Making your reading sound Great

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bubbaspeare
Posts: 30
Joined: December 17th, 2016, 10:21 am

Post by bubbaspeare »

lurcherlover wrote:
bubbaspeare wrote:
I did my Librivox test, got distracted, and still haven't done the short poem Librivox Admin recommend doing. Would like to give Reaper a try for that :D

Cheers

Bubba
A short poem would be a good test for using Reaper from the free trial download. You could record it several times and edit between different versions. If you want advice on shortcuts, setting up a customised version, or anything else, as well as the forum at http://forum.cockos.com/index.php I can give you tips as well.

You may need to import the edited file into Audacity (which takes just seconds) to then export it again as an MP3. This is very quick and easy.

If you download the Checker it will take your final file and check it to pass it or fail it on certain criteria. Once passed Librivox will accept the file (subject to no reading or editing errors) and you are home and dry.

Interesting reading of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 - surprise after the cockney accent in the intro. I liked the slow pace too, that's hard to do!

Peter
Hey Peter, hope all is productive at you're end of the microphone.

A quick question: have you found that with Reaper the gain level is especially low compared to Audacity?

I only ask because I don't know what I've done wrong here. The volume sounded all spiffy and loud on the Mac, which has no Internet connection, so the mp3 was then transferred to the PC for upload to the 'test' section here:

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

For some reason the gain has fallen off dramatically. Don't know why. As you know, I am a complete idiot when it comes to anything technical. During the reign of the video cassette, I never once managed to record anything. Couldn't understand the manuals :-)

I figure going the Reaper route will, by not having to read two manuals, save me time and tears in the long run.

Thanks Dude

Bubba
lurcherlover
Posts: 1206
Joined: November 10th, 2016, 3:54 am
Location: LONDON UK

Post by lurcherlover »

bubbaspeare wrote:
lurcherlover wrote:
bubbaspeare wrote:
I did my Librivox test, got distracted, and still haven't done the short poem Librivox Admin recommend doing. Would like to give Reaper a try for that :D

Cheers

Bubba
A short poem would be a good test for using Reaper from the free trial download. You could record it several times and edit between different versions. If you want advice on shortcuts, setting up a customised version, or anything else, as well as the forum at http://forum.cockos.com/index.php I can give you tips as well.

You may need to import the edited file into Audacity (which takes just seconds) to then export it again as an MP3. This is very quick and easy.

If you download the Checker it will take your final file and check it to pass it or fail it on certain criteria. Once passed Librivox will accept the file (subject to no reading or editing errors) and you are home and dry.

Interesting reading of Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 - surprise after the cockney accent in the intro. I liked the slow pace too, that's hard to do!

Peter
Hey Peter, hope all is productive at you're end of the microphone.

A quick question: have you found that with Reaper the gain level is especially low compared to Audacity?

I only ask because I don't know what I've done wrong here. The volume sounded all spiffy and loud on the Mac, which has no Internet connection, so the mp3 was then transferred to the PC for upload to the 'test' section here:

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

For some reason the gain has fallen off dramatically. Don't know why. As you know, I am a complete idiot when it comes to anything technical. During the reign of the video cassette, I never once managed to record anything. Couldn't understand the manuals :-)

I figure going the Reaper route will, by not having to read two manuals, save me time and tears in the long run.

Thanks Dude

Bubba
Yes, it is certainly quiet and way below the levels you need for LV. In Reaper there is the floating MASTER MIXER which gives the peak and/or RMS decibel output readings. You should be peaking up to about -8dB You can move the slider up to get the required levels. (Make sure you have the floating Master mixer ticked under VIEW in the dropdown menu in REAPER).

To correct the MP3 in Audacity go to "EFFECT" and "AMPLIFY" and increase the (+ dB) by between +8 and +12 dB to get a good level. (i.e. MARK the whole file first. It will go darker. You can do this by using "select all" in the menu).

I think your file was as much as 20dB below what it should be, so go up to +20dB if necessary - but not into the red.

Hope this helps.

P.S. There is also the slider on each track (on left at start of track in REAPER) and you need to make sure you are recording at that level, peaking at about -8 dB. This gives you some headroom and a pretty full sound.
bubbaspeare
Posts: 30
Joined: December 17th, 2016, 10:21 am

Post by bubbaspeare »

Thanks again Peter. You are the Professor. I appreciate your taking the time to type all that up. Everything is now spiffy again.

Now, let's find a short poem...

Bubba
lurcherlover
Posts: 1206
Joined: November 10th, 2016, 3:54 am
Location: LONDON UK

Post by lurcherlover »

I'm not referring to anyone in particular, but occasionally when I listen to a recording I find that there is a lot of reverb/echo. Unlike with music, the spoken voice needs to be very dry to achieve maximum clarity. Also, people often find excessive echo rather tiring to listen to. Reverb should really only be used for effect (say in a cave in a dramatic work) where it would be only for a short duration.

