COMPLETE Short Ghost and Horror Story Collection Vol. 034 -rap

Solo or group recordings that are finished and fully available for listeners
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Rapunzelina
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Post by Rapunzelina »

brockprice wrote: June 11th, 2019, 7:45 am Thanks, Rapunzelina. Sounds good.
My forum name in the catalog would be fine.
Thanks!

I also did a tech check since this is your first recording. I think I am not getting your file at a constant bit rate of 128 kbps (it could be variable). Which software are you using to export to mp3?

So far I haven't been able to find a PD publication date for phantom motor... I'll keep looking. If you can find it published in a magazine or newspaper before 1924, that would be what we need.
Gavenport
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Post by Gavenport »

I also did a tech check since this is your first recording. I think I am not getting your file at a constant bit rate of 128 kbps (it could be variable). Which software are you using to export to mp3?

Uuuhhh - I didn't look at the bit-rate - sorry! Media-Info of Krusader says that the file has 121 kb/sec - so I think it's variable, too.
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brockprice
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Post by brockprice »

With a bit of sleuthing, I found "The Phantom Motor" in an anthology titled "The Thinking Machine on the Case". Publication date is 1908.
The book is available as a free eBook (digitized book) on Google Books:

https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Thinking_Machine_on_the_Case.html?id=-OREAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false

Thank you for reviewing my recording of "At the Gate".
  • I (think I) set a constant bit rate.
  • I added 5 seconds of silence to the end.
  • In Audacity, I used the ReplayGain plug-in to analyze the volume then used Amplify to set the file to the correct level (I hope).
I uploaded the updated file. Please let me know if any more editing should be done.
https://librivox.org/uploads/rapunzelina/ghohor034_atgate_mylajoclosser_bp_128kbps.mp3

Thanks again!
Rapunzelina
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Post by Rapunzelina »

brockprice wrote: June 11th, 2019, 6:08 pm With a bit of sleuthing, I found "The Phantom Motor" in an anthology titled "The Thinking Machine on the Case". Publication date is 1908.
The book is available as a free eBook (digitized book) on Google Books:

https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Thinking_Machine_on_the_Case.html?id=-OREAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false
Awesome!
Gavenport
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Post by Gavenport »

brockprice wrote: June 11th, 2019, 6:08 pm With a bit of sleuthing, I found "The Phantom Motor" in an anthology titled "The Thinking Machine on the Case". Publication date is 1908.
The book is available as a free eBook (digitized book) on Google Books:

https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Thinking_Machine_on_the_Case.html?id=-OREAQAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false

Thank you for reviewing my recording of "At the Gate".
  • I (think I) set a constant bit rate.
  • I added 5 seconds of silence to the end.
  • In Audacity, I used the ReplayGain plug-in to analyze the volume then used Amplify to set the file to the correct level (I hope).
I uploaded the updated file. Please let me know if any more editing should be done.
https://librivox.org/uploads/rapunzelina/ghohor034_atgate_mylajoclosser_bp_128kbps.mp3

Thanks again!
Now all is perfect so: PL:OK :clap: :thumbs:
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maxgal
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Post by maxgal »

Here is my first recording:
https://librivox.org/uploads/rapunzelina/ghohor034_transfer_blackwood_ljb_128kb.mp3

Text source: https://archive.org/details/pansgardenvolume00blacuoft/page/342
Author: Algernon Blackwood
Title: "The Transfer"
Duration: 39:58
LibriVox catalogue name for me: Louise J. Belle

I hope it's OK, because I don't know if I can edit.

A few points, for what they're worth:

I tried not to have any click noises, but there might be a few still in there. Basically they happened every time I stopped or paused or restarted (all of which happened a lot). Quite by accident I found that I could smooth over the clicks by starting each next recording section with the cursor (or whatever the recorded section dividing line is called) positioned before (to the left of) the end of the previous recorded section.

