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I have a stereo track of someone alternating between screaming and whispering. When he whispers, the left channel sounds great. When he screams, it peaks, but then the right channel sounds great.

Is there any way of turning it into a mono track, automatically using the correct channel at all times? So whenever he screams, Audition will use the left channel. Whenever he whispers, it will use the right channel.

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Nothing which is going to do it for you, but it's not complicated to mix it up yourself. You can use the channel mixer (in effects > amplitude and compression) to get two mono files, one left and one right. Then you can do a mix in the multi-track view using volume automation to level each out. Pan if you like or mix down to mono.

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Just link the pan of the stereo channel to the level of left channel before mixing down to a mono one. Try turning it a bit so that when left level is not to high, the pan stays at left, and when it gets peaked/clipped, the pan drives to the right.

That would sound more natural and smooth than suddenly switching channels at times.

EDIT: An example.

FL studio: create a LFO controller (I don't quite remember the name) in the mixer, turn off mute, turn off LFO. Then link peak to the pan knob.

EDIT2: @Paolo, if it doesn't work in Adobe Audition (yeah I know that CoolEdit doesn't do that much :-D), please try this:

  1. Split the stereo channel into two mono channels, say left.wav and right.wav
  2. Remove the stereo track from your project, add the two mono tracks
  3. Add a compressor for each of them
  4. Set 'Attack' to a high level, so that when the volume suddenly raises, the compressor 'punishes' it, hard. :-DDD
  5. You can also tweak the type (soft or hard) and the threshold for each of them to discover the ideal sound you want.
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  • Do you happen to know how this is done in Adobe Audition? – Paolo Jul 1 '14 at 16:45
  • The answer should be enough guidance normally, if it isn't clear you could check the Adobe forums? – Arnoud Traa Jul 2 '14 at 14:28
  • @Paolo I'm not sure, but in case AA doesn't have such a flexible controller, please see my update. – Yadli Jul 3 '14 at 2:57
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Adobe has some control in this fashion, but it is't automated in the sense that it will happen on it's own. If you want to link the pan control, get a control surface and tie it into your app. Connect it to the pan pot. Get a good feel for it. Now you'll play back only the offending areas, with the envelope\keyframe recording set to write on the pan control. When you play it back, it will follow your adjustments, and record the keyframing. You can adjust this later for faster or slower attack, smoother release. The point is to get the keys placed. You can do similar with the attenuation knobs. Get a feel for your controller and then use the attenuation to pull the screams down as they get loud, releasing the effect as the scream rolls off; this will effectively create an INSTANTANEOUS compression, for only that area, without affecting the dynamics of the scream, or the rest of the vocal. Once you've cleared the immediate area, hit stop, and move to the next, resetting the keyframe setting to write each time, as it should revert to read when you press stop. If you have the keyframes set to higher levels, the effects you apply will be smoother, but you'll have more work to adjust the effect as you'll have more keys to move.

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The best option for you, considering your lack of knowledge on the subject would be to simply record some pan automation(turn L or R as you desire, while recording), then edit the keyframes manually to iron out any mistakes.

Record track automation

While playing a session, you can record adjustments you make to track volume, pan, and effect settings, creating a mix that dynamically evolves over time. Adobe Audition automatically converts your adjustments into track envelopes, which you can edit with precision.

With an external controller such as the Mackie Control, you can adjust multiple settings simultaneously. See Control surface support.

1. In the Main panel, position the current-time indicator where you want to start recording automation.
2. Choose an option from the Track Automation Mode menu.
3. To start recording automation, start playback. As audio plays, adjust track or effect settings in the Editor, Mixer, or Effects Rack panels.
4. To stop recording automation, stop playback.

If recorded keyframes are too numerous or irregular, see Optimize recorded automation.

Track Automation Mode options

In the Editor panel or Mixer, you can choose one of the following modes for each track:

Off

Ignores track envelopes during playback and mixdown, but continues to display envelopes so you can manually add or adjust keyframes.

Read

Applies track envelopes during playback and mixdown, but doesn’t record any changes you make to them. (You can preview such changes, but keyframes return to recorded settings.)

Write

When playback starts, overwrites existing keyframes with current settings. Continues to record new settings until playback stops.

Latch

Begins recording keyframes when you first adjust a setting, and continues to record new settings until playback stops.

Touch

Similar to Latch, but gradually returns settings to previously recorded values when you stop adjusting them. Use Touch to overwrite specific sections of automation while leaving others intact.

(Automation controls are located on the track controls, where it says "Read" in a dropdown box)

Instructions taken from Automating mixes with envelopes; an Adobe Audition Help page.

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