Digitalfishphones.com PLUG INS w/ Audacity

[cosmiclight22]

Hello
is there anyone in this forum who might know a bit about these external plug ins?:the digitalfishphones.com
someone who might know how to use them?
because on their website there are no instructions or tutorials, well i downloaded their PDFs but it is directed to highly professional tech engineers only I am just a beginner and I cannot easily understand the manuals

they are compatible with Audacity, that is why I thought to download them and use them and actually they work well after
i already used them (in Audacity) to further enhance a voice recording, after that I had already applied Audacity amplification unfortunately I do not know which dial I was moving , there are lots of unctions in them and I do not the meaning of each, i just know that i moved one dial in the Blockfish plug in and the audio gained a good amplification without distorting the sound, but if I had to re-do it I would not know how

Would that be helpful if I would list their functions names as they appear in Audacity window and maybe someone in the forum would know how to use them in the proper way in reducing noise and enhance the volume?
I think is so cool that Audacity can work with these other plug ins as well

Thanks a lot
Anna

[DVDdoug]

I don't know anything about these particular plug-ins...

the audio gained a good amplification without distorting the sound, but if I had to re-do it I would not know how

When you "normalize", you boost the level to the point where the peaks are at (or very near) the 0dB digital maximum. This is as loud as you can go linearly (without altering the character of the sound).

If that's not loud enough, you can boost the loudness with dynamic compression. Compression reduces the dynamic range by making the quiet parts louder, or the loud parts quieter. (Not to be confused with file compression like MP3).

Basically, compression works by boosting the quiet/medium sounds without boosting/distorting the peaks. Typically (depending on the compressor), it's done by pushing-down the peaks, and then boosting everything with "make-up gain". This means you can increase the average level (and make the file sound louder) without clipping the peaks.

If you just increase the volume too far linearly (i.e. without compression), you get clipping (distorted flat-topped waves). This can happen if you try to get 100 Watts out of a 50 Watt amplifier, if you overdrive your ADC or DAC, or if you try to go higher than you can "count" with an integer file format (like 16-bit WAV). With (integer) digital audio files, the maximum is referenced as 0dBFS (zero decibels full scale). If you try to make your peaks go over 0dB, you get clipping.

Most audio editors (including Audacity) use 32-bit floating-point internally so you can go over 0dB, and it's virtually impossible to get clipping inside the audio editor... The file only gets clipped when you save/export.

in the proper way in reducing noise and enhance the volume?

The problem is... When you boost the volume you also boost the background noise. You can try some noise reduction or a noise gate. A noise gate is an extreme "downward expander", that kills the sound completely when the level goes below your preset threshold... Expansion is the opposite of compression, and it can make loud parts louder or quiet parts quieter. You have to experiment... A noisegate can be annoying, if you hear the backgorund noise cutting in-and-out.

[cosmiclight22]

Thank you so much

I have not read the whole tutorial about the dynamic compression, I will, but I just have a quick question in the mean time:
Where do i access the dynamic compression in Audacity?
I have tried the EFFECTS but it is not in there, do i download from somewhere?
Or I have to be a sound engineer to use it?

About the normalizing, I tried to do as you suggest, just to 0 dB, I can barely notice any difference
I wonder if you know if there is a reverb boost not ECHO) but just a deepening effect of the voice, somewhere in Audacity plug ins, that I might not have noticed ?
Thanks a lot now
Anna

[steve]

If the object of the exercise is to make the track louder, then probably the easiest effect to use is "soft clipping".
What this effect does is to "squash" peaks that are above the threshold level that you set, and so allow more room for amplification. It differs from the bad digital clipping that DVDdoug described in as far as it does not completely chop off the peaks flat, but just squashes them so that they are not as high, though if you use it too severely, then you will hear distortion, so the trick is to use it enough to provide the necessary volume boost, but not so much as to sound distorted.

The soft clipping limiter is available here: http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 16#p128720

[DVDdoug]

Where do i access the dynamic compression in Audacity?

I might have downloaded some optional effects, but when I click on Effects, I see Compressor, and I think it's a built-in effect. And, it looks like at least one of the digitalfishphones plug-ins is a compressor. I'm guessing that's what you used before.

About the normalizing, I tried to do as you suggest, just to 0 dB, I can barely notice any difference.

That's probably "normal". If the file is already normalized (if it already has 0dB peaks) you are not increasing the level by normalizing again. Most commercial recordings are already normalized, or if this is your own recording and you recorded at a high-level, or if you simply had one 0dB peak somewhere in your file, normalizing won't do anything.

I wonder if you know if there is a reverb boost not ECHO) but just a deepening effect of the voice,

Maybe someone else can recommend a reverb. There is an optional LADSPA Effect called "Gverb", but I haven't used a reverb with Audacity. Reverb is an echo-like effect (with many short-duration reflections, so you don't hear the sound clearly repeated like you do with an echo). With natural/physical sounds, you usually have to be outdoors, or in a very large room to hear a distinct echo ("Hello... Hello..."). In a tiled bathroom, or in a concert hall, you hear reverberation (Heellloooo...").

