1-minute test [OK]

[deltaray]

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

Thank you for your help. I used Audacity, Windows, and a USB mic on a combined camera/mic.
Delta Ray

[Winnifred]

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

Thank you for your help. I used Audacity, Windows, and a USB mic on a combined camera/mic.
Delta Ray

Welcome to Librivox, Delta!

You have a pleasant animated voice, and you're almost there. Your test has all the correct technical settings, but there's a high amount of background noise (a steady hum, possibly due to the combined camera/mic? I'm not sure.) However, there is an easy fix; in Audacity, you can use Noise Reduction to correct this, as follows:

1. Go to a part of your recording where there’s a lot of background noise, but no speech. A minimum of 0.05 seconds is needed, though a longer Noise Profile is better. Select that section.

2. With that section selected, click “Effect > Noise Reduction....”

3. Under Step 1, click “Get Noise Profile.”

4. Select the entire recording (double-click inside the track or click Ctrl-A), then check your Noise Reduction parameters under Step 2. Mine are set as follows, and I’ve never needed to change them:

Noise Reduction (dB): 12
Sensitivity: 6.00
Frequency smoothing (bands): 3
Noise: Choose "Reduce"

5. If they’re set to this already, just click OK.

That should bring the background noise down to an acceptable level. It'll slightly reduce your volume as well, but that's ok, as yours is at the upper end of the allowable range (86 - 92 dB).

Please carry out noise reduction as above, re-upload your file, and provide the link in a reply to this post. I'll come back and check it out.

Thanks,

[deltaray]

Hello, Winnifred,
Thank you very much for your time and help. Here is the link to the Noise reduced version.
https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test2_deltaray.mp3
Truly, Delta

[Winnifred]

Hello, Winnifred,
Thank you very much for your time and help. Here is the link to the Noise reduced version.
https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test2_deltaray.mp3
Truly, Delta

Hi Delta,

That's better, though there's still an audible hum in the background. I'll give this a pass, but would suggest that you might have to run Noise reduction more than once on your files in future (try not to do it more than twice, however). If you could find and eliminate the source of the hum, that would be best.

There's a tool you can use to check your settings (including background noise). It's called the Checker and it's what most of us use to check tests and our own recordings. You just drag your file into the top area of this interface, and then see if the Validation tab says it's passed. For specific details, look under the Information tab to see what the exact settings of your MP3 file are.



To get it to show Background Noise, select Validation > Choose Validation Methods in the menu at the top of your screen, and tick the box for Background Noise. You only need to do this once.

The Checker reviews the last 5 seconds of silence in a recording to assess background noise (all Librivox recordings are required to have 5 seconds of silence at the end so they work properly in all media players).

I suggest heading over to the "Readers Wanted: Short Works (Poetry & Prose)" forum to find your first recording. There are lots of short options there in all genres. Let the book coordinator of your first reading know if you want a different name than deltaray in the Librivox catalogue.

If you have questions along the way, the "Need Help? Got Advice?” forum is a useful place to get answers.

Happy reading!

[deltaray]

Thank you. Wow, that was fast.
I used the Checker, but didn't know about the Validation options. That is useful.
I'll do some experiments to see if I can find the noise source.
I saw you have a Baroness Orczy book project...would it be better to do the short stories/poems than a chapter in a book?
Delta

[Winnifred]

Thank you. Wow, that was fast.
I used the Checker, but didn't know about the Validation options. That is useful.
I'll do some experiments to see if I can find the noise source.
I saw you have a Baroness Orczy book project...would it be better to do the short stories/poems than a chapter in a book?
Delta

Well, many short stories would be longer than one of those chapters, so not necessarily. And while poems are a good way to start, they're not everyone's cup of tea. You might consider claiming the shorter of the two chapters still open in The First Sir Percy (Section 8, Chapter 4, Adder's Fork). It would likely come in around 20 minutes or so. Just make a claim for it in that project thread, and let me know what you want for your Librivox catalogue name (you could have deltaray or Delta Ray, whichever you prefer).

Thanks,