I tried to keep the volume within the required range. The mic (Blue Yeti) is very sensitive, so it took some time and a lot of false starts, with various distances & angles between me and the mic. I finally left the recording volume at 1.0 because otherwise, I could hardly get the peaks to reach 0.5, let alone between 0.5 and 1.0 -- or on the other extreme, the peaks were way beyond the borders. At one point (34:10-34:14), where the narrator calls out (shouts), I tried setting the recording volume at .75, .80, .85, and .90, but even at .90, the quality of the sound was markedly different; it sounded like a different recording just pasted in. So I set it back to 1.0 and tried the line of dialogue at various distances and angles; I hope it's not too loud and is "fluid" enough within the overall recording.

I find that I'm very slow when reading aloud. (This is partly to make sure I enunciate clearly and don't trip over the words or accidentally skip anything.) I have listened to recordings on LibriVox and elsewhere, and I prefer relatively slow reading, because it's easier to relax and listen comfortably. But just as I was finishing this recording at nearly 40 minutes, I came across another recording of the same story that clocked in at 13:44!
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb5RmHE-rO4) And it was a bit fast for me as a listener, but still sounded OK. So of course now I'm worried that I'm too slow. I certainly don't want to bore anyone! (Maybe this is why I think I might be good at reading for the LibriVox "insomnia" collection.)

Sorry for the length of this post.
Any advice/help is appreciated.

...LJB
Louise
"every little breeze..."

Fun Fact: 40% of all statistics are wrong.
Rapunzelina
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Post by Rapunzelina »

Hey Louise! Welcome to our spooky collection!

This is your Reader page in the catalogue
https://librivox.org/reader/13417
It lists all projects you've read for, so it might seem a little empty now, but I hope you'll enjoy it here and you'll gradually fill it up!

Glad your upload came through alright!

Thank you for offering your recording! Now in our Magic Window, to be proof-listened by our fabulous Dedicated Proof-Listener Gavenport! :D
Gavenport
Posts: 1659
Joined: September 29th, 2014, 1:26 pm
Location: Gomadingen / Germany

Post by Gavenport »

maxgal wrote: June 14th, 2019, 8:56 am Here is my first recording:
https://librivox.org/uploads/rapunzelina/ghohor034_transfer_blackwood_ljb_128kb.mp3

Text source: https://archive.org/details/pansgardenvolume00blacuoft/page/342
Author: Algernon Blackwood
Title: "The Transfer"
Duration: 39:58
LibriVox catalogue name for me: Louise J. Belle

I hope it's OK, because I don't know if I can edit.

A few points, for what they're worth:

I tried not to have any click noises, but there might be a few still in there. Basically they happened every time I stopped or paused or restarted (all of which happened a lot). Quite by accident I found that I could smooth over the clicks by starting each next recording section with the cursor (or whatever the recorded section dividing line is called) positioned before (to the left of) the end of the previous recorded section.

I tried to keep the volume within the required range. The mic (Blue Yeti) is very sensitive, so it took some time and a lot of false starts, with various distances & angles between me and the mic. I finally left the recording volume at 1.0 because otherwise, I could hardly get the peaks to reach 0.5, let alone between 0.5 and 1.0 -- or on the other extreme, the peaks were way beyond the borders. At one point (34:10-34:14), where the narrator calls out (shouts), I tried setting the recording volume at .75, .80, .85, and .90, but even at .90, the quality of the sound was markedly different; it sounded like a different recording just pasted in. So I set it back to 1.0 and tried the line of dialogue at various distances and angles; I hope it's not too loud and is "fluid" enough within the overall recording.

I find that I'm very slow when reading aloud. (This is partly to make sure I enunciate clearly and don't trip over the words or accidentally skip anything.) I have listened to recordings on LibriVox and elsewhere, and I prefer relatively slow reading, because it's easier to relax and listen comfortably. But just as I was finishing this recording at nearly 40 minutes, I came across another recording of the same story that clocked in at 13:44!
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb5RmHE-rO4) And it was a bit fast for me as a listener, but still sounded OK. So of course now I'm worried that I'm too slow. I certainly don't want to bore anyone! (Maybe this is why I think I might be good at reading for the LibriVox "insomnia" collection.)

