What Happened To The "Other" Audacity?

[Son of Spam]

Before I reformatted my computer last week, I had a version of Audacity that grouped all the effects into neat categories, instead of the jumble of effects in the Effects menu. I tried downloading it from the website, but all I get is this older version.

What's going on?

[kozikowski]

I think 1.3.2 or 1.3.3 did that. It caused an immediate uproar (in a bad way) because of the way Audacity manages filters and effects.

Many effects can't tune or adjust themselves in real time. What this means is you need to apply them over and over again with slightly different values to get the desired work.

Some of the tools were two or more menus deep in that version and it made, for example, noise reduction into a life career move instead of just two mouse clicks. Intensely time consuming and awkward.

Menus will start working right after we get the ability to assign an effect to a hot key. Not available yet.

Koz

[steve]

It has never been available in Audacity 1.2, so I'll move this to the 1.3 part of the forum.

[Son of Spam]

There used to be an Effects command that I started to really enjoy and make a lot of use of. I think it was called "Normalization" (?). I see it in 1.2.6. but it doesn't seem to have the same effect ('scuse the pun).

This is how I used it:

I would use the Compressor to "fatten" up the sound (how's that for a contradiction? ). Then I would touch it off with this Normalization thing and it would make it even fuller. But in 1.2.6., nothing seems to happen when I hit Normalization.

What should I be doing?

[kozikowski]

Normalize changes the level of the whole show at once so that the highest peak lands exactly at the value you set in the tool. If you didn't pick a value and check the box, the tool will do nothing. Worse, if you pick a value lower than the highest peak, the volume will go down. I think the default value is 0 which is the maximum digital sound value.

Normalize and Amplify are cousin tools. Normalize uses two peaks, one left and the other right. Amplify picks only one for the whole show.

You might consider Chris's Compressor...

http://pdf23ds.net/software/dynamic-compressor/

It's a loudness compressor that sounds good without fiddling with settings and values. I bump the first number, compression, from 0.5 to 0.77 to make my shows sound like the local radio station.

Unless your goal is to get that pumping, squeezed sound, this may work for you. The show volume goes way up with very little damage to the sound.

Koz

[Son of Spam]

Sorry...it was the "Leveller".

Thanks.

[kozikowski]

<<<Sorry...it was the "Leveller". >>>

Oh, yes. Leveler is the blood on the walls, ripped up carpet, brute force compressor. Actually, that's generous. It's a clipper. I sent my voice through it twice at one time to get the Air Traffic Controller voice.

"Southwest Two-Six come to heading two-two-zero and prepare for landing 24-Right."

If that gave you the sound you liked, you need to keep doing that. There isn't any other tool that will do that.

Koz