Audacity Forum

I did entertain writing "Everybody Does This Wrong."

Record your voice and then prepare that exact recording or sound file for posting without saving any steps in the middle. "My computer crashed and I can't find my work. I don't have time to read it all again."

Also:

"ACX reject my sample. I already read the whole book. What am I going to do?"

And etc.

Koz

That's what I thought. Boost overall volume, very gentle compression (to increase loudness) and trim volume a bit.
So we officially have a studio recording and from here it's fine tuning, maybe lowering the background noise a bit (maybe tiny noise reduction, Steve's LF-Rolloff), polishing vocal tone for more pleasant timbre (DeEssing, Equalizer, Low Pass filter).

I have no hands-on with the DeClicker. I think that's supposed to suppress "wet mouth noises," which I think you don't have. I only have minimal experience with the DeEsser, so I'm getting into deep water here.

Anyway:
Normalize to 3.5dB
Compress - Default Values, 2:1
Normalize to 3.5dB
LF-Rolloff (Length about 5000)
DeEss - default values

Attached.

Koz

Note: LF-Rolloff affects noise because even though it drops rumble and other earthquake noises (that only cats can hear) with minimal affect on the show, those noises are measured in ACX testing. So it's one of the effective corrections that you can make that's very nearly "free."

What are your thoughts on that corrected clip? You are about to experience another benefit of a studio recording. You have options. People in constant Disaster Recovery don't.

Koz

kozikowski wrote:If he solves world peace or human hunger, they will pale in comparison.

Goodness! Well I've not tried Steve's LF rolloff (I don't think - although who knows, I've played with so many different things my brain is frazzled. I've spent waaaaay more time on this then I ever did on my degree. True story), but it sounds like it gets rid of all the messy stuff, so that can only be a good thing. The occasional cuckoo does seem to turn up on my recording (Where from? What do they even LOOK like?) so getting that automatically filtered without messing voice tone would be great.

kozikowski wrote:My bag of tricks ran out. You're not disaster recovery. You're already close.

*Blushing*

kozikowski wrote:That may be one of the conditions where ACX wants you to stop and wait for the planes to finish going over.

Yeah, I've just been pausing and waiting for them to pass. If it was a commercial situation it would be really annoying but airforce practice (I'm guessing) flights only really take up a small portion of the day. Although this morning I was up at 5am to get a couple of recording hours in - the planes usually start at 8.30-ish. Actually sometimes I really like the sounds and rush to the window to see what jets they are and how low they are flying - is that too geeky?

kozikowski wrote:I live in horror of a Producer calling with the idea of scheduling a reshoot of a portion of a recording. "You do remember how you did it, right?" [email protected]#$%^

For me remembering character voices is a never-ending trial. If I can get the tech process as smooth, controlled and predictable as possible I only need to worry about the read. It'll be so much better!

kozikowski wrote:What are your thoughts on that corrected clip?

Really clean - almost, dare I say, professional sounding! I can hear mouth noises with my work - but I guess I'm more tuned in to my voice because (obviously) I spend so much time listening to it! I swear to god, sometimes I sound like an elderly lady, moving her false teeth around and sucking on a hard candy at the same time! It's really good to know that there isn't huge amounts to do, just tweaking. I know a massive problem is record volume - and that should improve with a better mic, from what I've been reading (mine is a USB Snowball - bought it before I'd done any research ).

I can't even begin to tell you how much help this forum has been - not just now that I've actually posted but with all the posts I've read up till now as well.

kozikowski wrote:and from here it's fine tuning, maybe lowering the background noise a bit (maybe tiny noise reduction, Steve's LF-Rolloff), polishing vocal tone for more pleasant timbre (DeEssing, Equalizer, Low Pass filter).

Ooooooo (lightbulb) so you mean the goal is to get it passing ACX and THEN do the (totally hands off) noise reduction, LF-Rolloff, DeEssing and Equaliser? I thought you had to do all this to GET the pass. Ahhhh (shakes head) feel a bit silly but that makes so much more sense. Pass the recording then address the tone without affecting any of the actual levels. Totes, dude.

kozikowski wrote:Mastering for what?

Mastering for the ability to become the (insert male boomy echo voice) 'Master of the Audio-Universe', of course. I can't believe that needed to be spelled out...

kozikowski wrote:This was a difficult image to get, but I wanted that idea.

Ha! I appreciate your effort.

kozikowski wrote:retire to a villa on Côte d'azur.

'Claire has now exited the forum, is sipping on an ice-cold glass of Moet, listening to the gentle roll of the ocean and eating a soft-serve ice cream with gooey toffee sauce. Sigh....'

kozikowski wrote:Kitchen table need not apply.

The thing that gets me is that audiobooks aren't cheap to buy, I'd hate to shortchange listeners who have either spent actual money or used their credit on my product, just to get a substandard experience. I really don't understand why people don't do research first. I don't have a technical background and most of this stuff goes waaaaay over my head, but if I'm asking people to spend their wages on my recording, it's just rude not to at least try.

