Audio Mixing
Learn about professional audio mixing features. Master per-clip volume control, 3-band EQ, compressor, and noise gate.
Audio Mixing Overview
VideoBuff provides professional audio mixing tools right in the browser. In addition to per-clip volume control, you can apply effects such as a 3-band equalizer (EQ), compressor, and noise gate on a per-clip basis.
These tools let you clarify narration voices, balance BGM volume, and reduce ambient noise — all within the browser. Effects can be previewed in real time during playback, and the same processing is applied during export.
Volume Control
Each clip's volume can be independently adjusted from 0% to 100%. Use the slider in the audio section of the inspector panel, or enter a numeric value for precise volume setting.
Common mixing balances like keeping narration at 100% while lowering BGM to 20-30% can be easily achieved. Volume adjustments are non-destructive, so the original audio data is never modified.
In sections where multiple audio clips overlap, their volumes are summed, so check the overall balance as you make adjustments.
3-Band Equalizer (EQ)
The 3-band EQ adjusts three frequency ranges — Low (below ~300Hz), Mid (300Hz to 3kHz), and High (above 3kHz) — each within a range of plus or minus 12dB. Lowering the Low band reduces environmental low-frequency noise and muddiness, while slightly boosting the Mid band improves narration voice clarity.
Raising the High band increases definition and sharpness, while lowering it can tame sibilance. Each band's slider reflects changes in real time, letting you find the optimal balance during playback.
EQ is particularly effective for improving narration intelligibility and separating frequency ranges between narration and BGM.
Compressor
A compressor reduces the dynamic range by attenuating louder parts of the audio to even out volume differences. Parameters include Threshold (the level at which compression starts), Ratio (compression intensity), Attack (how quickly compression engages), Release (how quickly compression disengages), and Makeup Gain (post-compression volume adjustment).
Four presets are available — Narration, BGM, Strong, and Punch — which can be applied with a single click for different use cases. The Narration preset applies gentle compression to smooth voice dynamics, while the Strong preset applies heavy compression for podcast-style uniform volume.
Proper use of compression means viewers won't need to constantly adjust their volume.
Noise Gate
A noise gate cuts audio signals that fall below a set threshold level. The Threshold can be set from -100dB to 0dB, and any sound quieter than this value is treated as silence.
This effectively removes low-level ambient noise such as air conditioning hum or PC fan noise between speech segments. However, setting the Threshold too high will also cut quiet voices or natural audio tails, so it is important to adjust carefully while playing back.
It is especially effective for dealing with ambient noise in narration recordings.
Technical Note: Audio Processing Implementation
Audio processing uses the Web Audio API. Each EQ band is implemented with a BiquadFilterNode — lowshelf for the Low band, peaking for the Mid band, and highshelf for the High band.
The compressor is implemented with a DynamicsCompressorNode that performs real-time dynamics processing based on the specified parameters. The same effect chain is used in both preview playback and export, ensuring what you hear matches what gets exported exactly.
Volume adjustment uses a GainNode, and all nodes are connected in series as an audio graph.
For dedicated audio editing and processing beyond what video editing offers, check out our sister service AudioBuff.