User:Chrisjjj/Normalising for DJing with MediaMonkey

If you are using MediaMonkey for DJing (not something I recommend), the following info might help you. It applies to MediaMonkey V4.1.3.1708 and hopefully subsequent versions.

Normalising volume

To normalise the volume of a track is to cause the track play to back at the same volume as other tracks.

You can normalise volume manually by adjusting PA volume during play.

You can normalise volume automatically, as follows:

1) In Tools, Options, Volume Levelling, ensure Level Playback / Sync volume: is set to per Track [1]

2) Select your tracks. If making that selection in Now Playing, ensure Now Playing is docked (to avoid bug [2])

3) Right-click the selection, click Analyse volume [3] and wait for the progress bar at bottom to complete.

Each track will now play back at very nearly the same volume as the others. Where tracks have widely different dynamic profiles, small volume differences may remain.

Verify each track playback volume is the same as others normalised.

Warning

Avoid the adjacent menu command Level track volume [4], despite its name. Use of this command is disrecommended. If you execute it, the effect cannot be reversed except by restoring the track files from a backup.

Normalising gaps

A gap is the period of silence upon playback, separating the end of the sound of one track from the start of the sound of the next.

To normalise gaps is to arrange that gap duration is uniform.

A track's recording sometimes contains a period of silence at start and/or end. There is sometimes variation in the duration of the silence at the start, and often variation on the duration of the silence at the end. Hence when a list of tracks is played automatically, the gap varies. The gap may be entirely absent, causing playback to run from the end of one track immediately into the next.

The milonga DJ usually wants the duration of gap after dance tracks to be uniform at two to four seconds, and the duration of gap after a curtain to be shorter or absent. Normalisation allows this to be achieved.

MediaMonkey does not allow full normalisation of gaps, either manually or automatically, but does allow partial normalisation which ensures a gap is always present.

To ensure a gap manually at playback:

1) Ensure Clear list & play selected only is selected [5].

2) Ensure Remove silence at the beginning / end of track is checkmarked [6].

3) Double-click to play the first track. When it completes, playback will stop.

4) After an appropriate delay, double-click the next track.

This does not remove any period before track start filled with noise (e.g. hiss, crackle).

To prepare a list to ensure a gap is present automatically at playback:

1) Ensure Clear list & play selected + subsequent is selected [7].

2) Ensure Remove silence at the beginning / end of track is UNcheckmarked [8].

3) In the playlist, after each track, insert a gap track -- a track consisting of a few seconds of silence. Such tracks are available in TLIB, from 02480002928928\1\49 onwards.

4) Play the list as normal.

This does not remove any gaps at start/end of tracks.

Curtain endings

If curtain ending is manual (by DJ manually fading the curtain and starting the next dance track), no special attention to curtains is required.

If curtain ending is automatic, relying on ending prepared by audio editing (not something I recommend), the desired start and end gap may be included during editing.