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

Post your questions & get help from friendly LibriVoxers
Jmbau13
Posts: 881
Joined: June 10th, 2019, 7:22 pm
Location: Melbourne Australia
Contact:

Post by Jmbau13 »

I don't bother with Audacity projects (are they actually useful??)
I use book folders and subfolders. I save the raw recording pre-editing as a .WAV, and then edit and save as .mp3 If I stuff something up, I can always go back to the .WAV. Very handy the time I experimented with the silence finder, and ended up with a recording that clipped the edges of all my long silences. Sure, the silences were shortened as desired... but so was the first bit of the voice after it! Not good.
regards
Jane Bennett
silverquill
Posts: 28809
Joined: May 25th, 2013, 9:11 pm
Location: Southern California

Post by silverquill »

Hmm. Sounds complicated to me.
I'm in the camp of just not using Audacity projects.ZB
When I edit a file, I export it as .mp3 This go in s single folder Recordings (I guess it is actually a subfolder under Librivox Projects. And the raw recoding, also having been exported as .mp3 goes into another subfolder, LV Done. So, those are my tw0 junkyards and they have everything I've ever done on LV. (Actually I have several "Recordings" folders by now). Ever needed? I do remember one serious crash of the LV server when we lost a bunch of files, so it was helpful to have these to help restore them. Oh, I also have a stuffed folder for DPL Done. I guess I'm a bit of a hoarder, but these file take up relatively little space. Just in case, I just got a couple of solid state 2TB storage chips. Probably for photos and videos, though.
~ Larry
annise
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 38572
Joined: April 3rd, 2008, 3:55 am
Location: Melbourne,Australia

Post by annise »

I've never saved the audacity project files once I've recorded, I export them as .flac - smaller than .wav , more lossless than mp3 , readable by Audacity. Saving program files is risky long term. the program might cease to exist. I got caught one time when the program would not work on upgraded operating systems - never again.

Anne
wildlindajohnson
Posts: 823
Joined: July 27th, 2016, 6:26 pm

Post by wildlindajohnson »

There are 69 pages of posts in this thread, so please forgive me if this issue came up before but here's my problem which threatens an end to my Librivox contributions:

The Audacity software has failed in an odd way: When I am doing the post-recording edit work, Audacity is inexplicably replacing big segments of my text with dead silence, and when I re-record & insert them, it weirdly then deletes another segment of text further down the line. And this pattern continues, and I cannot get a complete recording no matter how many times I save work in progress. I've even deleted the software and re-loaded the most updated version, to no avail.

I've recorded and re-recorded a lengthy section (over an hour post-edited) and parts thereof so many times, investing weeks of work, all for nothing. (And, by the way, did a lot of homework on correct pronunciations, how to speak the massive number of abbreviations and references used by the author, footnotes galore, etc.) I've been using Audacity comfortably and successfully for several years now but am now reluctant to continue after this miserable, frustrating experience.

Has anyone else experienced this type of failure, and if so, what can be done? Many thanks for any help.
Linda Johnson
lurcherlover
Posts: 1206
Joined: November 10th, 2016, 3:54 am
Location: LONDON UK

Post by lurcherlover »

I take it that you have all the files safely on a hard drive on the computer?

If so, it may be worth downloading a DAW such as Reaper which gives a free trial of some weeks of the full program. If it doesn't work you won't have spent money and can then delete the program and maybe find another solution.

There is another (very good I'm told) program which is free but I can't remember the name. I will try and find out from another very reliable and professional forum and get back later today, hopefully.

Peter
TriciaG
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 60576
Joined: June 15th, 2008, 10:30 pm
Location: Toronto, ON (but Minnesotan to age 32)

Post by TriciaG »

wildlindajohnson wrote: February 8th, 2020, 8:35 am There are 69 pages of posts in this thread, so please forgive me if this issue came up before but here's my problem which threatens an end to my Librivox contributions:

The Audacity software has failed in an odd way: When I am doing the post-recording edit work, Audacity is inexplicably replacing big segments of my text with dead silence, and when I re-record & insert them, it weirdly then deletes another segment of text further down the line. And this pattern continues, and I cannot get a complete recording no matter how many times I save work in progress. I've even deleted the software and re-loaded the most updated version, to no avail.

I've recorded and re-recorded a lengthy section (over an hour post-edited) and parts thereof so many times, investing weeks of work, all for nothing. (And, by the way, did a lot of homework on correct pronunciations, how to speak the massive number of abbreviations and references used by the author, footnotes galore, etc.) I've been using Audacity comfortably and successfully for several years now but am now reluctant to continue after this miserable, frustrating experience.

Has anyone else experienced this type of failure, and if so, what can be done? Many thanks for any help.
Sounds like you're running out of space for Audacity.

