Spectral preview? Also a couple questions on background noise

Audacity Help Forum Windows
1

I found a thread a while ago where someone posted a nyquist plugin, but i wanted to find the file again.
I think it was called “spectral preview.ny”. It was a reply to a thread; someone asked how to do playback on a selection of Spectral view. I could maybe search for “spectral playback” or “spectral selection”.

On another note (more editing)
I’ve also been considering any other plugins for noise removal. I saw there was a de-esser which can be used as de-thud or whatever. Click and pop removal, other mouth noise. Or Izotope RX or try some free stuff and limiters or compressors also. Maybe an EQ.
I’ve tried Noise Reduction for fan noise removal, but it has been affecting the speech a tiny bit, such as ‘ess’ or ‘th’ sound.
Also maybe build a studio.

On another note (technical problems)
Also is it normal to have a bit of digital artifact noise on breath? Or some during silent parts, maybe from wifi. It doesn’t always happen. I’m using a Blue Yeti microphone. A bit of tin-sound in the voice when I do playback. Barely noticeable.
Windows volume settings kept getting automatically bumped to low and then I also got a lot of clipping. So I’m hoping to have everything working fine soon.
I also have tried sending in my computer for repair since it keeps delaying half a second to playback, but so far it still sometimes happens even on just a music player software.

Hopefully I get a good recording and edit it well.

2

Something worth trying (while it’s free) is Adobe Enhance … https://podcast.adobe.com/enhance
It treats multiple issues: sibilance, plosives, fan noise, room-reverb. (Although the output is a little artificial).

You may still have to tweak the output of Adobe Enhance in Audacity,
e.g. loudness normalization, EQ.

3

Spectral Bandpass ? …
https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/spectral-bandpass-filter-plugin/61476/1
(but that plugin does not have preview).

4

It wasn’t that. Thanks for some suggestions.
I tried Adobe Enhance, but I don’t really like how it sounds. I’m not sure what Spectral Bandpass is for.
I’m just looking for a simple Playback menu option for the spectral selection.

5

Also is it normal to have a bit of digital artifact noise on breath?

No, and that could be the phrase that pays. If all you did was plug your Yeti in and make a recording, it should sound like your voice with possibly room echoes or air conditioning in the background. If you have tinging or meowing or any other artifacts it means your machine is trying to “help you” by adding corrections, filters, or effects. What you’re doing now is correcting the corrections.

It could be said that you can get the quickest and best bang for the buck by not recording on the computer.

That’s a Zoom Company H1n sound recorder.

I’ve also gotten some reasonable recordings with my iPhone. Note I’m doing that in my quiet guest bedroom (office). It’s supposed to be flat on the desk. That’s “Pressure Zone” configuration.

SmartphoneVoiceRecording.JPG
In no particular order:

– Can you hear whining or mosquito screaming in the background of the work? That’s a USB fault and we designed a filter to get rid of it. Effect > Mosquito Killer.

– Do a clean Windows Shutdown. Shift+Shutdown > OK > Wait > Start. Not regular Shutdown and not Restart. Do not let anything start when the machine comes up.

– Dig in the Windows Control Panels > Sound > Recording (your mileage may vary) and make sure Windows isn’t applying Enhancements or Filters. I once got a machine where someone left “Cathedral Effects” running by accident.

– Are you facing the side grill of your Yeti with the company name? That’s the “front.”

– There has been a change to Effect > Noise Removal default settings. We discovered that for many voice recordings and audiobook applications, Noise Reduction of the Beast (6, 6, 6) works pretty well. If you need stiffer reduction, you can slowly bump up the first number. If you hit 12 and still no joy, you’ll need to work on your studio.

– Many home microphones record quiet by design. This isn’t optimal, but that’s the way it is. You can get closer, but that can cause P-Popping, sibilance, and mouth noises. You can try Oblique Positioning (B).

I found that can help quite a bit, but note you do have to be more careful about head movement during the performance. No bobbing and weaving for you.

If you make it through all that and still have problems, you can post a ten second voice test here on the forum. Sometimes we can hear a problem and identify it immediately.

https://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/TestClip/Record_A_Clip.html

Good luck.

Koz

6

Oh, one more. Depending on your Yeti, it may have a pattern selector on the back.

Screen Shot 2023-02-16 at 11.35.14.png
It should be turned to the Cardioid/Kidney/Heart-Shaped pattern for simple voice recording and the fewest room noises and echoes (that’s not where that one is).

