OK, now create a full-on theatrical sound test. Two seconds hold your breath and then announce Catskill Farms Cows or the dialog of your choice. Read a chunk of one of your stories. Whatever you do can’t go over ten seconds total.
https://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/TestClip/Record_A_Clip.html
We’ll have you in the army any minute now.
Koz
Koz,
Dang! I’ve been trying for some time since your reply to lay down my theatrical sound test, but when I go to play back my sample, there is no sound at all. There’s a wave form, so I can see that it’s recording, but there’s no sound.
I plugged in my mic before I opened Audacity. I checked for the correct mic and recording/playback levels, which hadn’t changed. I moved the dials on my mic to see if I’d bumped into them. They hadn’t changed. I just can’t figure out what’s different.
I really hadn’t intended to have a new question for you, but I’ve never had this happen before.
I will continue to fiddle with it tonight and hopefully get a sample to you tomorrow.
Sorry,
the silent bugler
There’s a wave form
If you have a waveform (and a bouncing sound meter) and you paused and spoke at about the right places, go ahead and cut it off at ten seconds, export the WAV file, and post it. We can troubleshoot monitoring issues later.
Did you use one of your own dialogs? Catskill Cows are nice and all, but some variation is nice. You can read the side of the Corn Flakes box. What we don’t want is "Testing, One Two, One, Two, One, Two for 8 seconds.
You’re using wireless earbuds? Do you have wired headphones?
Toot toot toot, toot diddelyada, toot diddelyada
Koz
Hi Koz,
Oh, I didn’t think you could work on a silent sample. I will redo it then.
I have plug-in ear buds that plug into my mic.
Toot toot toot, toot diddelyada, toot diddelyada — you really know that song!
Thanks,
Sara
Hi Koz,
My apologies for not getting back to you right away. I was trying to fix the silence thing myself since I wanted to only give you one question at a time.
Anyway, I’m attaching my silent sample. Hope this helps.
Thanks,
Sara
I didn’t think you could work on a silent sample.
I can’t. I think we’re talking past each other.
You said:
There’s a wave form, so I can see that it’s recording, but there’s no sound.
In engineering-speak, that means you have up and down wiggles in the blue waves.
If you have a straight, dead, flat blue line, that’s not “waveform,” that’s an engineering error.
And then I said:
If you have a waveform (and a bouncing sound meter)
Those two are the gold standard for actually having a show whether or not you can hear it. The blue waves are good for indicating the loudest parts of the show and the bouncing sound meter …
…will tell us performance volumes for most of the natural range.
I have more than once certified a broadcast performance relying solely on my instruments and not being able to hear a thing. If the blue line is dead flat and the bouncing meter doesn’t bounce, then something is broken.
I got that blue wave picture from one of your postings. It’s normal, so this used to work.
So here we are in the early bright. You really can’t make that forum test recording?
Koz
I think I need to lie down for a while.
Your “Silent Sample” submission, is, in fact, not silent at all and contains a perfectly workable voice test.
So we are now struggling with your monitoring/earphones.
I opened your test and applied the Audacity Audiobook Mastering tools and produced a clip that passes ACX conformance, but not by a lot.
I applied very gentle “noise reduction of the beast” (6, 6, 6) and produced a submittable product.
So with the exception of your earphone problem, I think we may be done. There’s still theatrical patching depending on your personal preferences and whether or not ACX likes your breathing. There’s no test for that I know of.
I need to drop for a while.
Koz
I totally understand your needing to drop for a while.
I’m glad to hear that my sample is suitable. I would agree that it is just barely suitable. I don’t know how to make it better, but I’ll keep trying.
I’ll also keep working on my sound issue.
Thanks so much for all your help,
Sara
I totally understand your needing to drop for a while.
I’m not retiring to the Amalfi Coast. I just ran out of Fake Milk, balogna, and Wonder Bread®.
Did you solve the earphone problem? Audacity has to play music to the 2020. The 2020 then becomes the playback device to your earphones assuming the earphone volume is turned up and the Monitor dial is in the middle.
I would agree that it is just barely suitable.
New announcers hate their own voice.
I can think of one improvement I might make to the tonal quality. It sounds a little like talking into a milk jug. Since there are no corrections or processing in this sample—including Mastering—I’m going with microphone placement. Did you place the microphone on a hard table or desk with its little three-legged stand? Not the best idea. Can you place several layers of bath towel between the stand and the table?
In this example, the desk is covered with two players of heavy furniture moving pad.
Oh, and there is one caution as we do this. Once you start the first chapter, that’s the end of changes. All your chapters have to match.
Koz
Backing up a bit and looking at all the symptoms (somewhat before the Early Bright), there may still be something wrong with your setup. The overall noise volume is still too high and doesn’t match your earlier works, although now it’s much more calm and civilized and doesn’t have motor and fan noises in it.
But the voice does have that talking into a milk jug quality and that is typical of processing somewhere. Did the 2020 come with a software package? The 2020 doesn’t need it. It’s perfectly happy to slide right into a Mac or Windows machine as a generic microphone.
However, if it did come with a software package, it’s worth investigating the instructions and see if it’s not trying to “help you” in some way. Help isn’t welcome when your goal is clean, clear voice recording.
Koz
And a way out there side issue, it’s possible to analyze this to death. One of the jobs of The Producer (one of the three people you’re playing) is to blow the whistle, stop worrying about it, and read the thing.
Is your work published in eBook or paper on Amazon? That’s step one. They won’t even talk to you without that.
It’s not a cookbook, is it? Tell me it’s not a cookbook.
Koz
Of course you could go with the relaxed, laid-back, sun-drenched, California version. Behold Michael who wanted to read audiobooks from his apartment off La Brea in Hollywood (the actual geographic location, not the metaphor).
https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/fledgling-voice-artist-seeking-counsel/33789/1
We succeeded and he’s a commercial reader, but it took 39 forum chapters and over a year.
I think that’s the record.
Koz