Audacity uses a lot of disc space to function properly. Clean out your hard drives and free up more space. :)
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
Humor: My Lady Nicotine
lurcherlover
Posts: 1206
Joined: November 10th, 2016, 3:54 am
Location: LONDON UK

Post by lurcherlover »

What Operating system are you on? Mac or PC?

Sometimes a new O/S or even just an upgrade renders programs that no longer work. Depends on the developer of the program. Sometimes they are onto things within hours or days, other times months or years. Reaper brings out new versions every week or so.

I'm told that CAKEWALK is a free DAW and it's reliable and works well. I hear of a lot of problems with Audacity - and I think it often fails with new updates to O/S and also when they bring out an entirely new O/S - especially with Mac. It pays to stay behind the latest O/S for a few months until problems are sorted out.

If you have the files on a hard drive, preferably an external drive, you can just load them into a new program. Reaper for example will load hundred of files in a matter of seconds, or at worst just a few minutes.

You also might check to see if your O/S now requires 64bit files as Audacity is only 32bit and way behind the times.
Peter
annise
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 38572
Joined: April 3rd, 2008, 3:55 am
Location: Melbourne,Australia

Post by annise »

What happens when Audacity runs out of resources is that it keeps on going and does the best it can, which leads to things that sound very like the problems you are having so that's what I would do first - clear up some more space and check what else is running in the background - I had trouble when my automatic virus check decided to run in the background
And since then, I always saved my recording outside of Audacity as a .flac file before editing , that way I had something to fall back on

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

Post by lurcherlover »

I would definitely agree that you should save all original (and already edited files) as .flac or .wav files as this pretty much guarantees that you can go back to these. try clearing a bit of space although my O/S drive is getting pretty full and Audacity runs fine as far as I know. I do clear out drives regularly though and have several external drives that I store files on as well as a small amount on the cloud (free) although I've closed down my Dropbox account as it's so slow, not bit accurate, and very expensive.

Small external drives are now quite cheap unless you buy SSD (solid state) versions which are very fast and quite reliable. The spinning ones (non SSD) are still reasonably fast and reliable and are about one third of the price for an even larger capacity drive, and are now physically very small in size.
nighthawks
Posts: 764
Joined: November 28th, 2017, 2:55 am

Post by nighthawks »

Hello, I have a problem with what i can hear as bumps sounds in words. Below I have copies one of my reading fro you to hear it. It is at 56 seconds starting with 'which soon after'. this noise is very hard to remove
without having to re-record it. Can you suggest any way of removing it from the recording. I have tried Audacity but without success. :hmm:

https://librivox.org/uploads/alg1001/fablesofaesop_46_aesop_128kb_Forum.mp3

Thanks :D
TriciaG
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 60576
Joined: June 15th, 2008, 10:30 pm
Location: Toronto, ON (but Minnesotan to age 32)

Post by TriciaG »

nighthawks wrote: February 29th, 2020, 9:06 am Hello, I have a problem with what i can hear as bumps sounds in words. Below I have copies one of my reading fro you to hear it. It is at 56 seconds starting with 'which soon after'. this noise is very hard to remove
without having to re-record it. Can you suggest any way of removing it from the recording. I have tried Audacity but without success. :hmm:

https://librivox.org/uploads/alg1001/fablesofaesop_46_aesop_128kb_Forum.mp3

Thanks :D
I don't hear anything. Is it in one specific word? If so, which one? (Can you be more specific as to where it is?)
Serial novel: The Wandering Jew
Medieval England meets Civil War Americans: Centuries Apart
Humor: My Lady Nicotine
tovarisch
Posts: 2936
Joined: February 24th, 2013, 7:14 am
Location: New Hampshire, USA

Post by tovarisch »

nighthawks wrote: February 29th, 2020, 9:06 am Hello, I have a problem with what i can hear as bumps sounds in words. Below I have copies one of my reading fro you to hear it. It is at 56 seconds starting with 'which soon after'. this noise is very hard to remove
without having to re-record it. Can you suggest any way of removing it from the recording. I have tried Audacity but without success. :hmm:

https://librivox.org/uploads/alg1001/fablesofaesop_46_aesop_128kb_Forum.mp3

Thanks :D
Between 15" and 22" there is a couple of plosives. Another at 34", then at 37", 38.5", etc., but not in the short segment starting at 56". The volume goes quite high on "ripened" (at ~58"). It can be that your speaker (headphones) volume is too high, and perhaps the diffuser (membrane) of one or both has deteriorated enough to affect the sound, especially when volume is high. Check on any other recording as well.

