So I’ve been working on this audio drama which includes getting several actors with different setups to sound as if they are talking to each other in the same room, and it’s been pretty good for the most part. However, there is one that sticks out from the others. Their recordings sounds more gravelly and tinny than the other actors. Using Audacity as my editing tool, I’ve tried duplicating the audio to give it some depth, using the highpass filter, among others – but none of it seems to work.
My question is, is there a better way to match the audio qualities without having the actress rerecord? Is there some trick in Audacity that I am missing?
I’ve included a snippet of the audio below. The first is the one that needs to be fixed, followed by a sample of the other actors I’m comparing it to.
I suppose the obvious question is: Does she normally sound like that? I know people who sound like that. “Like, TOTally!”
I can’t find anything obviously wrong. Do you have a “normal” clip from her?
Welcome to the one serious problem with having everybody record their own track—normally highly recommended. It’s a bit like marching cats. I suspect it’s going to fall apart quickly if you start to push heavy equalization or other tricks. The noise floor is never too far away.
Her clip has heavy rumble noise (hard to hear—common on home microphones) and that, too, is going to limit what you can do. It you boost the bass notes for a fuller sound, the rumble will overload and cause crackly, crunchy sound
Is everybody recording on Windows machines? Did everyone turn off voice processing?
Nah, this is a line stolen from her character, which is a bit concerning seeing how well she pulls it off xD
I do believe everyone is using windows and I did request no voice processing. The only difference between her recording setup and the others was really the cost of the mic and soundproofing, which is what I believe to be the cause of the gravel affect. From the sound of your reply it does look like there is no fixing it without potentially ruining it more.
It’s possible to match the equalization, but the reverb in each location will still be different, giving-away that they’re not in the same room. Also the noise-levels are noticeably different …
You need to keep everything the same: same mic in same room.
