Why won't Audacity work on my recording?

[Niku]

What are some reasons for the following? "Algorithm not effective on this audio. Nothing changed." I have Audacity version 21.1.2 and OS 10.11.6.

[kozikowski]

Audacity version 21.1.2

Audacity doesn't make that version. Is that a typo?

Where did the show come from? Describe the recording.

Koz

[Niku]

I was about to tell you that you were wrong, but after checking I see that the version is really 2.1.2. The recording is of a 25-minute poem that I copied from an old LP.

[kozikowski]

There are bogus versions of Audacity that use very minor tweeks to the version number. It's a red flag when somebody arrives with what may not be "real" software.

a 25-minute poem that I copied from an old LP.

Ah. At first pass I assumed you were having trouble opening a document. So you recorded it in Audacity and now you want to create a sound file.

What kind of sound file would you like to make?

Most people want to make an MP3 file at this step in the process. Beyond that it might not be the best sound format for top quality, you have to install the Lame software to make a new MP3.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/faq_ ... ml#maclame

Let me know if I'm close.

Koz

[Niku]

Well, you may be missing the main point. I am using Audacity because the sound quality of my recording is not good, and I want to improve it. That's why I'm trying to use Audacity, to IMPROVE the quality of my recording. So, if Audacity tells me, "Algorithm not effective on this audio. Nothing changed." what's the point of using it? In case that's not clear, it seems to me that Audacity is telling me that it cannot do anything with this recording. Okay, I'm not criticizing Audacity for not being perfect, but there's no reason for me to use something that is telling me that they can't and won't do anything for me.

[kozikowski]

you may be missing the main point.

We can only go with what you tell us aided with lists of common complaints.

the sound quality of my recording is not good, and I want to improve it.

Cool. We can do that. Can you describe what's wrong with it? Audacity has a rainbow of different tools to change the sound in different ways. We have to start somewhere.

Before we start messing with it, I think I would save a protection copy of the work. File > Export: WAV (Microsoft). Save it on your desktop. Name it without using punctuation marks except - and _. If you want dates, use the ISO format. Today is 2016-08-11.

It's easiest for you to cut a short sound sample and post it here so we can inspect it.

How to post an audio sample:
http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 49&t=72887

Koz

[Niku]

I really don’t understand your position. It sounds as if you’re saying “Don’t believe what Audacity tells you.” However, strange as your request sounds to me, here is the file.

[kozikowski]

Don't believe......what?

Audacity instructions are designed for a broad audience and covering as much as possible. You can crank through it all and eventually get there, or just post a sound file and it's better than even chance one of the forum elves can just tell you how to fix it.

As we go.

Koz

[kozikowski]

There are elves who do vinyl corrections a lot better than I do, so I'm going to step back.

But.

Was that a 78 by chance? Did you do the transfer with the special, broader 78 stylus and did you do the transfer at actual 78 RPM? There are ways to play the record at 33 or 45 with the wrong stylus and try to "clean it up later." Not a good idea in my opinion. For one thing, the wrong stylus drags on the bottom of the 78 groove picking up extra noise, hiss and distortion that should not be there.

Koz

[steve]

What are some reasons for the following? "Algorithm not effective on this audio. Nothing changed." I have Audacity version 21.1.2 and OS 10.11.6.

I recognise that message from the "Click Removal" effect. http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/click_removal.html

This is one of the oldest effects in Audacity, and it's in need of updating because, to be honest, it's not very good. The way that it corrects clicks works well, but it's not very good at the harder part of the job, which is in detecting clicks. The message "Algorithm not effective on this audio. Nothing changed." means that the effect did not detect any clicks, so the audio was not changed by the effect.

For other (better) ways to deal with clicks, see here:
http://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tuto ... iques.html