HMX, Please Turn It Back Up To 11

[uppyb0t]

Hello everyone,

I don't know if anybody else has noticed, but the Rock Band DLC that has been coming out seems to be getting quieter and quieter as the weeks progress.

All DLC was nice and loud until RB3 came out. Then I noticed a decrease in volume on RB3 DLC with Billy Joel and other songs.

Then when P.O.D. came out, it was the quietest DLC I've ever owned. I had to turn it up to hear it well.

I've just bought the Yes pack this week and even it is ridiculously quieter. I have to turn my receiver up for these songs. I played all the Yes songs in a setlist, including RB3, and Roundabout was louder than all the other songs. Proof positive that there is a definite decrease in volume.

I used to play RB at -22.0 db, I have to play RB3 at around -18.0 and this new DLC has me going to -14.0.

The majority of the RBN songs are very loud and I have no problems with them. Steam Powered Giraffe seems to be the loudest DLC out there. If you play them after playing Yes with the volume up, your head could potentially explode.

Constantly adjusting volume for songs is irritating and I was wondering if there was a standard volume level you could use to keep things consistent without leveling out the instruments.

I have an EQ adjuster on my receiver that makes all volume levels the same, but it takes away from the music a lot. Certain things become harder to hear and get smushed together.

Any answers or solutions would be mad rad.

[Jerkinator]

Strange, I noticed this with the Yes pack too. I usually play with my volume at about 45 (on a scale of Idunnowhat), but to get the Yes tracks to the same volume I had to turn it up to about 50

[kingtonyx]

I used to play RB with my TV at a 52 or so for it to be nice and loud, but to get the same thing out of the newer songs I have to go up to a 60 or so... and then I have to judge and turn down the mic. Then I have to do this all over again for the next song.

It's incredibly annoying.

[Skode]

Good to hear this is a common issue with recent DLC... i actually wondered is there was something wrong with the mix due to the vocals on the recent Soundgarden vocals being so low.

[mec_os]

I've only notice this on the previews. New dlc previews are very quiet.

[Blasteroids]

It is annoying that DLC have different levels. Would have been nice if there was a built in normalizer in RB3 so it could be adjusted. Having to change the volume up and down is annoying.

I guess it will not happen because it would mean either changing the file format to include a peak value (and applying that to all past DLC) or having the file analysed on load creating a delay before being able to play it.

[Sableagle]

It is annoying that DLC have different levels. Would have been nice if there was a built in normalizer in RB3 so it could be adjusted. Having to change the volume up and down is annoying.

I guess it will not happen because it would mean either changing the file format to include a peak value (and applying that to all past DLC) or having the file analysed on load creating a delay before being able to play it.

Shouldn't be much of a delay, and it's less of a delay than adjusting volume and restarting the song as well as being less irritating, so I support your request for a normalising function.

{off_topic_rant}While we're at it, why aren't radio stations consistent? Radio 1 seems determined to be heard half a mile away even from radios at minimum volume, Classic FM's loud, Radio 2 is kind of loud, Ridings, Minster and Real are alright, Radio 3's quiet and Radio 4's inaudible at other stations' volume settings. On top of that, adverts are played at different volumes, so they can suddenly be very loud, and who thought it was a clever idea to advertise a car using Kylie Minogue's latest or the Homebase sale using off-key whistling on a classical music station anyway?{/off_topic_rant}

[jfh2112]

Speaking on behalf of the audiophiles here - what we do not want to happen is for Harmonix to increase their compression again in the track mastering, to immediately address complaints about volume. Such compression is a permanent loss of quality, forever burnt into the track.

This exactly. I beg the audio team, DO NOT DO THIS. Do not even entertain the notion. In fact, I'd recommend that a new company policy be put in place that, if someone suggests compressing or limiting audio tracks, that they should immediately be pelted with any nearby fresh fruit or small office supplies.

{off_topic_rant}While we're at it, why aren't radio stations consistent? Radio 1 seems determined to be heard half a mile away even from radios at minimum volume, Classic FM's loud, Radio 2 is kind of loud, Ridings, Minster and Real are alright, Radio 3's quiet and Radio 4's inaudible at other stations' volume settings. On top of that, adverts are played at different volumes, so they can suddenly be very loud, and who thought it was a clever idea to advertise a car using Kylie Minogue's latest or the Homebase sale using off-key whistling on a classical music station anyway?{/off_topic_rant}

Are you referring to the BBC stations? I had XM for a short time and found Radio 1, and holy crap it was painful to listen to, even in short durations. The amount of limiting they do on their signal is absolutely awful.

[Bront20]

Read this.

Volume <> sound quality, and the quality on these songs has been phenomenal. I'd rather use my high end stereo to crank up the volume rather than a highly compressed file.

On a side note, this topic has come up at least once a week for the past 3 weeks. Odd.

[KMO_2000]

I was immensely pleased with one of the Yes songs (sorry - can't remember which, don't really know Yes).

It actually had a gradual crescendo, building up to be quite shattering.

Yes(!). Real volume changes in a song!

Fantastic work from the audio team not compressing that one out. Thanks, guys.

And ignore the original poster. Some of us appreciate the higher-fidelity mastering, and know where our volume knob is. Keep it up.

Maybe RB4 could have a option to automatically turn down the older, more heavily-compressed tracks - but I've not been bothered by the difference. I hardly ever find myself reaching for the volume knob, based on the volume of the track. It's more down to how much I like it - if it's a favourite, I turn it up