While they're not quite as unique as snowflakes, each MP3 has its own characteristics.
People use different encoders on music from all kinds of sources, resulting in wildly varying volumes from song to song. If you want a smooth listening experience that will let you hear an entire playlist without adjusting your volume knob, you should normalise your MP3s. Normalise is a pro audio term meaning just what it sounds like. Normalising software looks at an audio waveform and juices it up to eliminate volume discrepancies. But you don't need to be a recording engineer to normalise your MP3s; in fact, it's quite easy, whether you want to do so as you create a new file or work on a previously encoded file.
This tutorial is split into two parts. Follow the first part, "Encode normalised MP3s," to create normalised MP3s from CD tracks; if you've already created the MP3s that you would like to normalise, use part two, "Normalise existing MP3s." A word of warning before you start: Normalisation of existing MP3 files oftentimes reencodes your file, so you may lose a little audio quality; for most people, the loss is insignificant. However, MP3Gain makes a point of not reencoding existing audio files, which is why we recommend it here.
Required attention span: 10 minutes per albumBefore you start, you'll need to gather these elements:
- MP3 files or CDs
- Audiograbber (to encode normalised MP3s)
- MP3Gain (to normalise existing MP3s)
Normalise existing MP3s:
Follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Getting started
Launch MP3Gain (PC only).
Step 2: Select the MP3 files to normalise
Click the Add File(s) icon to open the Add Files window.
Select the MP3 files you wish to normalise and click Open. Repeat the process to select files from different directories.
Step 3: Set the target volume level
MP3Gain's Target "Normal" Volume field determines the target volume for your MP3 files. The default setting of 89.0dB is a good starting point. You can increase or decrease the target volume level later if desired.
Step 4: Analyse your MP3 files
Click the Track Analysis icon and wait while the software analyses the volume of your MP3 files. You can skip this step if you're not interested in knowing the current volume levels of the files.
Step 5: Normalise your MP3 files
Click the Track Gain icon and wait while the software normalises the volume of your MP3 files.
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