Sorry for the length of this post.
Any advice/help is appreciated.

...LJB
This has to be edited: Overall volume is to loud. Adjust it with - 2,7 db to the perfect line of 89 db.


This I would do / edit:
- Noise reduction
- Cut or silence clicks and mouth noises - there are this many that they are really disturbing the fun of listening. (Personally I never use the click remover of Audacity - it doesn't remove the clicks but just lowers it and if the settings are to offensive it could fragment the voice / the reading, too). Get a bigger distance to the mic to avoid mouth noises and maybe don't speak directly into it but slightly over it.

My personal opinion (if you want to know it): I like your voice - it's very melodic. And your kind of reading isn't too slow but many of the pauses seem to me a bit unnatural long and destroying the flow of the reading. Maybe it helps if you ask yourself if you would tell the story to somebody as you read it. By the way - english isn't my native language but I understood every word you read all in a very clearly fashion. And don't match yourself with voice actors, radio hosts or anchormans as the youtube-reading is produced from BBC when I understood it right. It's their job to speak / read clearly and emotionallly perfect (and 'fast').
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Rapunzelina
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Post by Rapunzelina »

Gavenport wrote: June 11th, 2019, 3:07 pm

Uuuhhh - I didn't look at the bit-rate - sorry! Media-Info of Krusader says that the file has 121 kb/sec - so I think it's variable, too.
Oh, I forgot I wanted to comment on that. There's nothing to apologize for, since it's the BC's responsibility to make sure tech specs are correct. But if the DPL also checks the tech specs it can work as extra safety :9: Thank you!
maxgal
Posts: 3247
Joined: June 8th, 2019, 10:24 am

Post by maxgal »

Gavenport wrote: June 16th, 2019, 7:28 am
maxgal wrote: June 14th, 2019, 8:56 am Here is my first recording:
https://librivox.org/uploads/rapunzelina/ghohor034_transfer_blackwood_ljb_128kb.mp3

Text source: https://archive.org/details/pansgardenvolume00blacuoft/page/342
Author: Algernon Blackwood
Title: "The Transfer"
Duration: 39:58
LibriVox catalogue name for me: Louise J. Belle

I hope it's OK, because I don't know if I can edit.

A few points, for what they're worth:

I tried not to have any click noises, but there might be a few still in there. Basically they happened every time I stopped or paused or restarted (all of which happened a lot). Quite by accident I found that I could smooth over the clicks by starting each next recording section with the cursor (or whatever the recorded section dividing line is called) positioned before (to the left of) the end of the previous recorded section.

I tried to keep the volume within the required range. The mic (Blue Yeti) is very sensitive, so it took some time and a lot of false starts, with various distances & angles between me and the mic. I finally left the recording volume at 1.0 because otherwise, I could hardly get the peaks to reach 0.5, let alone between 0.5 and 1.0 -- or on the other extreme, the peaks were way beyond the borders. At one point (34:10-34:14), where the narrator calls out (shouts), I tried setting the recording volume at .75, .80, .85, and .90, but even at .90, the quality of the sound was markedly different; it sounded like a different recording just pasted in. So I set it back to 1.0 and tried the line of dialogue at various distances and angles; I hope it's not too loud and is "fluid" enough within the overall recording.

I find that I'm very slow when reading aloud. (This is partly to make sure I enunciate clearly and don't trip over the words or accidentally skip anything.) I have listened to recordings on LibriVox and elsewhere, and I prefer relatively slow reading, because it's easier to relax and listen comfortably. But just as I was finishing this recording at nearly 40 minutes, I came across another recording of the same story that clocked in at 13:44!
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb5RmHE-rO4) And it was a bit fast for me as a listener, but still sounded OK. So of course now I'm worried that I'm too slow. I certainly don't want to bore anyone! (Maybe this is why I think I might be good at reading for the LibriVox "insomnia" collection.)

