Effects Chain

[VOgalUS]

Hi All,

What is the recommended effects chain in Audacity to get the file to meet Librivox specs? The chain I was using stopped letting my files pass in the Checker. It'll be years before I figure that one out.

[TriciaG]

I am not sure I understand what you mean by "effects chain".

Do you mean, what series of effects need to be used? That depends on your setup, mostly - if it needs to be amplified or is too loud, if the bit rate or sample rate is incorrect, etc.

When you put one of your files through checker, click on the Validation tab and see what test has failed. And maybe click on the Information tab and copy the data into a reply here, so we can see what you've got.

[VOgalUS]

I am not sure I understand what you mean by "effects chain".

Do you mean, what series of effects need to be used? That depends on your setup, mostly - if it needs to be amplified or is too loud, if the bit rate or sample rate is incorrect, etc.

When you put one of your files through checker, click on the Validation tab and see what test has failed. And maybe click on the Information tab and copy the data into a reply here, so we can see what you've got.

Hi TriciaG,

Right. The effects that get the recording to meet Librivox requirements and pass Checker. I couldn't get the picture to copy to this reply. Checker says 'The volume falls outside of the target range (86–92 dB). ' The Volume is 93.6 db. Looking at it closer Check says Passed with Warnings. I'm not sure which effect will bring it into the target range.

[Winnifred]

I am not sure I understand what you mean by "effects chain".

Do you mean, what series of effects need to be used? That depends on your setup, mostly - if it needs to be amplified or is too loud, if the bit rate or sample rate is incorrect, etc.

When you put one of your files through checker, click on the Validation tab and see what test has failed. And maybe click on the Information tab and copy the data into a reply here, so we can see what you've got.

Hi TriciaG,

Right. The effects that get the recording to meet Librivox requirements and pass Checker. I couldn't get the picture to copy to this reply. Checker says 'The volume falls outside of the target range (86–92 dB). ' The Volume is 93.6 db. Looking at it closer Check says Passed with Warnings. I'm not sure which effect will bring it into the target range.

Loudness Normalization is the easiest: just select the whole track and click Effect > Loudness Normalization. Make sure it’s set to -19LUFS and “perceived loudness” and click Apply. That will bring the whole track down to 89 - 90 dB. Alternately, you could use Amplification and plug in an amount, but that will reduce all of the volume throughout the track and if there’s variation, might not be quite as effective.

Cheers,

[redrun]

I certainly like Loudness Normalization. It's like using Amplify, but never having to guess how much this particular recording needs to be adjusted!

But Loudness Normalization doesn't 'even out' the quiet vs loud parts, it adjusts the entire track, so that on average, the track is the desired loudness. It doesn't have "Don't clip" safeguard that Amplify has, so if your volume is not even, you may find the loud parts get boosted to much. Same for quiet parts of mostly-loud recordings, as they'll be made even quieter.

I had trouble with that, but I have gotten a feel for keeping steady volume vs mic distance, over time. Meanwhile, you can use a Limiter or a Compressor effect to make just the loud parts quieter, and then use Loudness Normalization without the fear of shooting yourself in the foot.


There isn't any one pipeline that works for everyone, but here's what I use:
Noise Reduction
EQ (for more low-frequency noise reduction, and to make my vowels more intelligible)
De-Clicker and De-Esser
Loudness Normalization then Limiter.

I tend to record quiet, on average, so the Limiter is most useful after the volume adjustment. For roles where I record loud lines, I find it helpful to use the Limiter first.

[VOgalUS]

I am not sure I understand what you mean by "effects chain".

Do you mean, what series of effects need to be used? That depends on your setup, mostly - if it needs to be amplified or is too loud, if the bit rate or sample rate is incorrect, etc.

When you put one of your files through checker, click on the Validation tab and see what test has failed. And maybe click on the Information tab and copy the data into a reply here, so we can see what you've got.

Hi TriciaG,

Right. The effects that get the recording to meet Librivox requirements and pass Checker. I couldn't get the picture to copy to this reply. Checker says 'The volume falls outside of the target range (86–92 dB). ' The Volume is 93.6 db. Looking at it closer Check says Passed with Warnings. I'm not sure which effect will bring it into the target range.

Loudness Normalization is the easiest: just select the whole track and click Effect > Loudness Normalization. Make sure it’s set to -19LUFS and “perceived loudness” and click Apply. That will bring the whole track down to 89 - 90 dB. Alternately, you could use Amplification and plug in an amount, but that will reduce all of the volume throughout the track and if there’s variation, might not be quite as effective.

Cheers,

Hi Winifred,

Success! That did it. My "percvd loudness" was at -23LUFS. On to editing...

[Winnifred]

I certainly like Loudness Normalization. It's like using Amplify, but never having to guess how much this particular recording needs to be adjusted!

But Loudness Normalization doesn't 'even out' the quiet vs loud parts, it adjusts the entire track, so that on average, the track is the desired loudness. It doesn't have "Don't clip" safeguard that Amplify has, so if your volume is not even, you may find the loud parts get boosted to much. Same for quiet parts of mostly-loud recordings, as they'll be made even quieter.

I had trouble with that, but I have gotten a feel for keeping steady volume vs mic distance, over time. Meanwhile, you can use a Limiter or a Compressor effect to make just the loud parts quieter, and then use Loudness Normalization without the fear of shooting yourself in the foot.


There isn't any one pipeline that works for everyone, but here's what I use:
Noise Reduction
EQ (for more low-frequency noise reduction, and to make my vowels more intelligible)
De-Clicker and De-Esser
Loudness Normalization then Limiter.

I tend to record quiet, on average, so the Limiter is most useful after the volume adjustment. For roles where I record loud lines, I find it helpful to use the Limiter first.

That's useful information. I haven't yet tried De-Esser, Limiter, or Compressor, though I do use the others. I shall have to play with those. I also generally try to record quieter (or at least consistently), and re-record any large parts (or manually reduce them first).

Thanks!

[IonaMuirgel2002]

There isn't any one pipeline that works for everyone, but here's what I use:
Noise Reduction
EQ (for more low-frequency noise reduction, and to make my vowels more intelligible)
De-Clicker and De-Esser
Loudness Normalization then Limiter.

I tend to record quiet, on average, so the Limiter is most useful after the volume adjustment. For roles where I record loud lines, I find it helpful to use the Limiter first.

Wow! I guess I have it easy! I have an almost perfectly quiet recording room, so I have no trouble with noise. I only ever have to change the volume (I am a loud talker ) Well, I guess I shouldn't be grumbling about having to fiddle with the volume anymore.
-Iona

[TriciaG]

My effects:

While editing, I'll use de-clicker on the occasional mouth click

After editing:
- Leveler (only to settle down some occasional vowel "blasts")
- Noise reduction
- Volume adjustment if needed, but usually not needed (I check with ReplayGain and then use Amplify if needed)