Koz

7

I can’t find Clean Shutdown.
I can change it to Cardioid mode.

Some of the noise might have been from wifi and then some slight tin-sound in vocals when playing a small clip. Maybe that’s normal. I’m not sure if the distortion and artifacts during breathing was due to something else. That isn’t happening now.

Also the computer has been having a slight audio delay, sometimes less than half a second where lags. It also seems to happen on media player, so I can try to get it repaired.

8

I can’t find Clean Shutdown.

It’s not a setting. It’s a performance. Press and hold the Shift key (I think either one). Mouse over to Shutdown and click. I think it asks you if you really want to shut down and say yes. I’m flying blind since I’m not a Windows elf.

This is kind of a big deal because you have symptoms of sound applications running in the background and stuck there. Clean Shutdown closes everything and starts the machine over.

I can change it to Cardioid mode.

Where was it? Again, I’m flying blind since I don’t have a Yeti. But I know what all the patterns do. The heart-shaped pattern makes the Yeti record from the side grill above the company name, quieter from the sides, and nothing from the back. Echoes and room noises arrive from the sides and back, so this is a good way to suppress them.

This is a copy of the new diagram from the Yeti instructions.

This was a company mistake. The Yeti went on sale with very poor instructions how to use it. Everybody on earth tried to announce into the rounded top of the grill instead of the side. They rushed out a replacement instruction book with this graphic.

Koz

9

You can’t tell from the Oblique Positioning graphic, but a generally good separation between your mouth and the microphone is a Hawaiian Shaka like this.

Screen Shot 2023-02-16 at 13.12.41.png
If you get much closer, you run the risk of popping your P sounds and picking up mouth noises. If you get further away, the voice volume may be too low and you could get microphone internal FFFFF noises.

Koz

10

ok
I’m not sure if Windows 11 has any indicator that it is Clean Shutdown when I hold shift. Windows 11 has a popup start menu in the center with the power button to click in the corner. I’ve had the computer repaired once and OS wiped, but the audio lag happened again for half a second or less.

Good idea and explanation about the distance from microphone. Thank you.
I tried running De-Clicker but most of the mouth sounds remain. I can try some angling and distance from the microphone next time.
Also I’ve heard of some tips and tricks like eating a sour apple or something, like a granny smith. Drinking a bit of water might be counterintuitive or something, but maybe better than nothing. Recording in the morning or evening might sound a bit different.

I just need to send my computer for repair for the lag and then tweak my setup and procedure or build a studio, maybe also some filter or plugin or just keep mostly manual editing, and just this tiny bit of distortion/artifact when on wifi or sometimes.
Maybe find or remake that Spectral Preview/Playback.

11

I just need to send my computer for repair

I think you’d be far better served to find a local shop that can work with you rather than shipping the machine off to a remote repair facility. If your service technician doesn’t write up the problems right—or you don’t write it up clearly, the repair office will have no idea what to do. Much better a local shop where you can demonstrate in real time what you find wrong.

It’s also possible you have this upside down. Maybe you should get help from someone who can tell you how to record your voice.

In the US, Best Buy Company has “Geek Squad” who will visit your home and set up your machine.

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/services/computer-tablet-services/pcmcat138100050019.c?id=pcmcat138100050019

Koz

12

I found the spectralpreview.ny file, but not the forum thread. I can’t upload it here, it seems.

13

wasn’t there some single letter keyboard hotkey that changes the edge of a highlighted selection? like feathers it or trims a bit off? like pressing letter X or or something. There was one for replaying slightly around the selection.
Anyways, I have to keep using Crossfade Clips to remove a little artifact that appears when i Delete some pieces
It’s also useful for removing a little mouthnoise like a click and pop when Spectral Delete is too heavyhanded or Spectral Multitool doesn’t quite get it.

On another note, still hoping to build a room within a room, because there’s various low and high frequency noises. I found some instructions but will have to see who can help me build it. Maybe find some leftover wood somewhere or buy PVC pipes.

14

found it
keyboard hotkey shortcut - press ‘Z’
for At Zero Crossings
At Zero Crossings helps to avoid [clicks] at edit points when making cuts and joins by moving the edges of a selection region (or the cursor position) very slightly so they are at a rising

https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/select_menu.html#at_zero_crossings