Hi, all. I just recently started using Audacity. I am deaf in my right ear and I will, for now, record monologue or dialogue. I was wondering if there any settings I should be aware of? Or do I just leave Audacity the way I got it? Thanks in advance!
In my opinion, stereo would be completely lost on you and might, in some conditions, even be harmful. I would set Audacity preferences for mono (one blue wave) and do everything in that.
Mono is one of the conditions of submission to ACX AudioBook
The only reason you might submit in stereo is if you had a theatrical presentation with stereo effects and backgrounds or had an effect on your voice such as echo or "theater sound. All those are frowned on by ACX.
Some recording systems naturally record in stereo and it’s difficult to stop them. In that case record in stereo and convert later either by splitting to mono and deleting one blue wave (drop-down on the left) or Tracks > Stereo Track to Mono.
Koz
Thank you for the advice, Koz. I have one additional question. What can I do if the person sounds like they’re somewhat underwater? Can Audacity do anything about that? I was able to reduce the white noise in the short video, but the underwater problem remains. Thanks in advance!
Talking in a wine glass sound can be the result of MP3 (or other compression) distortion, or overuse of noise reduction. Both are not recoverable. Go back to the original shoot…or re-shoot.
Koz
By the way, if you do record for audiobooks, there is a common trap. You can rescue a ratty recording into an ACX compliant recording, but it will likely fail Human Quality Control as “over processed.”
It can’t sound like a bad cellphone.
Koz