Good afternoon
OK, I have spent time with the reader and recorded this short sample. No frills, not fixes
Please have a review and advised on the outcome
Many thanks
Philip
I need to wait a bit before listening critically. If we do the patching, we can frequently do a better job with less processing. It’s also possible that it’s OK almost as it is and you’re trying too hard.
Nose Reduction recipes get tossed around like walnut-fudge recipes and sometimes you just don’t need that.
As we go.
Koz
I applied Steve’s rumble filter just as the clip was supplied to me and I got the attached analysis. Note the last sentence.
Being professionally unable to stop messing with it. I used the very short silent segment at about 8 seconds as Noise Reduction Profile. Then I noise reduced the whole clip by 6,6,6. The Noise Reduction of the Beast. That gives an almost imperceptible suppression of the background hiss, but leaves the human sounds like breathing and putting the coffee cup down. Tea cup? I couldn’t tell.
That’s the attached clip. I would submit that just as it is.
If that’s acceptable, I can publish exact details how I did it.
I see you already know the Normalize to 3.2 trick. Nobody produces peak sound values at -3.2dB straight out of the microphone.
Koz
Quick note. You didn’t tell us anything about the computer or Audacity. These advanced tricks work with Audacity 2.1.0.
http://web.audacityteam.org/download/
Koz
Kos
Many thanks for the feedback, the sound with the 6,6,6, reduction is great and as as you say just enough to remove the hiss.
I’m very happy with the outcome please do drop me a note on how you achieved it all. I have attempted to repair the sample based on your email, not sure if there was other stuff.
- samples small section at 8s
- Ran noise reduction with 6,6,6 on whole clip
- ran normalize to 3.0
Sounds great
Next thing is am I going to have to start this whole book over again, 42 chapters all around 30mins. There is a lot of lip sound that need to be taken out but i expect that the price i pay.
I have made copies at various stages so may not be sooooo bad.
RE Software: I’m on the latest 2.1.0 and I’m windows 7
Thanks again in advance.
Philip
Question: there is a lot of talk about Steve’s Rumble Filter, how can I get this I cant find that description is the search?
Thanks
Pretty sure Koz is referring to the attached equalization curve. I don’t think there is an official download location for stuff like this (although perhaps there should be.)
After you download the file, in Audacity choose Effect->Equalization, then “Save/Manage Curves”. From that window choose “Import” and import the downloaded file. It will then show up as one of the presets in the equalization menu.
LFRolloffForSpeach.XML (453 Bytes)
I’ve posted it here so that it will be easier to find in future: https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/submit-your-eq-curves/14671/139
The “official” download location is this page on the wiki, though there are not many XML files there yet: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/EQCurvesDownload
Thanks folks, I’ll give it a go.
My i please ask, how did the NYQUIST report get generated showing the stats for the recording?
Thanks
Philip
If you do an Analysis > Plot Spectrum on the clip, you will see an enormous amount of energy below 100 Hz and indeed a great pile of it below hearing, 20 Hz. That can screw up the accceptance noise reading. LF_rolloff strips all that away.
ACX Analyze
That one’s a flynwill recent product. I can post that when I get to a real computer. It’s still in development (days old) although it’s getting harder to tell the results of that versus the classic method.
Koz
There is a lot of lip sound that need to be taken out
Did anyone actually complain about that or are you being obsessive? Anything you do to the work has to be done to the whole work and works thereafter. So think about that when you’re piling on extra chores and tasks that will haunt you later. This is the same thing that haunts people who need a long laundry list of filters and effects just to rescue their performance enough to make ACX compliance. This is even before they filter their voice for pleasant sound.
ACX is very clear they would just as soon you didn’t do that. I use an example of you telling a story to someone in a quiet room over cups of hot tea. Smacks and all.
As far as multiple reading, a recent poster is on her second and third reading of some of her material. They started out stiff and awkward, but the latest efforts compare very well to other’s publications. Listen to your work as compared to other shows that you like. But don’t be obsessive about copying someone else’s style, either. Actor’s get hired in order to contribute their own style.
Koz
Thanks for the advice, i must admit I may have been a bit over protective of the lip smacking.
Just one other thought, as the other files may be below -60 does this mean I will need to redo the editing? Is there a way of adding the room tone back into the gaps in the recordings?
Thanks
Philip
Paul-L’s DeClick plugin get’s rid of clicks & pops , but it’s a slow-process ( usually longer than it takes to play )
Attached is acx-check.ny. There’s some discussion over the version numbers. This is the one I used, but I’m pretty sure it’s not the latest one. Park that in your pluggins and it will appear in Analyze.
Also, the non-plugin, classic version is here.
http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/ACXTesting/ACXTesting.html
It is intended to be used with this (links aren’t in yet).
http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/ACXTesting/Analysis.html
acx-check.ny versions are not fatal. They have to do with what happens if a work’s readings are right on the line. Peaks: 2.99999 versus 3.0000, for example. The computer version of “Too Much Information.”
Is there a way of adding the room tone back into the gaps in the recordings?
We are advised by ACX that if you need to add space to a performance, you paste in Room Tone instead of just adding blank silence. That means you have to have Room Tone and they recommend just recording a bunch of it to have it available. I don’t know the best way to edit because whatever you do, you have to transfer exact timings between two or more tracks and I’m not a master editor.
They’ll be along.
other files may be below -60
Unless you were really messy about recording during a rainstorm or having the dog take off after the letter-carrier, I doubt the works are going to be a problem. LF_rolloff will get you into compliance and Noise Reduction of the Beast should get you the rest of the way there.
No reduction will take the dog out. Redo that one.
You have to identify the problem. Erratic and ever-changing noises will have to be fixed before you record. Noise Reduction only works on steady, non-changing noises like computer fans and hum.
And now [drum roll].
What did you do to the clip before we got it. That’s not a raw clip.
Koz
acx-check.ny (5.47 KB)
One more note. LF_rolloff is used with the Equalizer Length slider all the way up. It’s difficult to get accurate curves down that low.
Read through the classic version notes. That gives you a lot of information about what you’re doing.
Koz
Thank you for all the help.
Here’s the latest version of acxcheck.ny
Installation instructions for nyquest plugins can be found here: http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Download_Nyquist_Plug-ins
acx-check.ny (5.6 KB)
And now [drum roll].
What did you do to the clip before we got it. That’s not a raw clip.
I can assure you that the recording sent was straight out of the box, no editing made. Why do you ask?
Philip
I can assure you that the recording sent was straight out of the box
Oh, I believe you. The sound clip supplied happened not only to conform to one of the ACX technical standards, but also the odd number I use in a tool I recommend. The forum elves learn not to ignore coincidences like that.
We had one poster who swore the clip supplied was right out of the box (except for that little slider adjustment he made so we could see it better).
It’s very important to supply raw work. We are likely to suggest specific tools and filters based on that. If you patched it and then we patched it, you could get a laundry list of corrections, some of which you don’t need.
This is also why I, at least, rarely respond directly to requests to “finish the adjustments.” That almost never comes out well. ACX is clear they don’t like long lists of corrections, if for no other reason it usually makes the voice sound funny.
Nobody wants your voice to sound funny.
Koz