Sound evaluation. for instruments evaluation.

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

I am a instrument maker can I use audacity to evaluate high and lows and tone of the instruments I test? By Recording the sound opening the sound?

if so, can I please ask for some help to do this? I want to be able to view a clear difference in tone or pitch.

Thanks so much for your time.

2

I can hear the musicians rearing up to complain that the ear can detect variations that the instruments can’t handle, but yes, there are analysis tools. This is given you have a dead quiet, echo-free room and a very good microphone – two things you’re not likely to have.

One is analyze > Plot Spectrum. This is a spectrum of a G piano note.

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/piano_G1.jpg

Fundamental on the left, harmonics and overtones toward the right.

You can also view the timeline in overtones versus time.

Left of the timeline > drop-down > View Spectrogram. I’m less familiar with that one. I think it’s high tones up, low tones down.

Enjoy.

Koz

3

Thank you so much I have a sound proof hearing test booth and a very good microphone. Do you have better reccomendations? Anything would be very helpful, thanks I will give your input a test.

Thanks

4

A “very good” microphone might not be the best tool. A “very good” vocal mic is designed to make vocals sound very good, not to give accurate measurements. You will probably get more useful measurements using a microphone that is designed for measurements. Behringer make an inexpensive measurement microphone: http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/ECM8000.aspx (it requires “phantom power” so it needs to be plugged into a desk or pre-amp that can supply phantom power).

The hearing test booth is likely to be a great asset, but if it is quite small and enclosed (as I assume it is) then the bass (low frequency) measurements are likely to be a bit off. Confined spaces can do strange and unpredictable things to low frequencies.

5

Wow. After my test from your advise you have been right on. Keep them coming. The bass was defiantly overkill I opened the door and it went back to normal / Average measurements. You may be shocked by the instrument I am measuring. It is a air instrument. Made of Wood some times acrylic. I am curious what you might think it is.

PS Is there a way to print out the plot spectrum?

6

Press the Export… button then you can print the saved TXT file.


Gale