The download file is a .ZIP file. The .NY file must be “extracted” from the ZIP archive file.
Did you restart Audacity? The effect will not show up until Audacity is restarted.
If you have had both Audacity 1.2 and 1.3 installed, check that you have put the .NY file into the correct folder (1.2 and 1.3 are installed in different directories with “Program Files”).
Personally I’m not happy with the description of the Nyquist Broadcast Limiter II. It’s not really a “limiter” in the normal sense - the effect would be more accurately described as “soft clipping”.
I have updated the description on the download page http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Download_Nyquist_Plug-ins
Did you try and see if your Audacity recognizes the plugin?
I have no idea why you might think I or someone would not know to unzip the plugin…
I guess you have your reasons …
Like I said, “I put the RFT-Limiter-II.ny file (not the zip file) in the plugins folder
but Audacity does not seem to recognize the plugin.”
(…and, yes, I’ve restarted Audacity … more than once)
I am using 1.3.12ß - the “install-free” version; I just unzipped the download
and put it where I want it …
Last year I added the FFmpeg stuff to Audacity with no problems.
I would like to use this or some form of AGC for Audacity.
Is there or might there be in the future some AGC for Audacity?
(This posing is getting “off topic” from the thread title …)
Any helpful replies/insights appreciated.
Thank you.
Regards,
AEN
Æ
With Audacity 1.3.12 beta, I have the effect listed as “Broadcast Limiter II” in the “Effect” menu it is listed “below the line”.
Note that the effects below the line are listed alphabetically and the name of this effect is “Broadcast Limiter II” and not “RFT-Limiter-II”
We have no idea what level of computer experience people on the forum have. It is a surprisingly common mistake for people to put the ZIP files into the plug-ins folder, simply because they have no idea what a ZIP file is (and by default, Windows will hide file extensions for known file types which does not help new computer users to understand about file types).
Curious.
Have a look in “Edit menu > Preferences > Effects” and check that there is a tick next to “Nyquist”.
There are many disadvantage of using AGC while recording. A much better approach is to ensure that you set the level low enough to avoid any possibility of clipping, and then apply a AGC type effect on the recorded track. A very good plug-in effect for producing an AGC type result it Chris’s Dynamic Compressor. Again it is a Nyquist plug-in, so unless we resolve the problem with the Broadcast Limiter II you will probably find that Chris’s Dynamic Compressor does not show up either.
I do not use AGC while recording.
Like I posted previously (in this thread), I use AGC as the final (or - as in the case of Dark Side of the Moon - as posted previously in this thread - penultimate) step
in preparing wav files before mp3 encoding or video soundtracks before processing.
Anyway, that is irrelevant.
And the problem indeed was that Nyquist was unchecked in Audacity preferences …
I guess a long time ago I unchecked Nyquist to minimize the number of entries in the effects menu (to reduce or eliminate entries with the same first letter), so I can select the effect by simplying typing the first letter of the effect name. I guess I’ll remove some of the Nyqust .ny files from the plugins folder - if i use a Nyquist effect for AGC …
I hope sooner or later I can do AGC in Audacity instead of always exporting wav files to be imported into NCH WavPad 3.02a for AGC processing …
This is a 5 page topic. I’ve only skim-read it as I thought that you would appreciate answers now rather than waiting until I have time to read the whole thing, so I apologise if I have skimmed over some details that you have mentioned earlier.
For clarification, the term AGC (Automatic Gain Control) is generally used to refer to a process that is applied to the signal during recording (often as a hardware effect). When applied after recording, the term “dynamics compression” is generally used (often just called “compression”). So, am I correct in thinking that the effect that you want, is to be able to even out fluctuations in the volume level of a recording by applying a compression effect? If so you should certainly try Chris’s dynamic compressor as it probably does exactly what you are looking for. Chris has produced a stand-alone version and a Nyquist plug-in version. The Nyquist plug-in version is a .NY file that you can install in the same way as the Broadcast Limiter and will allow you to apply the effect within Audacity. Instructions are provided on his web site.
My only experience with AGC has been through the NCH WavPad audio effect that they call Automatic Gain Control and describe as:
Automatic Gain Control
Normal recordings can have the volume of the recording too high in parts and too soft in parts. ‘Automatic Gain Control’ reduces the too loud parts and increases the too soft parts. This is sometimes a better alternative to normalization (above).
I guess this AGC for this NCH audio effect is a misnomer (even though the result is like hardware applied AGC?)? “AGC” as the final (or penultimate) step has always seemed to work very well for me to max the file volume/gain without distortion/clipping.