Sorry for the length of this post.
Any advice/help is appreciated.

...LJB
This has to be edited: Overall volume is to loud. Adjust it with - 2,7 db to the perfect line of 89 db.


This I would do / edit:
- Noise reduction
- Cut or silence clicks and mouth noises - there are this many that they are really disturbing the fun of listening. (Personally I never use the click remover of Audacity - it doesn't remove the clicks but just lowers it and if the settings are to offensive it could fragment the voice / the reading, too). Get a bigger distance to the mic to avoid mouth noises and maybe don't speak directly into it but slightly over it.

My personal opinion (if you want to know it): I like your voice - it's very melodic. And your kind of reading isn't too slow but many of the pauses seem to me a bit unnatural long and destroying the flow of the reading. Maybe it helps if you ask yourself if you would tell the story to somebody as you read it. By the way - english isn't my native language but I understood every word you read all in a very clearly fashion. And don't match yourself with voice actors, radio hosts or anchormans as the youtube-reading is produced from BBC when I understood it right. It's their job to speak / read clearly and emotionallly perfect (and 'fast').

Sorry, I really don't mean to be difficult.

I have been watching/reading Audacity editing tutorials; I now know that "noise reduction" is a specific direction, and separate from "cut or silence clicks and mouth noises" -- a good example of how jargon can be invisible to a neophyte.

I will try to edit...though I'm unclear on some of the directions:

: "Cut or silence clicks and mouth noises - there are this many that they are really disturbing the fun of listening. (Personally I never use the click remover of Audacity - it doesn't remove the clicks but just lowers it and if the settings are to offensive it could fragment the voice / the reading, too)."
--- I don't how to "cut or silence" clicks without using the click remover; and I don't know what "if the settings are to offensive" means. But I suppose I can try to "cut or silence" each click separately, one by one.

: "Get a bigger distance to the mic to avoid mouth noises and maybe don't speak directly into it but slightly over it."
--- This sounds like telling me to rerecord...? I wasn't actually speaking directly into the mic; I was a few inches away and facing sort of sideways, to avoid "plosive"-ing into it. When I was farther away, the peaks never made it near 0.5. But I can try different configurations, maybe also turning the recording volume down from 1.0. Part of the problem is that I don't really know the difference between volume as too loud or soft on the one hand, and getting the wavelength to peak between 0.5 and 1.0 on the other hand. (I haven't yet found any help on this distinction.) But I suppose short of rerecording, I can try to "cut or silence" noises one by one.

I haven't used any editing function yet in Audacity; maybe this is my problem, because I don't know anything.

But I will try. (or I can rerecord it)

Thank you for your patience...LJB
Louise
"every little breeze..."

Fun Fact: 40% of all statistics are wrong.
Gavenport
Posts: 1659
Joined: September 29th, 2014, 1:26 pm
Location: Gomadingen / Germany

Post by Gavenport »

I have been watching/reading Audacity editing tutorials; I now know that "noise reduction" is a specific direction, and separate from "cut or silence clicks and mouth noises" -- a good example of how jargon can be invisible to a neophyte.
To use 'Noise reduction' you have first to analyse the 'noise'. You mark a longer part of the recording without talking, choose 'noise reduction' and analyse the marked part of the recording. Then mark the complete recording and do noise reduction with standard settings an hopefully the recording is afterwards clearer / cleaner :-) Please look into the english help of audacity because I don't know if i used the right words how to do this all.
"Cut or silence clicks and mouth noises - there are this many that they are really disturbing the fun of listening.
I don't how to "cut or silence" clicks without using the click remover;
Just cut it out or silence it. Often there are two or three clicks - this would be to much to cut out. I would silence it. On longer breaks you can use this to shorten the pauses a bit by cutting the clicks out.
This sounds like telling me to rerecord...?
No absolutely not! Only what I had bold written has to be done (the volume-thing). All other things I tried to help you to make your recording(s) better in future...
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maxgal
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Joined: June 8th, 2019, 10:24 am

