The all-new "HELP! I have an Audacity problem" thread

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TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

For S sounds have you tried the low-pass filter? Start at about 4000 or 5000 Hz and experiment from there. :)
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GrayHouse
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Post by GrayHouse »

Just to add: If you're more at home with a parametric style eq there are some additional Audacity plugins that you can install. You might have a look at this one and this one which will work more like the one you're seeking to replace.
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knotyouraveragejo
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Post by knotyouraveragejo »

PatrickLondon wrote: April 5th, 2018, 8:42 am Where can I get the Single Band Parametric plugins? The link on the wiki page seems to be broken:

https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Removing_Mains_Hum#How_to_install_Single_Band_Parametric_in_Audacity
I fixed this link, Patrick. Thanks for pointing out that it was broken. :)
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mparker
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Post by mparker »

I feel like I should be able to figure this out on my own, and to some extent I did, but not in a way that I think is the "correct" way. My recordings are too loud, and yes it would be easier to not speak as loudly, but that is how I speak so I would prefer an alternative solution. What is the best way to reduce the volume of a selected area of recording in Audacity? Any help would be appreciated.
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tovarisch
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Post by tovarisch »

There are different ways, I suppose. One (which comes to my mind first) is amplification with a negative value (lowering the volume): select the part of the track you want softer and do Effect -> Amplify and then enter a negative number into the "value" field, then OK.

Another possible solution is to reduce the gain somewhat so that the entire recording is lower in volume, and then apply the compressor to bring the soft parts up.
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TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

Selected area: Effect/Amplify and put in a negative value.

To make all your recordings a bit quieter, move the microphone slider in the Audacity window down. :)

(Compressor shrinks high peaks, hence its name. You could use that to even things out. It doesn't "bring softer parts back up" unless you use the "normalize to 0 db" option in Compressor to do it - but that's just amplifying, which you can do yourself and control the amount using Amplify.)
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thestorygirl
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Post by thestorygirl »

Hi,
I have a question concerning I downloaded the new Audacity 2.2.2.
Is it already automatically set to 128kbps? When I tried exporting it as MP3 it had different selections, but they are vague, such as 170-210; 145-185 kbps. It doesn't have a choice for 128.
Thanks~
TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

thestorygirl wrote: May 30th, 2018, 1:05 pm Hi,
I have a question concerning I downloaded the new Audacity 2.2.2.
Is it already automatically set to 128kbps? When I tried exporting it as MP3 it had different selections, but they are vague, such as 170-210; 145-185 kbps. It doesn't have a choice for 128.
Thanks~
Change the bit rate MODE to Constant. That'll give you the 128 kb in the pick list.
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
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thestorygirl
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Post by thestorygirl »

Oh, thank you!
arrowheadAussie
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Post by arrowheadAussie »

I cant seem to be able to upload the test file? the button is there to upload the file is there, but it doesn't seem to do anything?
TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

arrowheadAussie wrote: June 18th, 2018, 3:04 pm I cant seem to be able to upload the test file? the button is there to upload the file is there, but it doesn't seem to do anything?
Can you give a little more explanation? :)

Are you on the uploader page? The button that you say is there, is that the blue "upload" button?
Try waiting a while. Perhaps your browser isn't showing the progress bar. I assume you're trying to upload a standard, 30-40 second test. It should pop up a blue web link when it's done, which should only take a couple minutes at most.
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
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arrowheadAussie
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Post by arrowheadAussie »

I do have a blue link, maybe it uploaded and I didn't realize?
arrowheadAussie
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Post by arrowheadAussie »

https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_arrowheadaussie.mp3

Is this the link after it uploads? and where do I post this?

Thanks
TriciaG
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Post by TriciaG »

arrowheadAussie wrote: June 18th, 2018, 4:36 pm https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_arrowheadaussie.mp3

Is this the link after it uploads? and where do I post this?

Thanks
Yep, that's it! Post it in a new thread in the Listeners & Editors Wanted forum, as per the test instructions. Include what software you're using, what kind of microphone, and whatever other info you would like to give. :)
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
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deakle
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Post by deakle »

OK—new here and trying to upload my 1-minute test. following the directions, when I click on "SAVE" I get a window that says Audacity needs the file libmp3lame.dylib to create mp3's. Where do I go from here? My Mac won't open LAME and there's nothing about this in the instructions on LibriVox.
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