You could try de-amplifying if it's the volume. Also, slowing down can help you pinpoint the part of the waveform that causes what you think is "bumps sounds"...
tovarisch
  • reality prompts me to scale down my reading, sorry to say
    to PLers: do correct my pronunciation please
Swaraelia
Posts: 14
Joined: February 23rd, 2020, 10:32 am
Contact:

Post by Swaraelia »

Help ich!
viewtopic.php?p=1684098&sid=44ed9e4ebc06e743ec14546718fe504c#p1684098
Yes, I'm a beginner, so sorry for your loss, but I seem to be going through something which...shouldn't be happening?
In the bottom left the project rate hertz is set to 44100, and so is the default preferences, and I also exported it correctly. Why is the hertz apparently 44800?
-Justin J. Liu
Qualified producer of carbon dioxide since the late 2000s
Kitty
LibriVox Admin Team
Posts: 38921
Joined: March 28th, 2014, 5:57 am

Post by Kitty »

Swaraelia wrote: February 29th, 2020, 7:35 pm Help ich!
viewtopic.php?p=1684098&sid=44ed9e4ebc06e743ec14546718fe504c#p1684098
Yes, I'm a beginner, so sorry for your loss, but I seem to be going through something which...shouldn't be happening?
In the bottom left the project rate hertz is set to 44100, and so is the default preferences, and I also exported it correctly. Why is the hertz apparently 44800?
now don't despair. I just had a look at your last test, is it this one ? https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_swaraelia.mp3
I ran it throught the Checker program and also opened it in my Audacity and I can confirm that it is in Mono and it has the needed 41,000 Hz. So I don't know why it shows another number in your Audacity.

There are however other issues ;)

1) The volume is only about 76 dB, we need between 86 and 92. Could you amplify with +12, then you would be in the norm ? What you do is the following:

> open this same file once again in your program. If you download from the link I just gave you, do you still see the wrong Hz in the lower left corner ? Because it should be the correct one now.
> highlight your recording
> go to Effect
> go to Amplify
> input 12 (in your case now) in the first upper box (called: amplification dB). Change nothing in the lower box !
> press ok

You will see that your audiowaves get much bigger. ;)

2) The bitrate is variable and we need it constant. This gets changed while you export to mp3.

> go to File / Export Audio
> open Options in the lower right corner (in my older version, it is like this, maybe you have this option right away on your screen)
> select the following settings: Bit Rate Mode: Constant / Quality: 128 kbps
> press Ok

then these settings should be saved for all times until you change them manually.

Please rename your file differently, for example "test_swaraelia_2" or sth, then we can be sure you reuploaded the corrected version.

Don't give up. We'll manage one way or the other :) Let me know as soon as one step was unclear, or tell me exactly what you are doing, so we can see where you went wrong.

Sonia
I will be on vacation from Wednesday 27 March till Sunday 14 April
and unable to PL during that time. Thank you for your patience.
Swaraelia
Posts: 14
Joined: February 23rd, 2020, 10:32 am
Contact:

Post by Swaraelia »

Kitty wrote: March 1st, 2020, 1:51 am
Swaraelia wrote: February 29th, 2020, 7:35 pm Help ich!
viewtopic.php?p=1684098&sid=44ed9e4ebc06e743ec14546718fe504c#p1684098
Yes, I'm a beginner, so sorry for your loss, but I seem to be going through something which...shouldn't be happening?
In the bottom left the project rate hertz is set to 44100, and so is the default preferences, and I also exported it correctly. Why is the hertz apparently 44800?
now don't despair. I just had a look at your last test, is it this one ? https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_swaraelia.mp3
I ran it throught the Checker program and also opened it in my Audacity and I can confirm that it is in Mono and it has the needed 41,000 Hz. So I don't know why it shows another number in your Audacity.

There are however other issues ;)

1) The volume is only about 76 dB, we need between 86 and 92. Could you amplify with +12, then you would be in the norm ? What you do is the following:

> open this same file once again in your program. If you download from the link I just gave you, do you still see the wrong Hz in the lower left corner ? Because it should be the correct one now.
> highlight your recording
> go to Effect
> go to Amplify
> input 12 (in your case now) in the first upper box (called: amplification dB). Change nothing in the lower box !
> press ok

You will see that your audiowaves get much bigger. ;)

2) The bitrate is variable and we need it constant. This gets changed while you export to mp3.

> go to File / Export Audio
> open Options in the lower right corner (in my older version, it is like this, maybe you have this option right away on your screen)
> select the following settings: Bit Rate Mode: Constant / Quality: 128 kbps
> press Ok

then these settings should be saved for all times until you change them manually.

Please rename your file differently, for example "test_swaraelia_2" or sth, then we can be sure you reuploaded the corrected version.

Don't give up. We'll manage one way or the other :) Let me know as soon as one step was unclear, or tell me exactly what you are doing, so we can see where you went wrong.

Sonia
That's odd? It was fine when checked by other people, and that the hertz was the issue? Also, it was already set as constant and 128 kbps?
I feel confused.
https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_swaraelia_2.mp3
Does this work?
-Justin J. Liu
Qualified producer of carbon dioxide since the late 2000s
Post Reply