Many professional audiobook people tell me that close miking within a dry room (or with some duvet/blanket treatment) is a must, and even there are times when the professional broadcasting organisations get it wrong and record in an echoey location (Usually short news items where they are not too fussy).

I realise that there are often circumstances where dry recordings are difficult or impossible, but it's always worth remembering in the situations where the sound can be tightened up. In the situation where it is impossible then to continue recording is the most important thing. But always remember that moving really close into the mic (without getting plosives) will make a big difference.
Ealswythe
Posts: 833
Joined: June 19th, 2017, 4:35 pm
Location: Los Angeles, by way of New York City

Post by Ealswythe »

I know the last post on this thread was made a year ago, but this topic is fascinating! Lurcherlover, I do understand what you’re saying about this. Unfortunately, 89db sometimes makes our recordings jump into the red a bit too much. By concentrating on the “minus” Settings in the bar, we could keep the recordings more within professional standards. Thank you, Lurcherlover, for your comments! :D
Ealswythe
Le silence va plus vite à reculons.

https://librivox.org/reader/11772
annise
LibriVox Admin Team
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Location: Melbourne,Australia

Post by annise »

Everyone is free to produce so called professional standard recordings if they wish but LV does not aim at professional standard - our ideal would be people reading books they love or are interested in and sounding like a friend reading to us. And we don't regard that as 2nd best.

Anne
Ealswythe
Posts: 833
Joined: June 19th, 2017, 4:35 pm
Location: Los Angeles, by way of New York City

Post by Ealswythe »

Yes, that is true, Anne. I was just interested in Lurcherlover’s comments because on Audible, the specs are different, and at first, I didn’t understand them. Lurcherlover explained it very clearly.
Le silence va plus vite à reculons.

https://librivox.org/reader/11772
lurcherlover
Posts: 1206
Joined: November 10th, 2016, 3:54 am
Location: LONDON UK

Post by lurcherlover »

Ealswythe wrote:Yes, that is true, Anne. I was just interested in Lurcherlover’s comments because on Audible, the specs are different, and at first, I didn’t understand them. Lurcherlover explained it very clearly.
Thanks for your support Ealswythe. I just try to make my recordings as technically good as possible, and as someone who has something (a small contribution) on Audible and something else which may happen, I frequently experiment with mic's to get the best quality.

Annise - yes of course it should not stop readers from contributing to LV. On the other hand, a recording with a lot of noise, and a lot of echo, will sometimes put listeners off. I find that myself, as it is tiring to listen to poor quality recordings no matter how good the reading is. It does not hurt to encourage improvements where possible.
ClaudiaSterngucker
Posts: 367
Joined: February 8th, 2017, 9:03 am
Location: St. Moritz, Zurich, Switzerland

Post by ClaudiaSterngucker »

philchenevert wrote: With that in mind, this is what I do: The irritating stuff occurs between words and phrases when my lips and mouth make all those nasty noises that I only hear when listening to a recording. Instead of trying to zoom in and remove each of the 3 or four little clicks between each phrase, I have programmed a hot key that deamplifies the section by 18 dB. so if there are disgusting noises somewhere in a 'quiet' section, I just deamp the whole thing with a simple hot key stroke and move on. The spacing thus stays the same and it sounds just fine. (to me)
Dear Phil,

I know, I'm very late...but I'd like to ask you if you do still de-amplify the mouth noise sections of your recordings. I have terrible mouth noise, even though I drink lots and sip warm water during recording. Sometimes, I fear I may not be suitable for reading out loud in front of a micro, as whatever I try, the drying out of my mouth and lips and the clicks won't diminish. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to edit out every single click in between sentences, so, your method really means hope to me. I must learn now how to program such a 'de-amplifying hot key'. Do you apply the de-amplifying of the clicks at the end of your editing process, or at the beginning? - I need to make my recordings louder most of the time, therefore it seems logical to me to de-amplify the mouth noise at the end. :mrgreen:
Claudia

"Aus Druckerschwärze entstehen Dinge, Menschen, Geister und Götter, die man sonst nicht sehen könnte." Erich Kästner
philchenevert
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Post by philchenevert »

Dear Phil,

I know, I'm very late...but I'd like to ask you if you do still de-amplify the mouth noise sections of your recordings. I have terrible mouth noise, even though I drink lots and sip warm water during recording. Sometimes, I fear I may not be suitable for reading out loud in front of a micro, as whatever I try, the drying out of my mouth and lips and the clicks won't diminish. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to edit out every single click in between sentences, so, your method really means hope to me. I must learn now how to program such a 'de-amplifying hot key'. Do you apply the de-amplifying of the clicks at the end of your editing process, or at the beginning? - I need to make my recordings louder most of the time, therefore it seems logical to me to de-amplify the mouth noise at the end. :mrgreen:
Hi Claudia. First off, I am sorry you h ave so much trouble with dryness and mouth noises but if I remember right, your voice is perfect for reading in front of a mic; don't deny your gifts like that! My own problems in that area are not so severe but they are still there and I use my hot keys every day and hundreds of times for each recording. Secondly, relax, because they are probably not as annoying as you think and learning this mysterious de-amplifying is not hard. Like anything the first attempts will be the most confusing but once you know the basics, you will be gratified at the ease with which you can clean up your tracks.

