1-Minute Test - JoeCrafts

[JoeCrafts]

Coming back to Volunteer for LibriVox.

Mac, Audacity, Blue Yeti (USB)

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

Edit: forgot to include link to 1-Minute Test Recording, derp.

[InTheDesert]

1 Minute Test Feedback:

Welcome to Librivox Joe and thanks for posting your test file. We look forward to you joining the community!

Reading Feedback:
You have a mellow, soothing voice.

Technical Feedback:

• 00:00 The volume of this track is 85.87dB. LV requires the overall volume for the track (measured by ReplayGain - you can try this tool if you want to check the volume) to be between 86-92dB (with 89dB being the ideal). The easiest way to fix this automatically is to use the 'Loudness Normalization' effect (set to -19LUFS in 'perceived loudness' mode) in recent versions of Audacity before exporting the track as an MP3. If you use RMS normalization, set it to -21dB. Another way to fix it would be to use the Amplify effect set to 3dB.
• 00:00 Note (no change needed): The recording had some room echo or reverb. This tends to make the recording a little less clear. The easiest way to fix this is to be closer to the microphone but it can also be improved by dampening the solid walls in your recording room with a blanket or something similar. There's more info about that here. You can mitigate it after recording by using EQ to remove a bit of the bass. The 'Bass and Treble' effect in Audacity set to -2 on the bass produces an easy improvement. The reverb is within what is acceptable for a Librivox recording but I just thought I should mention it.
• 00:00 Note (no change needed): I could hear some mouth noise (clicking sounds). Two things that can cause it are being very close to the microphone so an extra inch or so away can make a difference and also level of hydration (having a warm drink an hour before recording). It's not problematic but lots of readers tend to want to edit it out afterwards so it can be easiest to avoid them altogether. A light use of the Audacity de-clicker can also work after the event.

Once you've tweaked these settings, upload the file again using the same filename (uploading to the same filename is important when you are submitting Librivox files) and post in the thread and I'll check it for you again!