(I’ve never liked normalization and the Broadcast Limiter doesn’t seem to do much …)
I’ve started doing various comparisons of WavPad AGC files and Audacity files done with Chris’s dynamic compressor. It seems I may no longer need WavPad for “AGC” … …
That would save me lots of keystrokes and time! Any chance Audacity might tweak the effects menu with submenus and “&'s”? Default effects could have a submenu. So could Nyquist. So could VST … Default effects could be &Amplify Auto-Duc&k and etc to enable “one-touch” selecting and save keystrokes …
Well, I seem to have mixed results with “AGC” alternatives to NCHWP.
When the entire soundtrack or audio file or all the audio files need to be “boosted”,
Chris’s compressor seems fine; however, sometimes the level of the entire soundtrack or audio file or of some of the audio files that I have strung together are “too stong/high” (but not necessarily distorted …). NCHWP does a nice job of reducing the too loud parts while still boosting the too soft parts. The resulting NCHWP waveform still has nice “curves/form” all along the peaks of the waveforms. I have not (yet) been able to find an alternative to NCHWP that will 1) simultaneously boost and soften; 2) generate a nicely shaped waveform. All the alternatives seem to leave resulting waveforms (when softening)
with no form at the peaks - just a flat edge …
Yes, the effect is very similar, but because it is applied after the recording it cannot protect against recording at too high a level (which hardware AGC is supposed to do), but it can offer better control over the gain that is applied than hardware AGC.
The broadcast limiter only affects high peaks (which is what it is intended to do) but it does not really “even out” the levels to any great extent (which is not designed to do).
Where the Broadcast Limiter is useful is if you have a recording that has a few very high spikes. Such spikes would either push the overall level too low (if you avoid clipping) or if you raise the overall level, the spikes will be clipped and sound badly distorted. The Broadcast limiter provides a way of pushing down these peaks so that the audio track can be amplified without causing noticeable distortion (unless the limiter is used to excess).
Something along those lines would be very nice and has been discussed previously.
On this page: Missing features - Audacity Support
There’s an item “Effects Toolbar (4 votes) Should be able to be dragged to any area of the screen and dockable. Organize in menus and type of effect, be able to edit organization and create favorites list.”
I can add your vote if you wish, or you can register on the wiki and add it yourself.
There is also an item “A “Macro” facility for menu items:” on this page that you may find interesting: Missing features - Audacity Support
If you wish to discuss this proposal it may be easiest to start a new forum topic in this section of the forum: Adding Features - Audacity Forum
Chris has changed the interface a few times recently, but last time I looked there was an option of “Hard/Soft”. If it has that option, try setting it “softer”.
It is a pretty versatile effect so I think that you should be able to achieve your desired result. It may even be worth posting a question on Chris’s web site for suggested settings.
I wasn’t using Chris’s ßeta release, but there is no such Hard/Soft button in the ßeta either. It seems, so far, that there is no equal/substitue for the NCH WavPad AGC which 1) simultaneously boosts & softens and 2) leaves a waveform with a nice shape when softening … I’ll post something at Chris’s website …
Generally, to get a softer effect, you decrease the compression level, and decrease the compression hardness. If you’re not seeing a “compression hardness” parameter, then you’ve downloaded the advanced version, and you should increase the attack and release speeds. (Increase the speeds to make it softer? Maybe I should change “speed” to “time”.) You can also try slightly lowering the exponent parameters.
Try these settings: compression level 0.5, release speed 1500, attack speed 800, floor -24, release exponent 1.7. If the sound dips before peaks too much, lower the attack speed again. If you want to keep more of the overall dynamic range (i.e. the depth of the dips) then lower the compression level more. If you want to decrease the overall level of the result, try changing “renormalize” to .85.
Steve, a nice feature in Audacity would be to have a “preset” dropdown list for nyquist plugins. I could include a few different settings there for people to play with.
Some presets would be really nice.
In “Version 3” Nyquist plug-ins there is a GUI Multiple-Choice Widget for drop-down lists.
See here: Audacity and Nyquist
There’s an example of it in use in this little plug-in: channel-mixer.ny
“Version 3” plug-ins require Audacity 1.3 or later.
I’ll try those settings as soon as I have time. I have stated two issues: there is no equal/substitue for the NCH WavPad AGC which 1) simultaneously boosts & softens and 2) leaves a waveform with a nice shape when softening … I suppose this reply addresses the shape/distribution of the waveform after softening? The other issue still remains.
Sometimes I sting together several mp3 files. Some might need boosting. Some might need softening. NCHWP AGC will boost & soften in one pass. That doesn’t seem possible with any alternative effect.
