We can’t always tell what happened after you apply corrections. Do you still have that sound clip before you did anything to it?
You have some odd noises in this posted clip I can’t account for.
Everything that’s not you speaking shows up as noise in the ACX measurement, so it can be rough to nail down what’s happening. Normal microphone noise, air conditioner noise and dogs barking all show up as one noise measurement. That’s why measuring noise is a whole separate posting from making the other ACX numbers.
If you have unusual noises, they can affect the other audiobook tools, too, so lets see what the raw reading sounds like.
I got it. I moved my mic up high and away from the laptop…set it to 40% gain and cardioid, works just fine…passes ACX plug in check every time. First pass…Done. CHECK!
It still has to pass ACX, but yes, that’s a good start. That may explain some of the noises I found on your test. There were some ultra-sonic dog-whistle noises (laptop screen scanning interference) and something that had to be laptop vent fan noises. You wouldn’t get either of those so loud with a microphone sitting in the middle of your desk.
It turns out there is a way to submit a test to ACX. You don’t have to fly blind.
Maybe they think Closing Credits should be a minute of thanking your mum and your Uncle Jack and all the people who gave you research for the book and that guy who helped you park last week at the Piggly Wiggly.
Not two words.
Can you make it longer? Who inspired you to do this? Is it based on actual people and experiences? Blow it out to several sentences. I bet we could work with that.
I suppose the forum elves could force the short version to pass with custom tools, but if this happens again, we may not be there. Desperation method is leave out “The End.”
You should probably use that clip just as it is. See in the ACX-Check, the RMS (Loudness) is a small fraction of a dB away from failing. If you have to do this again, record “The End” slightly louder.
Also, see in the blue waves, “End” is a lower volume than “The.” That caused problems.
Again, these tools are designed to process whole chapters with multiple sentences, so errors average out. Can’t do that with two words. Your closing credits is a “chapter” with half of it at the wrong volume.
I received the following from ACX regarding an audio submission. Any thoughts. I assume you don’t want me to post the entire raw file here.
"Below, we have listed the requirements not met, the files affected, and our recommended solutions:
Issue: There are files which have peaks that are too high. Several files sound muffled and distorted.
1 file has peaks that exceed -3dB - 07 Chapter 6.mp3
Of those files, 1 file is peaking at 0dB - 07 Chapter 6.mp3
Solution: Lower the overall level by a few decibels, which will help control peak levels. After that, use dynamic processing to help further refine your dynamics and control peak levels. Peaks above -3dB may cause distortion later on in the production process due to insufficient headroom."
That went straight by me. We’re holding two different conversations. Where did LBradshaw go? This is the danger of piggy-backing your post on the tail of someone else’s post—even if you have similar problems.
Several files sound muffled and distorted.
We can probably solve many of the volume problems relatively simply, but muffled and distorted aren’t those problems. Can you hear what ACX is talking about?
Which microphone are you using and how is it connected to the computer? Did you go into Windows setups and turn off voice and conference processing? That can cause sound quality issues. Do you use Skype, or other chat or conference software? Games?
Thanks Koz. Sorry about the confusion on threads/LBradshaw.
So, I am using a blue yeti & u provided input on your thoughts regarding the quality of that mic. But u did answer what I needed… Muffled is not something we can fix. All the other chapters passed the ACX check fine. I will re-record it. I heard how difficult it sounded when I went back & edited. It was how I had the mic situated.