Post by maxgal »

Gavenport wrote: June 16th, 2019, 10:09 am
I have been watching/reading Audacity editing tutorials; I now know that "noise reduction" is a specific direction, and separate from "cut or silence clicks and mouth noises" -- a good example of how jargon can be invisible to a neophyte.
To use 'Noise reduction' you have first to analyse the 'noise'. You mark a longer part of the recording without talking, choose 'noise reduction' and analyse the marked part of the recording. Then mark the complete recording and do noise reduction with standard settings an hopefully the recording is afterwards clearer / cleaner :-) Please look into the english help of audacity because I don't know if i used the right words how to do this all.
"Cut or silence clicks and mouth noises - there are this many that they are really disturbing the fun of listening.
I don't how to "cut or silence" clicks without using the click remover;
Just cut it out or silence it. Often there are two or three clicks - this would be to much to cut out. I would silence it. On longer breaks you can use this to shorten the pauses a bit by cutting the clicks out.
This sounds like telling me to rerecord...?
No absolutely not! Only what I had bold written has to be done (the volume-thing). All other things I tried to help you to make your recording(s) better in future...

AH!
What a relief. 😂
Still, I'll see what I can do.
Thank you...LJB
Louise
"every little breeze..."

Fun Fact: 40% of all statistics are wrong.
maxgal
Posts: 3247
Joined: June 8th, 2019, 10:24 am

Post by maxgal »

maxgal wrote: June 16th, 2019, 10:17 am
Gavenport wrote: June 16th, 2019, 10:09 am
I have been watching/reading Audacity editing tutorials; I now know that "noise reduction" is a specific direction, and separate from "cut or silence clicks and mouth noises" -- a good example of how jargon can be invisible to a neophyte.
To use 'Noise reduction' you have first to analyse the 'noise'. You mark a longer part of the recording without talking, choose 'noise reduction' and analyse the marked part of the recording. Then mark the complete recording and do noise reduction with standard settings an hopefully the recording is afterwards clearer / cleaner :-) Please look into the english help of audacity because I don't know if i used the right words how to do this all.
"Cut or silence clicks and mouth noises - there are this many that they are really disturbing the fun of listening.
I don't how to "cut or silence" clicks without using the click remover;
Just cut it out or silence it. Often there are two or three clicks - this would be to much to cut out. I would silence it. On longer breaks you can use this to shorten the pauses a bit by cutting the clicks out.
This sounds like telling me to rerecord...?
No absolutely not! Only what I had bold written has to be done (the volume-thing). All other things I tried to help you to make your recording(s) better in future...

AH!
What a relief. 😂
Still, I'll see what I can do.
Thank you...LJB

OK, here is the edited version:
https://librivox.org/uploads/rapunzelina/ghohor034_transfer_blackwood_ljb_128kb.mp3

Text source: https://archive.org/details/pansgardenvolume00blacuoft/page/342
Author: Algernon Blackwood
Title: "The Transfer"
Duration: 38:53
LibriVox catalogue name for me: Louise J. Belle

I edited as follows:

: In "amplify," I pulled the bar to the left, to bring the volume down by -2.7

: In "noise reduction" (first for one brief section, then for the entire recording), I clicked on the automatic settings that showed up--
-- noise reduction (dB) = 12
-- sensitivity = 6.00
-- frequency smoothing = 3

: In "click removal," I clicked on the automatic settings that showed up--
-- threshold = 200
-- max spike = 20

: I went through the entire recording and silenced or cut clicks/noises, and also cut many of the pauses

I hope this works.
WDYT?
...LJB
Louise
"every little breeze..."

