dMC: Power Pack DSP Effects

 

Effects can be applied to audio files whilst they are being converted (Power Pack DSP in dMC and Power >> DSP Effects from Audio CD Input). DSP effects available are shown in the right-hand list, whilst those to be used are shown in the left-hand list. A DSP effect can be added to Using DSP Effects list by double clicking it from Available DSP Effects, a selected DSP in Using DSP Effects will have its settings shown in the bottom half. Each DSP has its own settings:

Add Silence: Adds a fixed amount of silence to the end of an audio file.
Add Tag Element: Enables a Tag element to be always written, for example the Tag COMMENT (comment field in ID3 Tag) could be set to your name. A list of standard Tag Element names is presented when Add is clicked.
Channel Move: The left or right channel can be moved (left >> right, and right >> left). NB source audio data has to be in stereo  for this to work.
DC Offset: Audio data is usually based around 0. This DSP function can shift the data up or down by a fixed percentage of maximum.
Eden Swap: Swaps bytes in an audio file, only of any use if a file is taken from a Mac.
Invert: Inverts audio data (an audio value of 100 will become -100), really only of any use if two files are to be mixed together...
Maximum Length: Sets the maximum length of an audio file, for example a whole bunch of full tracks could be converted with a maximum length of 30 seconds to generate preview files. If the length of an audio piece is below the maximum length then it is left untouched.
Minimum Length: Set a minimum length, your audio file will be extended as necessary with silence at the end.
Music Removal: Removes music from an audio piece, leaving just singing. This can only be achieved because if the audio is mastered with the singer singing into a mono microphone, and the rest of the music is given a stereo effect between the left and right channels. The voice can therefore be isolated. NB will only work on stereo files in uncompressed (lossless state), not on mp3s.
Remove Silence: Silence at the beginning or end of a rendition can be removed, care must be taken to select a silence detection threshold that can detect music, whilst at the same time remove silence noise hiss (from records especially).
Remove Tag Element: A ID tag element can be removed, this option will only work when 'Preserve ID Tags' is used on the main option page.
Reverse: Takes an audio file and reverses it, that is when it is next played it will play backwards.
Sound Grabber: A section of audio (either from beginning or end) can be grabbed, for example grab 30 seconds worth of audio 40 seconds from the end.
Trim: A fixed amount can be trimmed from either the beginning or the end. I use it for those irritating audio tracks that seem to have 30 seconds of irrelevant waffle / crowd cheering at the end - simply listen to the track and make a note of where the waffle starts (say 30 seconds from end), and trim.
Voice Removal: Karaoke time :) - remove the voice from a recording, this is only possible if record where the singers voice is positioned centrally between the left and right speakers. NB will only work on stereo audio files uncompressed (straight from CD), not on mp3 files.
Volume Fade: Tracks can be faded in and out with this DSP effect, enter the time in mill seconds (seconds * 1000), so for example 6000 mSec will fade in over 6 seconds.
Volume Normalize: In layman's terms volume normalize will make the sound level of any quieter recordings louder, so when played with other recordings they all sound the same loudness. A desired volume (in percentage of maximum) is set. Simple Normalization will scan through the audio file, find the maximum value (it might be 60%) then it works out how much it has to increase the volume to get it to the desired value. Simple Normalization generally works well, however there are a few situations which can throw it - if you have a track that is only at 50% of max, except for a few bits at the beginning (a pop from a record) that is 100%, then simple normalize will leave the audio level untouched.

Adaptive Normalization can be used to over come the problem of short loud sections, where the rest of the track is quiet (perhaps a piece of classical music, that is quiet until the drums at the end). Adaptive Normalization is like having a friend constantly changing the volume control of your stereo, turning it up and down as required. The Window size is the length of track that is scanned ahead to work out the volume level, a smaller window will result in more volume twiddling.

NB Volume Normalize only makes tracks louder - it will not make tracks quieter.

Volume Quieten: Can quieten recordings by either a fixed amount, or by doing the reverse of Volume Normalize by calculating the maximum value then adjusting the track to suit. Clip Any Values over Maximum simply leaves the sound data untouched, except those that are over the Maximum, they are clipped to maximum.
Write Silence: Writes silence at any position.
Clear All DSP Effects after this conversion can be used to have a one time effect on a batch of files then clear the list (if the file \dBpowerAMP\DSPEffects\default.dds exists (DSP Saved) then it is loaded after Clear).

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