Catskill Cows voice sample for review

[kozikowski]

This isn’t quite as crazy as it looks because I had to cover what happens when you start fresh. After the first time through, many of the settings “stick” and you just have to check them, but not change them.

It assumes you announced the chapter and File > Exported a WAV (Microsoft) protection copy (errors and all). This keeps you from reading the whole thing again if your computer goes into the dirt during editing. That never happens to anybody…

Only then do you make all the corrections, edits, additions, deletions as needed to clean up the chapter.

Apply The Macro (or the individual pieces).

ACX-Check. Peak and RMS (Loudness) should be perfect. If noise is louder than -65dB (lower number), you’ll need to apply Effect > Noise Reduction.

— Classic Noise Reduction —
Drag select some room tone (clean background sound). Effect > Noise Removal and Repair > Noise Reduction > Get Profile.

Select the whole chapter (double click the timeline). Effect > Noise Removal and Repair > Noise Reduction > 6, 6, 6 > Reduce.

ACX-Check. If the noise is quieter than -65dB, export the chapter as a WAV (Microsoft) Edit Master Sound File (Different name than the first WAV), and go on to the next chapter.

Use only upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, underscore, and dash in filenames. That’s it. I don’t use spaces, either.

Beresford_Life_History-Edit_Master-Chapter01.wav

Never do production in MP3. You can make the ACX MP3 chapter submission later.
`

— Audacity 3.6 Audiobook Mastering —
2024-07-30

Select > All
Effect > Eq and Filters > Filter Curve EQ > Presets & settings > Factory Presets > Low rolloff for speech. Apply.

Select > All
Effect > Volume and Compression > Loudness Normalization > Normalize RMS to -20dB > Apply

Select > All
Effect > Steve Daulton > Limiter > Soft Limit, Gain Mono-Left 0.00, Gain Right 0.00, Limit to -3.5dB, Hold 10, Makeup No > Apply
`

— ACX-Check 3.6 —

Analyze > Steve Daulton > ACX Check
`

Post back if you find any problems. After you get rolling and after I finish building the software, this can be four keyclicks.

Export the Protection WAV
Mastering
ACX-Check
Run Noise Reduction (if needed)
Export the Chapter WAV Edit Master (under a different name.)

If this is just too overwhelming I can refer you to the three volume set: “How to Ride A Bicycle.” Not all activities lend themselves to written instructions.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Oh, darn. The legacy, mature, classic (old) limiter is no longer available in Macro tools. You can still use it only if you do Mastering manually.

I know the old one doesn’t have a good reputation because it does basically round off any tall blue waves that exceed the chosen settings, -3.5dB in this case. So it is creating distortion, but it’s gentle, infrequent, and so low volume that the audible damage vanishes.

I picked up one of the newer limiters and I need to see what it does to the sound. The Mastering “advertising brochure” is being able to meet ACX Peak and RMS (loudness) technical standards exactly, you can’t hear it working, and you sound like you.

Also there’s the matter that ACX-Check may be a different one than the original. Audacity 6.1 will not let me install the old one. That’s not good news.

Koz

[TP17]

Took pics of the back of the mixing box, s well as the box it came in. Don’t think any of this will be of help though

[kozikowski]

Sorry. Two things at once.

I finished 36Audiobook-Mastering-Macro. Mastering that will work in at least Audacity 3.6.1. I didn’t check in 3.6.0. I should do that.

The limiter oddity was two different ways to set the peak limit in the new software and the Macro had instructions for only one. The limiter tried to adjust the chapter to 0dB (100% Overload) rather than the -3.5dB reduced volume required. I rewrote the code and changed the name. I can’t believe this is me saying those words.

I also fixed an actual error. Loudness Normalization has two ways to set volume. The obvious one is about -20dB RMS for ACX, but there is another one which uses LUFS. In this application, the LUFS volume should be about -16.5, to more or less match ACX, not the -23 it was.

I’m going to lie down for a while.

36Audiobook-Mastering-Macro.txt (585 Bytes)

Koz

[kozikowski]

Both Audiobook-Mastering-Macro and 36Audiobook-Mastering-Macro work in Audacity 3.4.2 and 3.5.1. Apparently, if the macro encounters instructions it doesn’t understand, it just goes around them.

The two Macros deliver very slightly different sound results, but both pass.

36Audiobook-Mastering-Macro is required for Audacity 3.6.0 and 3.6.1.

Neither Macro works in Audacity 2.4.2— It doesn’t like the comment field in the Macro. I’m betting you can use manual step-by-step mastering.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Where were we?

You were going to move the microphone opposite your cheek rather than straight in front (position B), and move it a lot closer with the idea of making the voice louder. You turned off Windows Enhancements, so it’s possible you don’t have sound pumping any more.

This is us waiting.

Koz

[TP17]

I am going to try this tonight, actually. I’ve been busy the past few nights – didn’t want you to think that I left this hanging

[TP17]

Also, I’ve been trying to follow along with the Audiobook Mastering Macro, but I’m a little confused as to what the actual steps are that are needed from me in order to get that macro loaded into my home PC.

[TP17]

Opened up Audacity and re-recorded with microphone at position B, relatively close to my cheek.

[kozikowski]

@TP17

I’m a little confused as to what the actual steps are that are needed

We won’t be needing that for a while.

@TP17

re-recorded with microphone at position B

That part worked OK. Basic voice volume is just about right, what didn’t work was the quality of the sound. It sounds like you have a Noise Gate on your voice. Something is slicing off the beginning and ends of each word. Your voice has a throbbing quality and I never hear your background. Something switches it off—something is “helping” you.

I’m not a Windows Elf, so this would be a good place to do a Clean Shutdown. Windows has a number of different shutdowns and restarts and most of them don’t clean everything out. That’s what Shift-Shutdown does. Sometimes programs can leave voice processing laying around after they stop—or they may not have stopped. Sound programs can stay loafing in the background for weeks and you forget they’re back there.

Of course that never happens to me (ahem).

What does Shift+Shutdown do in Windows 10?

Koz

[TP17]

Okay, did the full shutdown. I did notice that on my “sound board” (that black box), the ‘Voice Over’ button was lit up on the left hand side. I pressed it again and now it’s not lit. The only button that is lit is “Pro”, which is right under the power button and one to the left. There doesn’t appear to be a way to de-select that button, so it’s either EMC, PRO, Pop, or Karaoke. Here’s my re-take:

[kozikowski]

Nope. Here’s two examples. The first one shows a lumpy, fuzzy middle line. That’s normal breathing, mouth noises, background sounds, etc.

The second one shows a thin center line—little or nothing in the middle. That’s you.

Catski Far Rich Eamy…

My mouth keeps wanting to form the words, “stop trying to record on the computer.”

Does the maker of the sound interface have a forum or help service?

Koz

[kozikowski]

Google your brains out?

I shot a successful voice test using Lossless Voice Memo on an old iPhone SE on my desk.

Starbucks optional.

Koz

[kozikowski]

I can taste Promotion and Publicity spinning this as a feature.

Automatically patches Voice Essing and Lip Smacks and removes all annoying background noises.

Koz

[kozikowski]

I watched some of the Squarock BM800 microphone bundle videos on Amazon. I think in the first video, the presenter was using that actual interface because he sounded a lot like you. Tight, clipped, and pumping sound with dead silence intervals.

I would almost put it down to not enough Starbucks when he launched into the second video and sounded much clearer, cleaner, and more natural. Either he found the magic button on the interface or he was using a different microphone and system for the second video.

Koz