Well if you create a copy of an mp3 file, apply MP3Gain to the copy, then restore the gain values & compare the original file with the modified file they will be bit exact so yes the MP3Gain process is 100% lossless.

I've got a (noob) question about the MP3Gain values...

If I use MP3Gain on a track (for example, Fiona Apple's A Mistake, from "When The Pawn..."), Foobar reports the Track Gain as "-0.030000" and the Album Gain as "-0.460000".

On the other hand, if I use ReplayGain on the same album/track, Foobar reports the Track Gain as "-6.10" and the Album Gain as "-6.45", yet both tracks yield the same volume level.



How can the numbers be so different and yet produce the same results?

Thanks in advance,

~esa

I have a couple of noob questions too.

1. How do you apply the maximum no clip gain via commandline?
2. How do you set the target gain at 92dB (instead of the default 89dB) via the commandline?

Appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

kindofblue

edit: minor edits for clarity

Hi

I have been a user of mp3gain for a while but I know I haven't been using it to it's fullest potential.

I ran across this thread (the only one I have seen yet that gave any detailed instructions) and began reading to try to eliminate clips etc. The problem is there are instructions that doesn't pertain to the version I am using 1.2.5 (recently upgraded from 1.2.4) such as "radio analysis". I only have seen "album" and "track" on any versions I have used.

I had previously thought that some of my files that had a reading of "Y" under the clip(track) column could not be corrected. But since reading the earlier posts to this thread I now think differently.

Any guidance for eliminating clipping as mentioned before with the newer versions would be greatly appreciated.

A little background:

99.9% of my files are tracks that I have chosen (personal choice for "best ofs")
I always use the "apply track gain" @ a target level of 92 dB
Other than that it is at it's default settings.

TIA

I am TRYING to get myself a copy of MP3 Gain and have tried downloading it 5 times now. I am unable to find it on my computer after download....where am I going wrong as even the computer can't find it.
I desperately need a program to ensure all my Iriver MP3's play at the same sound level as I'm fed up of having to adjust the volume all the time.
I'm running Win XP and use both iriver and Windows media player.
I've compiled a large selection of music from various sources and need to have them at the same general volume.....
Can someone please help....?????

You're pretty offtopic here if you don't know how your browser/os/computer works. You have alternatives like firefox, opera, wget, ....

Can somebody help me! I have no idea how to use this program but I want to normalize Pablo Honey and make it sound better. The guide is a bit outdated it is not?
I have version 1.2.5
Is there a how to use mp3gain for dummys guide around?
Thanks

It's a simple program, why don't you just read the help file?

I don't have a definitive answer, but I *think* mp3gain has a limitiation of 1.5db increments and ReplayGain doesn't. I'm not sure if that would cause such a large gap in numbers. Thinking about it though, are the two using differnent scales of sorts? Percentage vs. decibel change, perhaps?

MP3Gain modifies the global gain field in each mp3 frame header so that's why it's limited to 1.5dB steps. Replaygain (in tag form) however just tells the Replaygain-aware decoder to attenuate the volume by that value.

Hey everybody

I've all ways had the target vol set at 89, when i do an album analysis it shows anything over 89 as clipping

How is this possible when i'm reducing the volume?

@ AreteOne: I'd like to add that when you normalize in step 3, or whenever you normalize a WAV for that matter, you lose data. It has to actually rescale the data, its like changing the resolution of a digital image in say Photoshop. There are roundoff errors. You should only normalize a file that is already MP3, where it can be lossless.

I assume you used the default 89 dB target value in MP3Gain, correct?

If so, I think you are experiencing this:

MP3Gain fixed the file volume. It adjusted the volume -6 dB (four -1.5 dB steps) and wrote the new replay gain values to the file tags. These new tags are valid for the already changed file. A player can use the remaining very small correction value for making a precise final adjustment.

When you use only the Replay Gain analyzer foobar reports correctly different values because the measured file is the original unadjusted file.

Edit: The remaining negligible differences (0.07 & 0.01 dB) are caused by a bit different decoders or analyzers.

Edit again: Damn, I really didn't notice that Esa372's question was 18 months old. However, perhaps this answer is useful for someone.

On some albums I've used MP3Gain on, many of the tracks still show clipping after it's done. Is there a way to prevent that while still using Album Gain? I guess I could lower the target volume (I'm using the default), but is there something automatic, such as the Don't clip when doing Track Gain setting?

Oh nice. Noone told me Mp3gain was going to modify all my MP3's whether I asked it to or not, just by doing track analysis. What a piece of crap. It changed all the modified dates, that alone is a disaster. I wanted to know how old each of my mp3's was.

Anyway, instead of that POS, I would now recommend MP3TrimPro, which can do about the same things but is more professional, as the name suggests. It doesn't alter any files at all until you tell it to. And it does work in batch mode, so you don't lose that feature.

This is not true. You'd better read the 114 posts before yours to learn exactly how Mp3Gain works.

As to the audio data, the actual audio data is not modified at all. The only thing that will be adjusted is the gain of the mp3 files so that they all have the same loudness without any quality loss.
The great advantage of this tool is that after the analysis it will store the adjustment in a tag within the file, so it can be brought back to the original level. The process is lossless, or better said reversible.

If you don't want Mp3Gain to change the file dates you should check the option "Preserve file date/time" in the Options menu.

Yes, there is. Checking the "Don't clip when doing Track Gain" option from the Options menu will work in Album Gain mode too.

It doesn't here. I've long had that checked, and still get some albums in which some if not most of the tracks show clipping after processing.

Well maybe you might try the "Apply max no-clip gain for Album" option from the Modify Gain menu.

edit: You might find it informative to add a field called "Max Noclip Gain" to the Filelist window. Check the "Enable Maximizing Features" option from the Options / Advanced menu (you can disregard the warning message). This field will show the 'headroom' of the actual volume of each track before clipping or the how much it exceeds the level of clipping.

Does anyone know if there's any way to know how much clipping there is in a file? I wonder how many of my mp3 files I've lowered in volume because of a tiny amount of clipping.

Have a look at the edit in my previous post. Enable the "Max Noclip Gain" field in Mp3Gain filelist window. If a track is clipping this field will show a negative number. This represents the amount of clipping. The "clipping" field will also show "Y".

@KarnEvil9
Clipping was minimized by Album Gain(89.0db).
I recommend foobar 2000 replaygain scan after Album Gain to avoid slight clipping.

@zipr
Check the peak value of replaygain info if you use foobar2000 replaygain scanner.
If the value is greater than 1.000000, the mp3 is clipping.

What about in MP3Gain 1.25, and you have a Y under Clipping and (Clip)Track, anyway to get rid of the Y for clipping, so that you no longer see it, and know that there is no longer any clipping?

THANKS

P.S. My bad I just lowered the target volume...

One other question all you do is just type in the Target Volume you want and it changes it after you type it, you don't need to run Track Analysis, or Track Gain? Because in 1.25 it seems like that's all I have to do...

It's odd the Help says to run the Track Analysis, or Track Gain after you've set the target volume, but when I do nothing happens with it, hmm strange, all I do is just change the volume and it works, hehe...