I don’t like NCH (for reasons not given) and don’t recommend installing NCH freeware (or any NCH software) because (for one reason) the install makes LOTS (dozens? 100+?) of unsolicited registry entries. Versions after 3.02a even made the registry entries every time the exe was launched. I find NCH has not improved WavPad in releases after 3.02a. I installed 3.02a, copied out the files, then uninstalled 3.02a and treated the program files like a “portable app”. Anyway, I could provide the 3.02a files to anyone who might like to see with their own eyes how the NCHWP AGC works …
I am trying-out three versions of the dynamic compressor: 1.2.6 stable, 1.2.6 stable-advanced and 1.2.7ß1.
I loaded an audio file in NCHWP and applied “AGC”. I exported that wav file. I loaded the same source file into Audacity and the imported the wav file exported from NCHWP. I tried various settings in 1.2.6s. I wanted to find settings that would as closely as possible replicate the NCHWP “AGC” waveform.
This testing is only “boost”-testing. I tried the “softening” settings posted for the 1.2.6s-a version. There was NO visible effect at all (unless I reduced “renormalize”) on the waveform!?! When I reduced renormalize, the resultant waveform had “no form at the peaks - just a flat edge …”. Below I have uploaded some waveforms of NCHWP “AGC” softening versus Audacity Nyquist softening.
Anyway, regarding 1.2.6s» Compress ratio & Compression hardness both have a slider, but the Ch slider has better input display than the Cr slider. The Ch slider changes the input value from .5 to .501 to .502 & etc … The Cr slider only changes the (displayed) input value from .5 to .51 to .52 & etc … Maybe the Cr slider could/should function like the Ch slider? I have not (yet) ever used the Floor or Noise gate falloff settings. The Max amplitude slider moves between 0 & 1, but I found that the plugin will process MaxAmp values like 1.4 when manually entered. That was crucial to achieving my desired results. I have found (so far) that Cr of .4 and Ch of .6 have the desired effect on the waveform (when boosting). I then have to select the appropriate MaxAmp value by trial & error.
I would like to suggest that users could somehow save Audacity plugin settings instead of the plugin always opening with hardcoded default settings.
Regarding 1.2.7ß1» The Compress bright sounds & Boost bass sounds have sliders that move between 0 & 1 (no intermediate values with the sliders but the user could enter any value or decimal …). I suppose 0 is no/off and 1 is yes/on? If so, then maybe the slider display should be 0----1 n/y instead of 0----1 y/n?
I don’t understand the effect these options had on the waveform. Both had a “softening” (significant or dramatic) effect on the resultant waveform. Boost bass sounds DRAMATICALLY softened/reduced the resultant waveform. I don’t know why Boost bass sounds would do that. Should these effects have a “softening” effect on the resultant waveform?
The 4 images are of the soundtrack of an unofficial mid-1980s Grateful Dead backstage video (thought to have been made by one of the kids of one of the band members).
Image AudDC01 (see the next post; forum only allows uploading 3 attachments) is the same soundtrack after applying Chris’s suggested settings (including renormalize @ .85). The resultant waveform has “no form at the peaks - just a flat edge …”
So far the following still holds true»
There is no equal/substitue for the NCH WavPad AGC which 1) simultaneously boosts & softens and 2) leaves a waveform with a nice shape when softening … I prefer NCHWP03 waveform (and sound!) to any of the other three waveforms
18January2011
Today I decided to try the 1.3.13ª “Nightly”.
Audacity 1.3.13-alpha-Jan 17 2011
The Noise Removal slider for “Attack/decay time (secs)” does NOT work.
I can only enter a value in the box.
I cannont change the value by positioning the “cursor” on the slider
and pressing the left or right arrow keys …
Today I was (eventually) able to use the new 1.3.13 Noise Removal to remove a very high pitched, consistent “whine” - almost like a dog whistle or radio whine - from a Grateful Dead soundtrack/soundboard recording by adjusting Sensitivity & Attack/Delay …
I’ve not heard/had this type of whine in hardly any other audio track …
The Audacity NR just keeps getting better & better …
The Left/Right arrow keys for the Noise Removal slider for “Attack/decay time (secs)” do NOT work - but the End/Home keys do … which only allows moving from 0 to1 and back …
I can only enter a value in the box.
The “Attack/decay time (secs)” option seems really effective. Almost all noise samples I have encountered are “pretty constant” (to quote the NR documentation). I suppose using a value like 1 might potentially negatively affect the overall sound quality but it hasn’t so far. In fact setting “Attack/decay time (secs)” to 1 has allowed me to set Noise Reduction (dB) MUCH lower than was previously the case - which would sometimes noticeably negatively affect the overall sound quality when at high(er) values. Anyway I would be interested to hear what anyone who actually knows the science of these settings thinks about settings “Attack/decay time (secs)” at 1 …
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