When is it time to reinstall Audacity?

[Monaxi]

Greetings! And, thank you for the suggestions re "When it is time to get a new microphone?"

So, I'm still looking for the solution to the loud embedded pops or strange disturbances in my recordings.

I've noticed that while I'm listening during editing, sometimes when I hear such a noise, but then listen again, the noise is not there the second time. When it is still there, the sound wave picture looks strange, but no obvious spike or bulge to fix. These require a lot more editing time.

My (latest) theory is that this is something with Audacity which occurs while it is running. So, if it occurs during editing, it's gone. But if it occurs during recording, it stays. Does this make any sense?

Would reinstalling Audacity help? Would doing so interfere with my Audacity files? Well, thanks again for your input!

[tovarisch]

Sister,

If those strange disturbances get into your sound during recording, and that is what's more problematic than dealing with possible playback troubles, then why not try a different recording software, but only for the recording phase of your work? Keep editing in Audacity, you're used to it, and it offers a reasonable set of tools, it's free. Record with something else, make sure to save the results as FLAC or WAVE, then load/import it into Audacity for editing.

One of the programs I've tried in the past is 'ocenaudio' (https://www.ocenaudio.com/download). It's straightforward enough.

Another way is, of course, to see if you can reduce the number of simultaneously running processes on your computer, like mail, browsers, etc., which can rob Audacity of resources, like CPU cycles and memory. Don't keep other windows open when you record...

Good luck!

[Monaxi]

Thanks so much for your advice. I will try closing other programs for my next recording and see how that goes. And, then, I'll look into the other recording software you mentioned. Thanks again!

[Monaxi]

Reporting that I am getting less extraneous sounds with the internet turned off. Thanks again!

[tovarisch]

Thank you for letting us know, Sister. That's good news!

A few years back I discovered that my wi-fi router was causing my Samson Go Mic produce a regular ~4 Hz clicking all over my recordings. I switched to a different router to solve that issue, and later switched to a different mic system altogether. It helped for a while. And currently I have a grounded (!) sheet of foil separating my wi-fi router/modem and my audio interface to prevent the same kind of interference. To me it shows that not all "extraneous sounds" ("clicks", "cracks", "bumps") that we find in our tracks have mechanical causes.

[lurcherlover]

Thank you for letting us know, Sister. That's good news!

A few years back I discovered that my wi-fi router was causing my Samson Go Mic produce a regular ~4 Hz clicking all over my recordings. I switched to a different router to solve that issue, and later switched to a different mic system altogether. It helped for a while. And currently I have a grounded (!) sheet of foil separating my wi-fi router/modem and my audio interface to prevent the same kind of interference. To me it shows that not all "extraneous sounds" ("clicks", "cracks", "bumps") that we find in our tracks have mechanical causes.

Yes, this is very relevant. However, I still cannot find something that is occasionally making a sound in my little studio where I do voice stuff. It really doesn't matter, but it's frustrating knowing it's there. I'm recording at a lower level now (to - 20dB maximum peak). (I'll up the gain for the archived file and then even more for the MP3 file that LV insists on). Maybe this will solve it, who knows? But probably not as I'm reducing any noise on recording but then increasing the gain and it for the final version. I will just have to remove it as usual in post.