Directly altering/editing a sound file

Question

I used to record music utilizing Adobe Audition. Although the program was rather limited in its earlier versions, it had one knockout feature that I absolutely loved! I had the ability to edit my sound file manually. If I played too loudly in one part, I could manually adjust the volume, or lower it if required, I could select places to silence the audio file, such as while taking a breath etc.

I'm currently using Logic Pro X and I have not found a way to be able to do this yet. I also have Pro Tools 11, but have not yet learned how to use it.

Does anyone know if there is a way to alter the volume levels of particular parts of a sound file within either Logic Pro X or Pro Tools 11? Is there a plug in that I can purchase that does this?

I have a bass track that I recorded, that was a very good performance, but I was playing a bit too dynamically, and my bass amp is not very good, so I don't foresee myself producing a bass track with much better quality. If I could go in and manually edit the volume on certain parts, I think it would sound phenomenal.

Let me know if there are any plug-ins or built in features in Logic Pro X or Pro Tools 11 where I can do this. My other option is to export the bass file and import it into my Windows pc and mix it down in Adobe Audition, but I would like to avoid that if possible.

In Adobe Audition, I was able to double click on a soundfile and highlight sections of the soundwave and manually increase or decrease virtually any section of the file. It was very easy to identify the peaks and shrink them by a few db by simply highlighting the peak right clicking, and selection volume cut, and manually inputting the amount to cut by. Is there any similar plug in or feature in another program?

Answer 1

I'm not a regular pro-tools user, but a universal way I'd approach this in any DAW is to:

1. Open a new project with the sample in question.
2. Create an automation for the volume of the sample.
3. Add control points to the automation as required.
4. Render the stem to another sample. This could be achieved by simply rendering the project.

Optionally you can skip the new project and rendering steps and just keep the automation on the original audio clip in the original project.

Answer 2

On Pro Tools you can use the Trim plug in to alter the gain throughout the duration of the track. You can automate it so it rises and falls where you want it to. It is adviseable to record it right in the first place but if you need to there is this as an option on pro tools. I'm not sure if there is something similar on Logic, I'm sure there is, any plug in where you can automate the gain of the track should surfice

Neil www.aaasounddesign.com

Answer 3

I think your looking for "Clip Gain" in ProTools. Any clip can have the volume raised or lowered without using automation. I like it because it's be insert so you can level your audio out before it hits compressors or fx.

Answer 4

If you're looking to edit specific sections of volume manually, Pro Tools has a relatively simple way to do this. All versions of Pro Tools have a dropdown on each audio track in the editing window that allows you to view waveforms, volume, and pan. The dropdown defaults to waveforms. You'll need to create a new session and import the audio file that you'd like to edit. Create a track to pull that file onto. Once you've created the track you'll see the dropdown labeled waveforms. Clicking that will display the other available view options. Choose Volume which will display the waveforms with an opaque overlay and line covering them. In this view you can now edit your volume by selecting sections and click/dragging that line up or down or creating your own markers individually to drag the volume line up or down. No plugin needed. This is basically writing the track volume automation manually. When you play back the file it will follow the edits you've made.