Adjust volumes of instruments

Let’s say I’ve got a song that includes around 100 instruments (incl. samples) and I need to lower the volume of every single instrument by for example 4.5 dB. I’m talking about the volume values that can be found in the Sampler tab (Sample Properties) or within the Plugin tab. Is there a way to adjust ALL instrument volumes at the same time? Or do I need to adjust the volumes one by one? Never needed to do this, but in this case I do. Thanks!

I think using key macros would be the quickest way to do this.
The volume control of a track can be key-bound with Paketti.
Or, I don’t know if it is possible or dough, but you could parse the project file and use a text editor to batch replace or macro the relevant values.

EDIT: Sorry, I misread that.
You were talking about the volume values on the Sampler tab (Sample Properties) or the Plugins tab.
That certainly doesn’t look like it would be easy to do.

It appears that the sample volume adjustment can be key bound in Paketti.

The following methods may be used for plug-in volume.

  • Make the mouse click the <> button an arbitrary number of times by making it a macro
  • Edit the project file with a macro in a text editor, etc.
    • Edit the project file with a macro in a text editor such as vim. vim allows you to subtract 45 from the value at the cursor position by doing 45 Ctrl+X, for example. You can record the process of searching for the corresponding value, moving it, and subtracting it in a key macro such as qq, and then call it with @q and repeat with @@ afterwards.
  • Processing with lua if there is a relevant API
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mm… yes, i believe this can be done. so like global all sample volume control, “lower all by -4.5dB”.
i’ll add it to my todo-list. global all sample volume control, "lower all by -4.5dB". · Issue #364 · esaruoho/org.lackluster.Paketti.xrnx · GitHub

of course the problem is how to get it to be completely precise.

@TNT would a solution be to offer a sample fx chain entry that has a Gain set to -4.5dB set for each and every samplefxchain for each and every instrument? or do you want the samples themselves to go down by -4.5dB?
and would the sample volumes be all over the place (some at -30dB, some at +6dB)?

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Thanks, but I was looking for an easier and less time-consuming option provided there’s something existing. Something like “click the arrows to adjust the volume of the SELECTED instrument”, “hold Alt and click the arrows to adjust the volume of ALL instruments”.

This! But the 4.5 dB was just an example, it doesn’t need to be exactly that value. It should work with every value. So for my project I adjusted the volumes one by one now, but it would be nice to have a more handy option in future. Just in case someone needs it.

Yes. :slightly_smiling_face:

How about using the mouse to adjust the “Instrument global volume” or the volume of the sample or plug-in while moving the focus of the instrument with the cursor keys?
If you want to manually adjust the volume for each instrument while listening, this may be a practical way to do it.

I don’t get it, if you need to lower the volume of all instruments, why not just lower the master volume?

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Was thinking the same thing, but using a group track.
Also, Other option, track Headroom would lower the volumes before the DSP chains iirc.

I want to decrease the volume of all instruments/samples at once. :slightly_smiling_face:

The volume of an instrument is limited to 12.04 dB. I did a remaster of an old song from ages ago, and for some reason many instruments/samples not only had that max value, there were also additional track devices to further adjust the volume either up or down. I wanted to get rid of every unnecessary track device and still be able to adjust the volume of every single instrument either up or down while adjusting the old mix to my today’s standards, And that’s not possible if there are instruments that have a volume of 12.04 dB. And I prefer to keep the track volume at 0 dB. :wink:

Well if, for some reason, Song Options - > Track Headroom is not an option for this.

Then the samples are easy, just batch process them outside of Renoise, Goldwave or something.
VST’s are all probably too proprietary to change them en-masse.

Going to say the existing Renoise method for this would be to use Track Headrooom.

There is at least one good reason why track headroom is there…
way back when, before the DSP’s, almost everyone would double up instruments to
get a distored kick for example… that didnt play / sound well on this modern tracker.

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you can also batch process them inside Renoise using this tool which uses sox;

it can do a lot more besides adjusting volume for every sample in a multi sampled instrument, but wont adjust all samples from all instruments atm, perhaps it can be made an option?

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“sox”, the method that @Jek has mentioned or whatever, as long as the values that are shown in the Sampler tab and the Plugin tab will be affected, we’re good. :slightly_smiling_face:

Sampler tab:
vs

Plugin tab:
vp

I don’t know how your master channel mastering chain looks, if you have any multiband compressors / limiters whatsoever, but if keeping it at 0 dB is essential and you want to attenuate all instruments before running them through the chain, why not put a gainer device with attenuated volume on the master channel before the compressors and limiter?

(Btw the dbatch tool only works for sampled instruments and renders the resulting attenuation in the waveform view, it does nothing with the value boxes in Renoise)

Well, in this case it’s not what I was looking for. :slightly_smiling_face:

As I wrote:

The crucial part is the value of 12.04, which is the upper limit. If you leave it like that, you can’t adjust upwards if necessary without additional track devices like a gainer. So to be more precise: I was looking for a way to adjust the volume VALUES in the Sampler tab and Plugin tab at once. Everything else is not what I was looking for. Of course there are several ways to adjust the volume of instruments, but it doesn’t apply to the volume VALUES shown in the tabs.

i like your thinking. so, you want global volume for each sample in all instruments - does that also mean each slice in all instruments, and also plugin volume too.

so in theory you’d set -4.5dB and if a plugin volume is at 12.00dB you’d get to 7.5dB, but samples that are elsewhere at 0dB would be at -4.5dB. and so on.
but my question is this, if you have a sample that is at -40dB (one step away from -INF dB) and you do -4.5dB, what should it do? error out? or set to -INF? and what when you want to set 4.5dB, what should happen then? especially if you want to get to +4.5dB on a 6.0dB sample - which is the maximum of a sample, what should happen then?

just narrowing down the amount of edgecases and user-expectations before starting work.

Not sure what you mean with “slice”, but yes, everything, also the plugin volume value in the Plugin tab.

If an instrument is almost at the bottom end in terms of volume and it would be silenced when decreasing the volume even more, then it would be nice to receive a warning message telling you that proceeding will result in volume -INF in terms of instrument X. But -40 dB isn’t the bottom end, neither in terms of samples nor in terms of plugins. Both values can go down to -199.9 dB. Check this:
vm200

vm200p
When you type the number instead of clicking the arrows, you can go down to -199.9 dB.
When you click the arrows instead of typing the number, it turns into -INF at -100 dB. Have a look:
rnsv

rnsp
So the bottom end is -199.9 dB, right?!

Nope, as I wrote, the max value is 12.04 dB. Both in terms of samples and plugins.
Check this:
vmps

vmpp
What should happen if you reach the top end? The same as you reach the bottom end, a warning message that includes the affected instrument by its name or number would be nice.

when you load a break, and set slice markers, or use the transient detector to auto-create slicemarkers, each of the slices can also have separate volume settings. that’s what i mean. here’s a screenshot to illustrate. the grey sample slots in the Sample Navigator (top left corner) are slices.

Ok, so you’re literally talking about sample slices. Which are basically samples, right? Yes, of course they also need to get included. Everything that can be heard in the song has to be included, that’s everything that has got a volume value, and that’s at least everything that can be found in the instrument selector (and slice lists :wink:).

yup. okay. i’ll figure it out.

Cool! :+1:
Just another additional idea: Currently it seems not to be possible to mark several instruments in the instrument selector at the same time. But if this would be possible somehow, it also may be possible to mark for example instrument 1, 3, 4, 6 and 8, and in this case it should also be possible to adjust the volume of the selected respectively marked instruments at once, too. If this would be possible it would round off the matter. If not, no worries. Tools and stuff are just bonus material, right? :wink: