Audacity Forum

Hey, I've been recording on cool edit pro 2 so far and I've always had a special routine when it came to mixing vocals (1.noise reduction, 2. normalizing, 3. dynamics processing etc).. Now I wondered whether there is a recommended basic way of mixing vocals on Audacity. Or in other words, what has been shown to sound the best for mixing vocals when they are sung/rapped? And I also wondered whether you could enable that Audacity automizes this process, i.e. after every recording you only have to click one button and then the whole routine gets applied to the vocals wihtout having to do every step by itself.

Thanks for your help

dorian_gray wrote:so far and I've always had a special routine when it came to mixing vocals (1.noise reduction, 2. normalizing, 3. dynamics processing etc).. Now I wondered whether there is a recommended basic way of mixing vocals on Audacity.

If this is the method you like, there's no need to change it just because it's a different program.

dorian_gray wrote:And I also wondered whether you could enable that Audacity automizes this process, i.e. after every recording you only have to click one button and then the whole routine gets applied to the vocals wihtout having to do every step by itself.

No you can't do it in one click (and you can't in CoolEdit either unless you are using a generic noise profile).
Some processes can be run as a "batch" in Audacity 1.3.x by creating "chains" of commands http://audacityteam.org/manual/index.ph ... =File_Menu

<<<(1.noise reduction>>>

Both Cool Edit and Audacity require a two-step process for successful noise reduction; Sniff-Apply. That process alone can't be one-button.

Koz

okay, thanks for your answers..
my routine looks like this:
1. noise reduction by 0.2 - I guess this translates into "audacity language" as "noise removal" but by how many dB?
2. normalize to 60 % - of course with Audacity you use the same action.. but what would be a sensible dB for normalizing vocals?
3. 'dynamics processing' - that's what it was called in cool edit pro 2. I used to use a 4:1 compressor and then the so-called real-audio-compander.. does anyone of you know what would be the most similar option for my third step with audacity?

thank you very much for your help, it's really appreciated!

dorian_gray wrote:1. noise reduction by 0.2 - I guess this translates into "audacity language" as "noise removal" but by how many dB?

That depends very much on the type, and severity of the noise - noise removal is a destructive process and causes unpleasant artefacts if used too much, so you need to find a balance of how much reduction you can achieve without causing too much deterioration of the audio.

dorian_gray wrote:2. normalize to 60 % - of course with Audacity you use the same action.. but what would be a sensible dB for normalizing vocals?

I generally normalize tracks to between -3dB and -6dB, then use the volume slider for setting the mix level. Again, there's a lot of personal preference here.

dorian_gray wrote:3. 'dynamics processing' - that's what it was called in cool edit pro 2. I used to use a 4:1 compressor and then the so-called real-audio-compander.. does anyone of you know what would be the most similar option for my third step with audacity?

There's a LADPA plug-in called SC4 which is pretty good. http://plugin.org.uk/ladspa-swh/docs/la ... th_sEc2.91

Batch processing will not be possible with this selection of effects.