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IDProjectCategoryView StatusLast Update
0009474ardourfeaturespublic2023-10-12 06:53
Reporterslartibartfast Assigned To 
PrioritynormalSeverityfeatureReproducibilityN/A
Status newResolutionopen 
PlatformGNUOSLinuxOS Version(any)
Summary0009474: Automatic levels at -23 LUFS for imported audio
DescriptionI know this is a long-shot, but one cool feature I miss in Ardour when mixing podcasts, is the automatic levels - where on import, it would be possible to check a box so levels of an imported track are set to consistently hit a target of -23 LUFS. Like a sort of intelligent normalization/intelligent gain envelope.

Having this as an option would make Ardour even more powerfull as a podcast editing tool and speed up the process when editing audio stories even more.
Additional InformationThe reason for the suggested target of -23 LUFS, is because this is near the recommended loudness level for mixing (pre normalization export to any platform-specific targets, such as Apples or Spotifys -16).
Sources: https://transom.org/2021/the-audio-producers-guide-to-loudness/ and https://training.npr.org/2018/10/31/mixing/
Tagsloudness, podcasting, request

Activities

x42

2023-10-10 11:44

administrator   ~0028173

Ardour offers this on export. An EBU-R128 preset has been available since over 10 years now.

I'm curious though, why you want this on import though.
Cutting, editing and mixing changes the loudness . One has to normalize the final result to meet broadcast specs.

For individual regions you can use Region > Gain > Normalize, which offers a LUFS target value.

slartibartfast

2023-10-10 12:39

reporter   ~0028174

I know it has this on export. The reason I want a similar function on import is because of how long it takes to fiddle with the basic loudness of my tracks to begin editing a podcast.
I saw this option in another DAW named after an infamous airship (link here: https://loudfunk.dk/watch?v=ODvM0GZMqq8), and thought it would be quite cool to have in Ardour as well to speed up the editing process for audio stories/podcasts etc.

Dan Easley

2023-10-12 00:55

reporter   ~0028183

Having worked in public radio and television for twenty years, I have to agree that, while I would never use this feature in music production, I think I would find it really useful for podcast/broadcast production.

x42

2023-10-12 01:06

administrator   ~0028184

Would this only happen once on input?
Or do you expect regions to automatically adjust the gain when you split or trim them later?

The former would be relatively easy and be identical to manually normalize the region just after import.

Dan Easley

2023-10-12 01:27

reporter   ~0028185

I don't want to hijack slartibartfast's request, but I was imagining an option in the Import window.

slartibartfast

2023-10-12 06:53

reporter   ~0028191

No worries, Dan.
This was also how I imagined it. Like a checkbox in the import window, similar to those that lets one choose to import files as new tracks or directly to sources list.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
2023-10-10 07:57 slartibartfast New Issue
2023-10-10 07:57 slartibartfast Tag Attached: loudness
2023-10-10 07:57 slartibartfast Tag Attached: podcasting
2023-10-10 07:57 slartibartfast Tag Attached: request
2023-10-10 11:44 x42 Note Added: 0028173
2023-10-10 12:39 slartibartfast Note Added: 0028174
2023-10-12 00:55 Dan Easley Note Added: 0028183
2023-10-12 01:06 x42 Note Added: 0028184
2023-10-12 01:27 Dan Easley Note Added: 0028185
2023-10-12 06:53 slartibartfast Note Added: 0028191