can't record a tape

[taueva]

Now we're in business. I can see those two meters. And I clicked on the one on the right while running the analog audio and the bouncing red bars appeared!

I had to download 1.2.6 because 1.3.7 requires OS 10.4 and I have 10.3.9.

So now I know how to check for levels, record, export and backup.
What's next? And what do I do with or about the original (pre export) file?

[kozikowski]

<<<And what do I do with or about the original (pre export) file?>>>

There is no file. Audacity keeps a large basket of capture snippets in a hidden folder while you have the program open. If you close Audacity without Exporting or Saving, Audacity dumps the basket in the street for the trash collection on Monday.

So as above, Export your master WAV file, don't save anything and close Audacity. Make a safety copy of that WAV file.

Any time you wish, you can copy that WAV file into iTunes, create a PlayList, and burn the PlayList to a Music CD. I understand it's messy and completed unedited, but all the work will be there from the original tape in very good, but not perfect quality. A music CD will hold any show less than 80 minutes.

Open Audacity and open the show WAV file.

-- As we start editing, it's probably good to turn one option off.
-- Audacity > Preferences > Interface > [ ] Auto Scroll While Playing (deselect)
-- If you don't do that, your edit points will keep jumping off the screen as
-- you play your work. It makes me crazy and I know what it's doing.

Drag-Select a small portion of the show and press Apple-E to zoom in to the sElection. Repeat as needed. Apple-3 will zoom out slightly. Apple-F to zoom back out Full.

Zoom into the very beginning of the show. Play it and figure out where the music actually starts. Drag-Select the dead area before the music and press the keyboard Delete. Delete any other dead or damaged parts of the performance. Anywhere you click in the performance will become the playback start point.

Edit > UNDO if you screw up.

You will find it insanely efficient to use the SpaceBar to stop and start the playback and keyboard to zoom, and the mouse for the other tools. After you get rolling.

When you need to give up and go to bed, Export As WAV and call the edited show Something Else from the name you gave your Capture Master file. Nobody ever touches that one. Latest_Edit_TuesdayNight.wav

Keep one eye on how full your hard drive is getting. Audio production takes up bunches of room in a hurry.


Hollywood Editors know how to cut video, sound, film and whatever is needed, but above all, they are supreme bookkeepers.

"Tell John our Scene 5, Shot 43, Revision 9 clip is not the same one I got from Alice on Monday. The car is in the wrong place. Check the show logs and call me back."

Koz

[taueva]

I think I get the capture and (repeated) export (not save) now.

It looks like you've described all the kinds of editing I'm likely to do in transferring my old audio tapes. And thanks for including some tips. As I was reading your descriptions of how to edit it occurred to me that it sounded pretty much like what I did when editing a video on my Mac a few years back. Only this will be easier because no multiple tracks, cross-fading, etc.

I think I'm OK now. If not, I'll get back to you tomorrow.

Thanks for making what looked to be an impossible and frustrating task easy (now that you've explained the software and the steps).

[kozikowski]

<<<it sounded pretty much like what I did when editing a video on my Mac a few years back.>>>

iMovie? Final Cut? If you've edited anything before, this is just an adaptation to new tools. The principals are the same. By the way, Final Cut follows the philosophy of Saving an internal format and Exporting to get a movie file.

Koz

[taueva]

I'm not sure what I used. It was 1997 and it wasn't my computer.

I have used iMovie, but only for preparing audio tracks to accompany an iPhoto slide show. And that was 3 years ago.

So the editing process is familiar, but the soon-to-be vanished file unless it gets exported is a new concept for me.

[kozikowski]

<<<soon-to-be vanished file>>>

Exported or Saved. And it's not "A File." Windows Cool Edit does that, too. If I crash Cool Edit after a capture but before any management actions, I can open up the Windows Temp folder and find thousands of little abandoned CETemp files wondering what the heck just happened.

Koz

[taueva]

Right. Right. Not file; folder full of what could be orphans unless adopted by being exported.

So what happens if I Save that folder? (Can you save a folder? I do see it as an option under File.)

[kozikowski]

That's what "Save A Project" does. No further work on your part is needed.

The problem comes when you actually start editing a Project. Should you, say, import a sound clip into your show, that clip, in its current location becomes part of the Project. You can Save Project all day long, but if you move that one clip, the show collapses.

Projects are very handy, fast and efficient for large complicated shows. Audacity only has to open up and manage the parts of the show that you changed, not all four hours of stereo capture. But the forum is littered with people who don't fully understand the implications of not being to change their machine at all while a Project is being edited.

If your machine or Audacity itself crashes while you're editing a Project, you become one of the refugees trying to run the Crash Recovery Tools.

"Audacity crashed on me last night. My AUP file refuses to open and all I have is a /Data folder with 54,398 AU files in it. How do I put my show back together?"

Koz

[taueva]

Thank you for that warning. I will not be tempted to Save a project; I'll stick to export so I don't have any unwanted surprises. I believe in learning from others' mistakes.

[kozikowski]

I don't do insanely complex or multi-channel shows. If I did, I would be forced to use Projects more. But I don't. All my stuff is relatively simple and I haven't used Projects for a show ever.

Koz