I am currently recording my first audio book and I am in a bit of a hole with editing. I think it is because I have been recording inefficiently thus far. Right now, I read a few lines, pause the recording, and start it to read another few lines, and so on. This creates a pop at every instance at which I restart the recording. These pops are proving really tedious to get rid of. I have two questions:
1. Is there any way to avoid this problem in the future?
2. What is the most efficient way to remove all these pops in the audio ive already recorded? I have tried ClickRepair and it doesn’t do the job quite well enough without distorting the audio as well.
Please don’t double post. Your messages are moderated and will be accepted as we get to it. If you have a particularly knotty problem, that may take a bit.
I read a few lines, pause the recording, and start it to read another few lines
That will take you the rest of your natural life to get through a book. Why do you think you need to stop? Are you memorizing the lines and just using the script as a hint rather than the actual read? Not everybody is suited for reading audiobooks. You have to be an actor, recording engineer and vocal performer all at the same time. It’s not the snap that the makers of microphones lead you to think.
How are you reading? Did you print out the script? are you trying to read it from the same screen as is running Audacity?
I don’t expect simply pausing with the P key to produce a pop when you start up again. You have something broken.
Are you recording in mono, one single blue wave? Drag-select a twenty second portion of the show with a pop in it and File > Export > Export Selected > WAV (Microsoft) 16-bit. Scroll down from a forum text window > Attachments > Add Files.
Describe the setup. Which microphone, which computer? How are they connected?
Sorry for the double post, I didnt realize it was waiting on moderation.
This is my first book and honestly I have no idea how its actually suppose to be done. I read a line to myself, and then turn to the mic, hit R and say it into the mic, then hit the space bar to pause. I didnt print a script because with my setup its hard to hold the script in any easy way, so I figured this would be easier than changing my setup, but boy was I wrong. On my next book that is a problem I will solve. I am currently reading from my computer which also is running audacity.
Spacebar stops the recording dead. That’s not Pause. R starts it up cold. Try it with the P key. That is actually Pause and UnPause.
I printed out my scripts because I like having the control of shuffling paper. I can select font size and type style so it’s easy for me to read.
Please note in almost all my illustrations save one, the microphone is hanging so I don’t have to arm wrestle with it to keep it out of the way while performing. That picture is a little illustration theater. I would actually have the microphone higher up while using it.
Macs don’t make very much noise, so I can get away with that.
I cuddled up inside my headphones and I can just hear the little pop as you stop and start the recording. See if P works better than that.
You probably should not do that stop and start thing. You leave the wrong time between the segments. There isn’t time for a normal human to take a breath, so I started to gasp for you.
ACX is clear they want it to sound like normal people talking to each other, not announcements or presentations. My metaphor is somebody telling you gossip over cups of tea.
They have a failure called “Overprocessing,” so you can’t always clear recording problems with filters and effects.
If you feel like it, please create a new sound test according to this formula.
I did a fake analysis from your first clip and I got it to pass technical conformance, but I had to work at it.
How are you listening? Good, sealed headphones are recommended for analysis. When I listen, I can hear your computer in the background. I think that’s what it is. The tone is a little off pitch from house wall power, and that usually means a computer fan somewhere. Can you tell if your computer is on just by listening? Your hum tone isn’t a simple, single pitch, so it’s going to be rough to get rid of it in filtering later.
We publish custom tools for audiobooks: ACX-Check and AudioBook Mastering 4.
ACX Check simulates the ACX Robot checking your work against technical standards. How loud is it, how noisy is it and how close do the blue waves come to overload.
Mastering 4 is a one-pass collection of three tools that can make your performance pass ACX assuming you did it in a quiet room with a good microphone.
If you cut that forum test, I’ll take it through the tools and tell you how I did it.
The reading is up to you. There are posters who want us to filter their voice to make it sound like a presenter/announcer. There was one software developer who did a reasonable job of that (not a native Audacity filter). I should make sure I know where that is.
I fondly remember the Harden and Weaver radio show in Washington. Harden was a professional radio presenter but Weaver was the clown. Weaver was always losing things. One of his catch lines was, “We gotta get organized.” A phrase dear to my heart. It was a popular show. One winter morning when the traffic plane was above northern Virginia, Weaver said, “Everybody listening to us flash your headlights.” The entire Shirley Highway - Interstate 95 between the 14th St bridge and the beltway flashed.
Your voice should be just fine assuming you get your meter and rhythm fixed. You could probably fix your existing readings. How long do you have before retirement?
There is another painful reality. Most people want to read their first book again when they get done. They start a stumbling, rank amateur and finish a seasoned professional. ACX would rather you did the whole book a seasoned professional.
