Voice tracks with music tracks

[Guillaume]

Hello,

I would like some improvements when using voice tracks :

(Image Mix_01) When the intro duration of music track B is longer than the duration of the voice track, the two music tracks do not mix correctly: the "Start Mix" point is ignored. Instead, the "Start" of track B is mixed with the "Mix" of track A.

Some music tracks have a soft intro or other low-volume audio elements that can overlap with the previous music track.

Currently in RadioBOSS 7.1.4.0, the "Start Mix" point is always taken into account for two consecutive music tracks without a voice track. However, when there is a voice track in between, it works differently and is a shame for the flow of the program: it produces a mini silence on the air.


(Image Mix_02) I have configured some voice tracks to play with a Bed (Bed selected in "File Types" of the Options tab). This works perfectly. The Bed plays as expected but only after the "End" of music track A and not after the "Mix". What I wish and what would be smoother: play the Bed at the same time as the voice track which starts at the "Mix" of music track A.


For your information, I occasionally encounter a problem when I play two voice tracks consecutively: the second voice track is played at the volume level of the previously played Bed. There's a significant difference in volume during playback (initially, both voice tracks have the same volume).
I can't seem to reproduce this problem. Also, I remember a thread that mentioned this kind of issue, with the volume initially being very low and then rising again. But I can't seem to find it again.

 

[djsoft]

Currently in RadioBOSS 7.1.4.0, the "Start Mix" point is always taken into account for two consecutive music tracks without a voice track. However, when there is a voice track in between, it works differently and is a shame for the flow of the program: it produces a mini silence on the air.

This is probably a bug, thank you, we'll check it.

but only after the "End" of music track A and not after the "Mix". What I wish and what would be smoother: play the Bed at the same time as the voice track which starts at the "Mix" of music track A.

This is by design, if the bed is started at mix point, it will sound together with the music track, which in many cases will sound weird. Currently, it only applied the bed when there's no other music playing.

 

[Guillaume]

This is by design, if the bed is started at mix point, it will sound together with the music track, which in many cases will sound weird. Currently, it only applied the bed when there's no other music playing.

I understand, and it's indeed a good idea to start the bed playback when there are no more tracks to avoid an unpleasant mix.

Is it possible to add a function to start the bed earlier?
Because the volume level of some music tracks is very low as they approach the "End" point. The voice track is alone, and you can hear small recording defects (background noise, etc.).

Suggestion: Add a mix point in the Track Tool. This point would indicate when to start a bed.

 

[djsoft]

Suggestion: Add a mix point in the Track Tool. This point would indicate when to start a bed.

I'm not sure, this is probably overkill for such a minor feature Maybe a fixed option like "Start bed X seconds before End marker" will do.

 

[nelson c]

but only after the "End" of music track A and not after the "Mix". What I wish and what would be smoother: play the Bed at the same time as the voice track which starts at the "Mix" of music track A.

I don't know if I understood correctly but:
There's an advanced option that changes this behavior. Change the mix point so that there are no silences between the end of one track and the next when there's a voice track in between.
I also disagree that the current behavior is the most appropriate, but this fixes it.

 

[Guillaume]

I'm not sure, this is probably overkill for such a minor feature Maybe a fixed option like "Start bed X seconds before End marker" will do.

Absolutely, it seems excessive to me to add a dedicated mix point. It would clutter the mix points column too much.
But I couldn't come up with a less intrusive idea .

This feature is minor. Yes, but it would improve the on-air performance.

I don't know how music radio stations work around the world. But in France, the music stream is not interrupted except during commercials and the news.
A vocal performance (host, DJ, etc.) is always accompanied by a musical element: either a bed or the intro to the next track.
And there's no silence between the elements.

Your suggestion would be fine if it could be applied to the selected track.
Because not all music tracks have the same volume between the "Mix" and "End" mix points. The difference in duration is also variable, and if it's very small, the Bed shouldn't start before the "Mix" mix point.

Therefore, adjustments would be made for each music track to ensure the result is as smooth as possible without creating an unpleasant mix.


Could this be configured in the Track Tool?

I imagine a "..." button like the one in Voice Insert (Voice Ins).
This new button would be positioned to the right of the play button at the "End" mix point.

Either a pop-up window would open to indicate the "Start Bed" mix point (best case scenario).

Or a pop-up window would open to indicate a duration => Start Bed: number of seconds and hundredths of a second before the "End" mix point.

The idea is to find a solution that would fill this momentary "silence" in a way that doesn't interrupt the flow of music. The listener shouldn't feel like the music has stopped. That's my rule.

At the same time, I also understand that this feature may be considered minor or of no interest by other users... And if we can find a consensus, that would satisfy me

 

[djsoft]

I don't know if I understood correctly but:
There's an advanced option that changes this behavior. Change the mix point so that there are no silences between the end of one track and the next when there's a voice track in between.
I also disagree that the current behavior is the most appropriate, but this fixes it.

Do you refer to "Crossfade - Limit Mix to end before Intro" option? If so, enabling this by default doesn't seem a good solution, as in many cases it will lead voice tracks starting before playing track's Outro point. It can be moved out of the Advanced section though if many people want to enable this easily.

At the same time, I also understand that this feature may be considered minor or of no interest by other users... And if we can find a consensus, that would satisfy me

In this case, the solution should be more universal and cover more use cases. One of the options I see is to add a new marker e.g. "Quiet Part Start" (and, maybe also "Quiet Part End" for the beginning of a track) which can be used to mark quiet parts of a track. So it can be used for beds and for other purposes as well.

Another option, and maybe it's actually a better one, is to trigger bed based on playback level (considering all applied fades etc.), this fits more into RadioBOSS's philosophy to do it automatically without the need to prepare music files first.

 

[Guillaume]

In this case, the solution should be more universal and cover more use cases. One of the options I see is to add a new marker e.g. "Quiet Part Start" (and, maybe also "Quiet Part End" for the beginning of a track) which can be used to mark quiet parts of a track. So it can be used for beds and for other purposes as well.

Another option, and maybe it's actually a better one, is to trigger bed based on playback level (considering all applied fades etc.), this fits more into RadioBOSS's philosophy to do it automatically without the need to prepare music files first.

Yes, that's a good idea, and I'll use both of your suggestions:

• Trigger the Bed playback based on the music track's volume level between the "Mix" and "End" mix points.
• Trigger the Bed to stop based on the music track's volume level between the "Start" and "Start Mix" mix points.

The volume level setting would be identical for both triggers. I don't see the point of having a separate setting for each trigger.

This would be in keeping with RadioBOSS's philosophy: a single setting that applies to all music tracks.
The flow of music would not be interrupted, and there would be smoother transitions.