EditsInsta Guide, updated October 2026
Fixing common audio problems before you export
People forgive shaky footage more easily than they forgive bad audio. A slightly soft shot still holds attention. Audio that's too quiet, too loud, or inconsistent makes people leave.
Most audio problems in a finished Reel trace back to one of three things: mismatched volume between clips, background noise that wasn't obvious while filming, or music that fights with dialogue instead of sitting behind it. All three are fixable inside Edits without needing separate audio software, but catching them before export saves a lot of frustration compared to noticing after you've already posted.
Uneven volume between clips
This is the most common issue, and the easiest to fix. If you recorded across multiple takes or locations, each clip likely has a slightly different volume level even if you didn't notice while filming. Loudness Match is built for exactly this, and running it early in your edit, before you start layering in music or sound effects, saves you from having to re-balance everything later once more elements are stacked on top.
Common audio problems and quick fixes
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| Volume jumps between clips | Run Loudness Match early, before adding music or effects |
| Background hum or noise | Catch it while filming; there's no full noise-removal tool built in |
| Music drowns out dialogue | Lower music volume slightly across the whole clip, not just during speech |
| Imported track sounds off-balance | Check its volume against the built-in library rather than trusting it by default |
Background noise you didn't notice while filming
Air conditioning, traffic, a fan in another room, these are easy to tune out in person and impossible to ignore once they're the loudest thing in a quiet moment of your video. There's no full noise-removal tool built into Edits, so the more reliable fix is catching it before you commit to a take. If a room has a hum you can hear once you stop talking, it'll be there in the recording too, and it's much easier to move locations than to fix it afterward.
Music that competes with your voice
A common mistake is picking a track at full volume and only lowering it during actual dialogue, which creates an obvious volume dip every time someone speaks. Setting the music slightly quieter across the entire clip, rather than ducking it in and out, usually sounds more natural and takes less manual adjustment overall.
Imported audio versus the built-in library
The built-in sound effects and music, covered in more depth on the features page, are already leveled reasonably well against each other. Audio you import yourself often isn't, so treat any imported track as a starting point that needs its volume checked against the rest of your project, not something to drop in and trust by default. This is also where copyright risk tends to show up, worth reading alongside the audio copyright guide.
The last check before exporting
Watch the full edit once with your eyes closed, or with the screen off. It sounds unnecessary, but it's a genuinely fast way to notice volume jumps and background noise that are easy to miss while you're also watching the visuals and getting distracted by them.
Headphones versus phone speakers
Do this final listen twice, once with headphones and once through your phone's built-in speaker, since the two can sound noticeably different, especially with bass-heavy music tracks. Most viewers will actually watch on a phone speaker rather than headphones, so if a mix sounds thin or a voice gets buried on the speaker but fine on headphones, trust the speaker version. It's a better approximation of how most people will actually experience the finished video.
Frequently asked questions
What does Loudness Match actually do?
It automatically evens out volume differences between separate clips in your project, so audio doesn't jump noticeably as the video cuts between them.
Can I remove background noise inside Edits?
There's no dedicated noise-removal tool. The more reliable approach is catching problem noise while filming, since it's much harder to fix cleanly after the fact.
Should music volume change during dialogue?
Constant ducking in and out tends to sound jarring. Setting music slightly quieter across the whole clip, rather than only during speech, usually sounds more natural.
Is imported audio automatically balanced with the rest of my project?
No. Always check an imported track's volume against your other audio, since the built-in library is pre-leveled but outside audio typically isn't.
Bottom line
Audio problems are usually easier to catch by ear than by eye, which is exactly why a screen-off listen before export is worth the thirty seconds it takes. Run Loudness Match early, watch for competing music, and treat imported audio as unbalanced until proven otherwise.