headphones, and possibly different media volume settings, and it sounds quieter.

So are you using the same audio/media player on both PCs? Thanks.
Antoni Scott
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Re: Low audio level when recording

Post by Antoni Scott »

Hello Martin:
In that case, it could still be worth trying 16-bit for the "Audio recording format" setting on the "General settings | General preferences" screen in Hauptwerk -- it might be that the audio player software that you're using on your non-PC device doesn't like 32-bit .WAV files.

When you say non-PC , do you mean MAC ? Hauptwerk Version VII is on a PC, not a Mac. Version IV was on a Mac. This audio problem did not exist on the Mac. On the Mac I could create a recording, transfer it to the thumb drive and listen to it on another PC or a MAC, upload it to Contre-Bombarde and the volume level had not changed.

Just as a test I uploaded a sample of music I recorded on my new PC with Version VII to Contre-Bombarde and the audio level in 5% of what it should be. The problem is in the new computer after the recording was made. Is there a PC computer adjustment that raises the volume of the MP3 or WAV file before it transfers to the USB thumb-drive without affecting the actual audio level of the original file audio level.
To draw an analogy, its like watching TV that you know was broadcast at the correct level but you have the volume turned way down.

Right now I don't want to make any changes to Hauptwerk since I think the problem is with the computer not Hauptwerk's software. In the past I have made changes that I can't come back from. Too risky.

Antoni
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mdyde
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Re: Low audio level when recording

Post by mdyde »

Hello Antoni,
Antoni Scott wrote:When you say non-PC , do you mean MAC ? Hauptwerk Version VII is on a PC, not a Mac. Version IV was on a Mac. This audio problem did not exist on the Mac.
By "non-PC" I simply meant whatever device(s) you're transferring the .WAV files to (i.e. any device other than the PC on which you're running Hauptwerk).

Please do first try:

- Select 16-bit for the "Audio recording format" setting on the "General settings | General preferences" screen in Hauptwerk.

- Load St. Anne's.

- Use Hauptwerk's built in recorder to make an audio recording in which you play a few chords on full organ.

- Stop Hauptwerk's recorder. (The file won't be written properly until you've stopped it recording.)

- Transfer that recoded .WAV file via your USB stick to your listening device(s) and see whether it plays at a reasonable volume in whatever audio player software you're using on those devices.

Does it?

- If not, in Hauptwerk, change that setting Hauptwerk setting back to 32-bit again.

If that didn't solve it:

- Exit Hauptwerk.

- If it isn't already installed, download and install Audacity on your Hauptwerk PC: https://www.audacityteam.org/download/

- Launch Audacity and load the .WAV file that you just recorded from Hauptwerk.

Does the audio level within that .WAV file appear reasonable?
Best regards, Martin.
Hauptwerk software designer/developer, Milan Digital Audio.
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