First sample recording for ACX

Special Interest Groups Audiobook Production
1

Hello anyone that happens to read this.

Here’s my setup

Zoom R16
Microphone parts S-87 w/pop filter
ATH D40fs
3ft xlr cable

Recording in a home studio I’ve built.

I’m hoping with a lot more practice I’ll be able to make a few bucks with ACX as I warm up too voice-over.

I hope it was okay to delete a few seconds before I start speaking. No other processing has been applied. Just select and delete .
There was a weird noise and some clicks right before dialogue. I havent been awake very long today so I’ve got some mouth noises going on and its pouring rain.

Here goes.

2

I hope it was okay to delete a few seconds before I start speaking.

We use the first two seconds of you not talking room sound to process and inspect your background noise. There is actually a format for that.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/TestClip/Record_A_Clip.html

I’m not in a quiet environment right now to listen. Shortly.

Koz

3

I try not to be an accelerating observer. It makes my ears pop and it annoys the cat.

I’m still not in a quiet room, but I stopped to see what the clip was. It passes ACX standards handily and seems to be good to go. I’ll need to get time with my office sound system to check the finer details, but there’s nothing obvious wrong.

Very few people can announce directly into ACX, so what mastering process did you use? It is possible, but it’s really unusual and there is a down side to doing it. You have to announce exactly the same way for an entire book or presentation. A mastering process lets you get up in the morning hung-over with your hair all over the place and still seem to announce at the standard volume.

Recording in a home studio I’ve built.

Did you follow a pattern, or make it up? Can you describe it? Did you convert a clothes closet?

Koz

4

I finished a portion of the basement to house a small recording studio and rec room/music area.
The walls are double layers of drywall with green glue as are the ceilings. I used acoustic clips and hat channel to hang the drywall.
Every empty void has Roxul in it and I’ve made some sound absorbing panels with Roxul and landscaping fabric for cheap that absorb sound really well.


That short clip was recorded with a Zoom R16. No effects or EQ.

5

I hit “enter” by accident and submitted my post. Whoops.
Any way

It was recorded on a Zoom R16. No effects or EQ. Saved directly onto a SD card in the R16.

I imported the file into Audacity of the SD card and followed the instructions you had posted with the exception of snipping some of the excess and some mouth noise right before I started speaking clicks. No effects. No Filters. No Normalization. Nada. Just select and delete. Saved as a Wav 16bit

Its insanely hard not making any noise for any length of time.
Even when I would hold my breath my stomach would make random noises. :laughing: :laughing: :laughing: :laughing:

6

Currently its mostly used for a podcast(3 guests). But they’re just using a Tascam DR-05 and its built-in mics. I hate it :smiley: So much room noise…
The goal is for each person to have a Shure SM7B but everyone is kinda broke right now so we do the best we can.

I had considered using my S-87 to record them in Omni-directional but I think it will just pull in too much ambient noise.
IMG_9585.jpg

7

Microphone kit. Fascinating. Whip out your soldering station and go to town.

Make sure and get the electrolytics the right way 'round.

Its insanely hard not making any noise for any length of time.

Right? Nobody has any real feel for environment noise being 1000 times quieter than your voice (-60dB). Or better.

OK, now read a book. Can’t take you any more than a month or so.

I’m at home and I still can’t find anything wrong.

Just for form, we publish a rating tool called ACX Check.

https://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Nyquist_Analyze_Plug-ins#ACX_Check

And a mastering suite of tools.

https://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Audiobook_Mastering

Oddly, you having a ballsy male voice might have trouble with the equalizer step. It’s a rumble filter and you may have voice tones in the range. It may try to remove one of your…features.

The suite is only three tools and you may be one of those unicorns that doesn’t need it.


Screen Shot 2019-07-23 at 16.31.00.png
This is how to submit a test to ACX. This is a cleaned up forum post.

https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/how-to-send-a-test-to-acx/49588/1

And you probably already know most of the submission standards.

https://www.acx.com/help/acx-audio-submission-requirements/201456300

There is a file management plan. Export each raw reading in WAV 16-bit 44100 and edit a copy or a saved Project.

Export the Edit Master as WAV, and then convert to MP3 for submission to ACX. Do Not use MP3 anywhere else. It’s a very new-user error to announce, edit and submit one single file all the way through. These people are seriously dead if Something Goes Wrong and takes out that one file. The Edit Master becomes your Archive Master and you can save any of the other parts you want. I still have Raw Shoots from years ago. “Say Koz, do you still have that conference room shoot we did with John-Mark?”

Of course.

In my opinion you don’t need us any more. Good luck. Post back when you get your first contract.

Koz

8

Thank you very much for the feedback and the links. Very encouraging.
Getting my first contract this year would be fantastic. I most certainly will post if I land a paying gig.