Fun Fact: 40% of all statistics are wrong.
Gavenport
Posts: 1659
Joined: September 29th, 2014, 1:26 pm
Location: Gomadingen / Germany

Post by Gavenport »

maxgal wrote: June 16th, 2019, 9:38 pm
maxgal wrote: June 16th, 2019, 10:17 am
Gavenport wrote: June 16th, 2019, 10:09 am

To use 'Noise reduction' you have first to analyse the 'noise'. You mark a longer part of the recording without talking, choose 'noise reduction' and analyse the marked part of the recording. Then mark the complete recording and do noise reduction with standard settings an hopefully the recording is afterwards clearer / cleaner :-) Please look into the english help of audacity because I don't know if i used the right words how to do this all.




Just cut it out or silence it. Often there are two or three clicks - this would be to much to cut out. I would silence it. On longer breaks you can use this to shorten the pauses a bit by cutting the clicks out.



No absolutely not! Only what I had bold written has to be done (the volume-thing). All other things I tried to help you to make your recording(s) better in future...

AH!
What a relief. 😂
Still, I'll see what I can do.
Thank you...LJB

OK, here is the edited version:
https://librivox.org/uploads/rapunzelina/ghohor034_transfer_blackwood_ljb_128kb.mp3

Text source: https://archive.org/details/pansgardenvolume00blacuoft/page/342
Author: Algernon Blackwood
Title: "The Transfer"
Duration: 38:53
LibriVox catalogue name for me: Louise J. Belle

I edited as follows:

: In "amplify," I pulled the bar to the left, to bring the volume down by -2.7

: In "noise reduction" (first for one brief section, then for the entire recording), I clicked on the automatic settings that showed up--
-- noise reduction (dB) = 12
-- sensitivity = 6.00
-- frequency smoothing = 3

: In "click removal," I clicked on the automatic settings that showed up--
-- threshold = 200
-- max spike = 20

: I went through the entire recording and silenced or cut clicks/noises, and also cut many of the pauses

I hope this works.
WDYT?
...LJB
Now it sounds very good and I'm really enjoying to re-listen - so PL:OK :clap: :thumbs: :clap:
Gavenports Reader Page
Aktuelles Solo-Projekt: in Vorbereitung 'Die Ahnen - Aus einer kleinen Stadt'
DPL: -
maxgal
Posts: 3247
Joined: June 8th, 2019, 10:24 am

Post by maxgal »

Gavenport wrote: June 17th, 2019, 5:06 am
maxgal wrote: June 16th, 2019, 9:38 pm
maxgal wrote: June 16th, 2019, 10:17 am


AH!
What a relief. 😂
Still, I'll see what I can do.
Thank you...LJB

OK, here is the edited version:
https://librivox.org/uploads/rapunzelina/ghohor034_transfer_blackwood_ljb_128kb.mp3

Text source: https://archive.org/details/pansgardenvolume00blacuoft/page/342
Author: Algernon Blackwood
Title: "The Transfer"
Duration: 38:53
LibriVox catalogue name for me: Louise J. Belle

I edited as follows:

: In "amplify," I pulled the bar to the left, to bring the volume down by -2.7

: In "noise reduction" (first for one brief section, then for the entire recording), I clicked on the automatic settings that showed up--
-- noise reduction (dB) = 12
-- sensitivity = 6.00
-- frequency smoothing = 3

: In "click removal," I clicked on the automatic settings that showed up--
-- threshold = 200
-- max spike = 20

: I went through the entire recording and silenced or cut clicks/noises, and also cut many of the pauses

I hope this works.
WDYT?
...LJB
Now it sounds very good and I'm really enjoying to re-listen - so PL:OK :clap: :thumbs: :clap:

Unbelievable!
I was ready to give up so many times.
Take it from a truly technophobic Luddite: You have NO IDEA how gratifying this is.
Thanks for all your help and patience.
...LJB 😎
Louise
"every little breeze..."

Fun Fact: 40% of all statistics are wrong.
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