If you want to deepen the voice (more bass), try boosting the low frequencies with the Equalizer. Or, you can try the "Change Pitch" effect (but you might get artifacts).

[steve]

when I click on Effects, I see Compressor, and I think it's a built-in effect.

Yes it is.
There is a section in the manual about how to use it, but it's more complicated than I would like it to be. http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/Compressor
The Compressor effect in Audacity 1.3 is pretty good, though not very easy to understand exactly what it is doing (it's a lot better than the compressor in Audacity 1.2.x)

[cosmiclight22]

Thank you sooo much..for the detailed instructions
WOW, so many new things to learn, it is not so easy to record as many people think, but its fun to learn

OK, just to review and see if i have understood right:
Soft Clippings, where is this effect?
IS not present in the Audacity effects, unless it has a different name there?
Or do i apply the SOFT CLIPPING through a different tool? Would you mind to let me know which?
Thank you

Then, ..The DYNAMIC COMPRESSOR, oh good, it is the one and the same that is built in in Audacity, ( I thought it was external, sorry)

Yes , you are sooo right, it is not an easy tool especially for me, even if I read and re-read the tutorials, I still have not figured out how to make it work with my file, I experimented with different values, but i would just distort the sound, or even decrease the volume
I am guessing you need to know the exact value to choose, in each option, yes, ...and that is the reason why I downloaded the Blockfish plug in, yes it is a compressor, and the Endorphine-fish plug in is a booster,
it is easier to just move the buttons in them, while you are listening to your file, but again, even that is difficult, unless u know what you are doing

So,my question:
which would be the best way for you or someone else in the team, to advise me on which values to use in the compressor, to boost my file,
I wonder if i could upload a sample to a website, and then post you the link to it for you to listen to it? would that work?
because if I have to attach it to my post, it i will be too short, barely few seconds, or would that be also enough time?

then about the equalizer, to boost and make my voice deeper, yes, that sounds a really good option
are you referring to the one called EQUALIZATION?
I did just open it up, it is not easy to understand either, I did turn the graphic equalizer on though, to make it easier for me, thats better, shall I just play with the dialer, like every other equalizer? and experiment? Or is it a better way to know?

then last question:
The Gverb, wow, I think that might exactly what I was referring to
I just realized that my Samson mic had a a little sound enhancer software included,
so after recording a sample with Audacity, then having amplified it, then removed the background noise in Audacity, then saved the file as a WAV, after all that, I just tested this Samson effect called Studioverb, (I am sure is the same as Gverb)
I applied it, and it does add some very slight echo that does not repeat itself, just makes my voice a little deeper, but if I am not careful, it becomes distorted

So maybe you or someone else might know how I would know which values I would need to choose in the Audacity Gverb, to just add a little boost and depth, without adding distortion?
Do i just experiment with the values? Or is a better way to know exactly,

Thanks again now
Anna

[Trebor]

Maybe someone else can recommend a reverb..

http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 838#p77838

[steve]

Soft Clippings, where is this effect?

Here: http://forum.audacityteam.org/download/file.php?id=2918
You have to download it and put it in your Audacity Plug-ins folder, then restart Audacity and it will appear in the "Effect" menu.
On Windows, the Plug-ins folder will be in the Audacity folder which will usually be in "Program Files".

With "Dynamic Compression" and "Limiter" type effects, there is usually a "Threshold" setting. The waveform that is above the threshold level will be "squashed" in one way or another, allowing the waveform to be amplified more. A high threshold (close to 0 dB) will only affect the very highest peaks. A low threshold (a bigger negative number of dB) will cause more of the waveform to be squashed so the affect will be more aggressive.

For the built in Compressor, you will probably want the "Attack" and "Decay" times set very low - try setting them to minimum (all the way to the left). The "Ratio" slider gives more affect to the right and less effect to the left. You will need to experiment with the other settings.

[cosmiclight22]

Awesome, thanks a lot

I did download the Allow Soft Clippings plug in, but when I click on the downloaded file to open it and save it in Audacity folder, it says that "WINDOWS CANNOT OPEN THIS FILE" and it directs me to a page on the browser where it says exactly same thing, no help

Then I clicked your link few other times and this last time it is trying to open itself through Adobe Reader, but then an error comes up saying that A Reader cannot open this file because the attachment was not correctly decoded, I wish I knew what that means!!

But it also give an option to open it with a specific program, but I do not know which that would be???
Can you advise which program to use in order to open the file?

also, when you write the following:
if you want to deepen the voice (more bass), try boosting the low frequencies with the Equalizer. Or, you can try the "Change Pitch" effect (but you might get artifacts).

Which are the "low frequencies" in the Equalizer? are the sliders contained into the right part of the graphic equalizer window? or those on the left?

And how do I BOOST these low frequencies, by pushing the sliders all the way down (like in Windows Media Player) or all the way up?

Thanks soo much
Anna