Hi, on listening to this audio for long periods, at least to me, it seems a bit hard on the ears. The best description I can give is “percussive” or “booming”. I did use a pop filter. It might just be my computer and headphones, however expert advice would be much appreciated. What do you think, and anything you would recommend to improve it?
IMO the worst thing about that is the clicks.
ACON de-clicker plugin quickly gets rid of the worst of the clicks …
Now the bad news it’s not free, & only available for Mac & PC, (you do get to try before you buy though).
Thanks. I maintain FreeOpenSourceSoftware.org (not very well mind you but occasionally) and am a huge believer in open source. At the same time, I really need results. I will get it, thanks much.
So once I fix that, it does not sound not too “boomy” or poppy to you?
To me the main problem with it is mouth clicks.
The ACON declick quickly removes the conspicuous clicks, and can reduce plosive thuds (“P” & “B” s) somewhat.
The ACON demo versions are not time-limited, (they insert silence every 45 seconds), so you can try at your leisure.
ACON declick comes in a package with a dynamic DeNoise plugin which will reduce your noise & slight room reverb
A free plugin you could try to make it smoother is Audio assault’s Transient: a transient-shaper to reduce the attack.
Thanks much. I will investigate.
I think you’re right. There’s something a little weird about the presentation, but I don’t know that I can put a name to it. That would be a little tiring for a long presentation.
What’s the microphone? Can you produce a longer test? Don’t process or do anything to it.
http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/TestClip/Record_A_Clip.html
Can you tell where those clicks are coming from? It’s far better to avoid that at the announcing step than trying to patch it up later.
Koz
Ah! Got it!
I hung out with a police dispatcher and he sounded normal in real life over coffee, but had an announcing technique which was very staccato and stiff for his job. He could punch right though police radio channels with all their restrictions, interference and real-life noises.
That’s what it sounds like. Police Radio Voice.
Koz
Police radio usually is usually highly compressed,
which gives it a steep attack, which makes it sound harsh.
Right, but that’s after the radio processing has its way with the sound. Note one of those guys is a mush-mouth and it takes you a second or two to understand what he said. The people with clear, slightly punched delivery sound fine.
But slightly punched delivery may not be the best thing for hours of listening.
Koz
Well, well, one learns.
It is always best to solve problems at the source. However, for this narrator, one has what one has. I know it might sound easy to “simply speak naturally, conversationally”. However, it is hard to properly explain this use case. Given the material, the narrator, and need to sync the delivery with existing graphics, this is as good as it is going to get. Police Service Voice (PSV) is what we have to work with.
I have no idea where those clicks are coming from. I have to assume they are from my voice itself. I’ve been teaching much of my life, and it has taken a fair amount of damage. Maybe they are built-in. Thanks goodness for the plugins. I will use them.
I am glad it does not sound overly “booming” to you. It might well be my headphones / bluetooth / driver combination. I’ve noticed that Windows 10 over bluetooth to different headphones greatly changes sound, despite all my turning off of effects.
The good news is this audio is much, much better than the first time round on this a couple years ago. One learns.
As always, I remain grateful for any other suggested improvements or recommendations.
Thanks again.
I am glad it does not sound overly “booming” to you.
No. I think that’s your headphones. I listened on two very different sound systems and “Booming” wasn’t apparent.
Koz
Ah, thank you very much, that is welcome feedback.
ACON Digital talked me into buying their bundle of three plugins:
Restoration Suite - https://acondigital.com/products/restoration-suite/
DeVerberate - https://acondigital.com/products/deverberate/
DeFilter - https://acondigital.com/products/defilter/
I’m still using Audacity 2.2.2 because everything is set up and working well, don’t want to upgrade until I’m at a logical new point. I could not tell if it is 32 or 64 bit. Can you tell me how to decide which version of the plugins to download, 32 or 64?
Any advice on use of DeVerberate and DeFilter?
Ok, one down, it is a 32 bit app. Method to tell on Windows described here:
https://www.digitalcitizen.life/3-ways-learn-whether-windows-program-64-bit-or-32-bit
Any advice on use of ACON DeVerberate or DeFilter gratefully received.
Also, do you have recommendations in where the ACON de-clicker (and DeVerberate and DeFilter if applicable) should go in the following sequence of effects?
Change tempo -13%
Change pitch -5%
Ozone 20 / 3
RMS normalize -18
Soft limit -3
On reflection, maybe I don’t have that sequence right in the first place?
I’ve not tried ACON DeFilter, it looks interesting. but I don’t think you need it.
I have tried ACON DeVerberate it’s a de-reverb , again I don’t think you need it.
The dynamic noise-reduction plugin (de noise) in the ACON “restoration suite” will kill two birds with one stone:
it can eliminate your slight noise & slight room reverb.
I would de-click first, then noise-reduction, then any other processing.
Awesome, thanks. The DeNoise interface is below. I have no idea what these options mean. Could you suggest appropriate settings?
tfsotp.xml (486 Bytes)
If you click on the “Listen to the removed signal” you will hear ACON dynamic (adaptive) DeNoise is removing room-reverb as a side-effect.
Many thanks.