I am a new user. How do I activate the “Effect” menu? I have recorded and opened an audio file from which I want to remove noise, but the “Effect” menu remains inactive. Thanks.
Dan W.
You have to highlight a portion of the audio signal in order to access the effects.
There is an excellent writeup on how to use the Noise Removal function here:
http://audacityteam.org/wiki/index.php?title=Noise_Removal
I highly recommend using Audacity 1.3.5 to do Noise Removal, it’s a vast improvement over Audacity 1.2.6’s Noise Removal.
<<<I highly recommend using Audacity 1.3.5 to do Noise Removal>>>
What he said. You may find as a lot of us did, that the control over the effect is so much better as to be the difference between a good show and one that doesn’t work as well.
Noise removal is a two step process. First you find a section of show with the noise and no performance and let the program “sniff” it (get noise profile). Then you select the performance and the program will try to subtract the profile from the show.
Like most of these tools, it works better when you don’t need it. A lot of people show up with a completely trashed show and expect the tool to help. In that case, it doesn’t. It does a passable job on tape noise and other hissy problems, but it won’t touch echoes. If you have a show recorded in a noisy room with echoes, you have no show.
It also won’t touch an interfering noise that changes. You’ll never get rid of that Metrobus pulling away from the curb.
Koz