I will make a video for y ou later but right now please watch this again as your homework http://youtu.be/PHzARvzNPGQ
and this again http://youtu.be/0JXQvTS4We8 When I come back tonight I will explaion more. :thumbs:
Peruvian owls always hunt in pairs because they are inca hoots.
89 Decibels? Easy Peasy ! https://youtu.be/aSKR55RDVpk
ClaudiaSterngucker
Posts: 367
Joined: February 8th, 2017, 9:03 am
Location: St. Moritz, Zurich, Switzerland

Post by ClaudiaSterngucker »

Thank you so much, Phil, I did my homework, watched your great tutorials and have just programmed an 'amplify - key'! :9: You're such a gentleman, I'm just no sure if my narrating abilities can be called a gift, I'm nothing but a noob...but one eager to learn.
Claudia

"Aus Druckerschwärze entstehen Dinge, Menschen, Geister und Götter, die man sonst nicht sehen könnte." Erich Kästner
philchenevert
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Post by philchenevert »

ClaudiaSterngucker wrote:Thank you so much, Phil, I did my homework, watched your great tutorials and have just programmed an 'amplify - key'! :9: You're such a gentleman, I'm just no sure if my narrating abilities can be called a gift, I'm nothing but a noob...but one eager to learn.
Yep, dat's me, the gentleman! I am properly impressed that you have re programme one of your keys. As you work with them, certain ones will become obvious to you and you will wonder how you got along without them.

The next step is the hotkey script. This i basically the same thing, telling Audcity to do something, but in this case you are loading a 'script' that has it do a whole bunch of things with one keystroke. The one you began this with is my 'deamplify by 15db' script: it applies deamplification to the section I have chosen in the amount I wish . More on t his later; I think our Wiki has a section on HotKeys tht may help here. One step at a time. One step at a time.
Peruvian owls always hunt in pairs because they are inca hoots.
89 Decibels? Easy Peasy ! https://youtu.be/aSKR55RDVpk
ClaudiaSterngucker
Posts: 367
Joined: February 8th, 2017, 9:03 am
Location: St. Moritz, Zurich, Switzerland

Post by ClaudiaSterngucker »

Hell - fire and damnation! I've tried to record a text for over 4 hours now...but, as if my struggle with mouth noise isn't enough, now my stupid nose (or something inside the nose or the sinuses maybe) clicks and crackles like crazy. These sounds occur not only between words and phrases, but while speaking out words, so no chance to edit them out. I'm frustrated and totally done with recording for now. :evil:
Claudia

"Aus Druckerschwärze entstehen Dinge, Menschen, Geister und Götter, die man sonst nicht sehen könnte." Erich Kästner
annise
LibriVox Admin Team
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Post by annise »

Just a couple of questions . which I'm sure you've answered somewhere but I also go for easy fixes first - like is the computer plugged in ? :D

Do these noises happen if you just press record and sit still?
If not do they still happen if you press record and mime how you record, like looking at the text etc?

Do you have a phone or a digital record that you could try recording a few minutes , then see if it finishes up the same ?

Anne
ClaudiaSterngucker
Posts: 367
Joined: February 8th, 2017, 9:03 am
Location: St. Moritz, Zurich, Switzerland

Post by ClaudiaSterngucker »

Dear Anne,

Thank you so much for your reply, it's very kind of you! <3 I so wish that the computer was the culprit! But I can hear these sinus clicks and crackles myself when I talk or even breathe, it's a problem that often occurs, unfortunately, even when I don't have a cold, like right now. But I did a couple of minutes of recording on my mobile phone, just to be sure, and these clicks where clearly audible on this track as well. I had my son listening to one of my recordings and he had to admit that these clicks are loud enough to be annoying and distracting (he said funny and distracting...). These click are present in all my recordings and I fear they will put off listeners very quickly - and I'd absolutely understand it. Today, there was just an unbearable amount of these clicks, and not even nose spray made them go away, not even for a short while. I'll give it another try on Monday...
Claudia

"Aus Druckerschwärze entstehen Dinge, Menschen, Geister und Götter, die man sonst nicht sehen könnte." Erich Kästner
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