Removing the louder of two voices

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

I have an audio file with two voices (the same person talking, but they’ve recorded over themselves). I’m trying to get rid of the louder voice so that I can hear the quieter one, as it is completely drowned out (there’s a fairly drastic separation between the two volumes). I’ve tried a popmute filter, but it just leaves the spot where the louder voice is talking completely blank, or otherwise distorted so that I can’t hear either voice. My Audacity version is 2.1.2. Any advice is welcome and appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

2

Unless there is ‘separation’ between the voices, for example:

  • one voice is on the left of a stereo recording and the other voice is on the right,
  • one person speaks, then the other, with no overlap,
    then it will not be possible to remove or reduce the louder voice without also removing the other voice.
3

Oh dear, can you puullleease continue this thought? → so, I do have the separate voices, but now what? HOW is the original question answered?

Thanks.

4

In what way are the voices separate? Is one in the left channel and one in the right?

Gale

5

Uh-oh, that’s a can of worms, Gale…

  1. What I meant was two separate individuals speaking With each other in a conversation.

  2. The L spkr and R spkr – I noticed they are separate, yike…I don’t honestly know what that means! As a newby in the field, is this something I better get on it and figure out?

6

If one voice comes entirely from the left speaker, and the other voice from the right speaker, then you can separate the voices by splitting the track into two mono tracks. See: http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/splitting_and_joining_stereo_tracks.html
After splitting the track, click the Mute button on one track so that you can hear just the other track.

7

Thank you, Steve and Gale. I really appreciate you both!! Super help – on a super app.