Effects Chain Theory question

[boonman]

Thanks for reading my question.

I record audiobooks. But:

• My room is not so quiet.
• My mouth is saliva prone.
• My mic is cheap.

; (

This means, that (after I record my books), I have to run 4 functions:

• A. Equalization, RMS Normalize, Limiter - e.g. this process https://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Audiobook_Mastering
• B. DeClicker Audacity plugin
• C. DeEsser Audacity plugin
• D. NoiseReduction Audacity plugin

So my question is, what would be the theoretically ideal order--in which to run these 4 functions?

In other words, should i run the DeClicker and the DeEsser before the Equalization, or after?
Should I run NoiseReduction first or last?

Right now, my order is:
A
D
B
C

But I don't know if that's best?

Thanks!

[steve]

My room is not so quiet.

Find a quieter room. There is no substitute for this - recording in a "not so quiet" room will seriously compromise the recording quality.

My mouth is saliva prone.

Take regular sips of water, and don't try to read too much at a time. Pauses can be easily edited out later, and are much easier to deal with than saliva sounds.

My mic is cheap.

"Cheap" or "bad". If your mic sounds poor, then you really need to get a better microphone. "Inexpensive" microphones are not necessarily bad, though anything under about $30 probably is bad.


While processing can do wonders to polish a reasonably good recording into something that is very good, it's pointless putting lipstick on a pig.

[boonman]

i know

but if you had a gun to your head, what order would you choose for A B C D ?

[steve]

Normalize (ordinary Normalize)
EQ
NoiseReduction

(then after Noise Reduction)
DeClicker
DeEsser


(then before exporting)
RMS Normalize
Limiter

[kozikowski]

EQ

There's a caution here. The mastering tool order is not accidental. EQ (Low Rolloff) is there to prevent low pitch rumble and 'affordable microphone' trash out of the processing steps. There was a recent post from someone whose sub-audible rumble was three times the volume of the voice.

All that is different from voice quality Equalization (screechiness, booming etc.)


Change the room.

If you're reading for audiobooks, you are a business. The best return on investment is a room and system that doesn't require constant babysitting and post production. ACX Human Quality Control watches for processing errors. They call the errors distracting.

Also distracting is room echoes (reading in a bathroom). There is no filter for that.

Koz

[kozikowski]

Take regular sips of water, and don't try to read too much at a time. Pauses can be easily edited out later, and are much easier to deal with than saliva sounds.

There was a recent note from ACX to stop using condenser microphones. Dynamic microphones sound perfectly fine and aren't subject to boosting sibilance, tongue, lip and other mouth noises. Again, reducing post production time and effort.

Koz

[boonman]

Thanks

I can get a perfect room, and that would eliminate the NoiseReduction function.

But really that's not my biggest problem. I'd still have to apply the same audacity functions.

I'm gonna try some experiments with this order steve thanks!