when i cut up a track using “repeat” or lay one track over another on audacity, it oftens produces clicks. ive read several webpages about how to use the plug-ins for this type of click removal (ie clicks not created after the actual recording) but i cant understand it. i think i have all the plug-ins, but if someone could help me understand it, i would be immensely grateful.
–zati
This problem is usually caused by the waveform “not matching up” where the audio repeats, so zoomed in very close you may see a “discontinuity” as below (see here for how to zoom in: Audacity Manual)
It is this “discontinuity” that causes the click.
By making the selection as close to a “zero crossing point” (where the waveform passes across the centre line) you can achieve a much smoother transition like this:
For mono tracks, pressing the “Z” key will often help to adjust the selection to zero crossing points (see here: Audacity Manual)
With stereo tracks it may not be possible to find an exact zero crossing point that occurs in both channels (left and right speakers) at the same time, so just aim for the closest that you can find.
If there is just a slight discontinuity it is usually possible to make a good repair using the “Repair” tool (see here: Missing features - Audacity Support)
“With stereo tracks it may not be possible to find an exact zero crossing point that occurs in both channels (left and right speakers) at the same time, so just aim for the closest that you can find.”
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steve,
thank you so much for getting back to me so fast. i have been using soley audacity for about a decade and like it better than the rest.
one last question: im having trouble locating the ZERO CROSSINGS. when i use the “find zero crossings” under “file,” it doesnt seem to do anything in either the waveform or spectrogram view, unless im missing something. im willing to put in the hours, but there so many clicks, i was hoping there would be some shortcut to identifying and deleting/joining all the zero crossings?
thanks again,
–zati
I presume that you mean: “find zero crossing” under “Edit”.
The easiest way to see what “Find Zero Crossings” does, is to zoom in close on a mono track.
Here is a very short selection on a mono track.
Note that the selection does not start or end at "zero crossing points.
Then on pressing the “Z” key (or selecting “Find Zero Crossings” in the Edit menu).
Note that the selection now starts and ends at "zero crossing points.
steve,
i really appreciate your help, but i simply cant locate all the “zero crossings” no matter how far i zoom in. even if i could, i use lots of layers, and so have literally 100’s of clicks on some tracks (and, strangely, none on others.)
if there is a piece of software i could buy to fix this problem, maybe in a “batch” type of thing, i would definitely buy it.
again, thanks. im lousy at recording, so i know its on me.
—john
You said previously that the clicks occurred when and where you made edits. The idea is that you select zero crossing points before making the edits, then the clicks don’t happen in the first place, so you don’t need to go back and fix them.
The problem with “automatic click removal effects” is that they need to be able to tell the difference between a click that should not be there and a click that is part of the music. If the effect worked on all clicks, then percussive sounds (such as drums) would lose their attack and vocal sounds such as “T” would become “th”. There are effects for removing clicks (such as “Effect > Click Removal”, but a click due to a bad edit “looks” like an intentional click and is unlikely to be removed.