My recording space is a home-made booth made out of 2x4 planks of wood, surrounded by three layers of packing blankets and a quilt. It gets pretty hot so I'm looking forward to recording in winter! The whole thing literally cost about £20 in materials and half a day of work to assemble. It sits next to the front door, because we are in a teeny-tiny one bedroom house, attached to both of the neighbours either side. Like I said my mic is USB (Snowball) and I know it's not going to do the job long-term so already I'm planning for that to be my first upgrade.

My point is: it doesn't cost much, just a bit of effort. It won't be forevermore, hopefully I'll be able to move to a more professional set-up in time, but sitting at the kitchen table with a mic and expecting to produce a decent sound? Now that's just naive and kind of disrespectful to 'proper' professionals and the listener!

Okay, that was a bit of a rant. Part of me is still in the Riviera...Fetch me my sunscreen! Get me a top-up! You! More ice-cream, stat!

I could 'do' rich sooooooo well

kozikowski wrote:That's what I thought. Boost overall volume, very gentle compression (to increase loudness) and trim volume a bit.

Screen Shot 2016-09-12 at 12.32.32.png

So we officially have a studio recording and from here it's fine tuning, maybe lowering the background noise a bit (maybe tiny noise reduction, Steve's LF-Rolloff), polishing vocal tone for more pleasant timbre (DeEssing, Equalizer, Low Pass filter).

I have no hands-on with the DeClicker. I think that's supposed to suppress "wet mouth noises," which I think you don't have. I only have minimal experience with the DeEsser, so I'm getting into deep water here.

Anyway:
Normalize to 3.5dB
Compress - Default Values, 2:1
Normalize to 3.5dB
LF-Rolloff (Length about 5000)
DeEss - default values

Attached.

Koz

Forgot to say - I really appreciate you putting this up as well, thank you

ACX Test is for basic technical competence, full stop. From there, it goes to ACX Human Quality Control where they check for basic theatrical competence. Then they check your ability to follow instructions (put x number of silent seconds before each chapter). Scarily, we have had posters fail the last one.

Then they publish with the assumption everything else is between you and the client.

Seems simple, doesn't it? Most new users crash at step one. That's why it's automated.

You fell into an item from my book list. "If only I could find the right microphone, all my problems will be over."

Probably not. You might get small quality improvements, but few people, short of using a very special purpose microphone, pulled their show out of the trash with a new mic. I used a head-mounted, theatrical microphone in my podcast test because I couldn't do the show in my "studio." See: Las Vegas and TED Talks. That case does work.

In my opinion, your "wet mouth noises" are fine, but feel free to experiment with the DeClicker. Almost everybody hates listening to their own voice, so don't overdramatize the noises.

Yell if you're missing any tools.

Koz

You did say you didn't have LF-Rolloff.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/Docu ... ch.xml.zip

I have a copy of that on kozco.com. Download that zip file and decompress it to LF_rolloff_for_speech.xml. Install it in the Equalization tool.

Adding Audacity Equalization Curves
-- Select something on the timeline.
-- Effect > Equalization > Save/Manage Curves > Import
-- Select LF_rolloff_for_speech.xml > OK. (it won't open the ZIP. You have to decompress it)
-- LF rolloff for speech now appears in the equalization preset curve list.

It will look like this when you use it.
Set the Length of Filter slider to the right around the middle—about 5000.

Tonal pitch is along the bottom and loudness is up the left. Officially, the filter is a 100Hz cut filter and a version of it is included with many portable/field sound mixers. As tonal pitch passes 100Hz and lowers to the left (organ pedal tones), the filter suppresses them harder and harder as you go. 60Hz and 50Hz, the power or mains frequencies in the US and the UK are very firmly reduced and most earthquake and thunder tones are almost completely missing.

Your microphone produces tones like that by accident and they just vanish after the filter. Since you're a woman, it doesn't affect your vocal tones at all. Everybody wins.

Koz

I really like the sounds and rush to the window to see what jets they are and how low they are flying - is that too geeky?

http://kozco.com/pix/Cathay-Pacific.jpg

You have to click it. It's too big for forum formatting.

[geeky]Someone will correct me but that's a Boeing 777 notable for its grouping of three pairs of wheels on each side landing gear.

The distance from the center line of LAX Approach 24R to the property line of the restaurant is about the same as the wing-tip width of an Airbus A380. [/geeky]

Koz

Hi Koz,

That's so great, thank you for the link and the explanation

Also....WOW!!!! That picture was AMAZING!!!! I love that it's an In n Out burger and the plans heading in, lol!

Claire.

I really appreciate you putting this up as well

It's easy to do vague, metaphorical hand-waving and forget what the poster really wants is, "Which button do I push."


You can totally do theatrical patching and production and screw up basic audio. It is a balancing act.

Koz