First off, I bought these presets because I figured I could make my voice sound better for my YouTube Videos. I’m not disappointed, just lost.
Is there anyone who makes YouTube videos (or something similar) that can explain to me the steps I need to take right after I finish recording something? BTW, I plan to start recording in Audition CC, and forgetting audacity.
Here’s what I have been doing
Step 1 - record the audio
Step 2 - use audacity to make all my adjustments (all I know right now)
Step 3 - export the finished product from audacity, import it into Audition CC, and place it into the “Voice Processed” track from the presets
But I have been learning more and more the last few days and have started to normalize the audio (again) once I’ve taken it into Audition, as well as use a single band compressor to get all the audio at the same level. It’s not sounding good. Now I have a buzz that won’t go away and I’m wondering if I even needed to take these new steps.
My plan is to learn Audition so I can not bother with audacity anymore, but until then, this is all I know.
So, what steps would you take when recording something for YouTube or something similar? Do your recording and simply drop it into the “voice processed” track and then export it and you’re done? Or do I need to to do a few steps before putting it into the “voice processed” track from the presets?
First step, record in audition. It won’t take long to learn the basic steps of recording in audition and editing the audio in the waveform view.
The presets have a lot of processing for the voice so there should be no need to apply single band compressor before the multi-track as there’s more than enough vocal processing in the template to do what you need to do
Having thought about this a little further, and I don’t know the content of your channel, it may well be that Mike’s presets create something too processed for Youtube narration for you.
If you’re running through the presets I certainly wouldn’t apply single band compressor before editing as that’s would already produce a fairly level and compressed sound that you’d then Ben running throughout a set of presets that would then compress the voice again. My guess is your audio sounds different to how you want as it’s over compressed given you’re compressing before processing and during processing.
Also, if it’s narration you’re producing for YouTube you may want to dial back the speech volume leveller a little and allow a little more dynamic range in your voice. I’m not saying have huge fluctuations but equally you don’t want the whole thing at the same level as that’s a more imaging sound rather that narration sound.
The presets are a great start but you’ll have to be prepared to have a play around with the settings which I hope are explained in the tutorials to get the exact sound you want.
My advice to you is to record into audition direct and then maybe the only thing you want to do before dropping the voice into the presets is to normalise. I wouldn’t apply any other processing to the raw audio, leave that for the presets. Hopefully then you’ll be happier with your end sound.
I’ll do the waveform way as you’ve suggested. I am a little concerned about it being a permanent change though, but I guess a copy could be made beforehand.
"My advice to you is to record into audition direct and then maybe the only thing you want to do before dropping the voice into the presets is to normalise. I wouldn’t apply any other processing to the raw audio, leave that for the presets "
Mark, I almost forgot to ask - would you suggest normalizing to -0.1db or -3db?
Edit - I just recorded, and tried normalizing it separately with both -0.1db and -3db. Each of them seemed to raise the volume, but also gave me a loud buzzing sound. I looked down at the levels and it is constantly hitting the “red”. I heard topping out at the “yellow” is better, so I’m watching some YouTube videos on that now. But any help would still be appreciated.
The buzzing sound worries me a little. Before going any further I think we need to identify and eradicate the buzzing sound. Doesn’t matter if you normalise to any level if that buzzing sound is present, even quietly, it will get sucked up in the processing that occurs in the presets.
Before coming on to your workflow what’s your audio hardware? USB Mic or XLR mic? And how are you routing the signal from mic to PC? Are you using a pre-amp/processor or just an interface? Is there anything in your recording area that could be making the buzz? Are you using a desktop stand? If so there could be vibration coming through the desk and into the stand?
It may be possible to eradicate the buzz in post processing by using the scientific filter and rolling off below 80hz. Generally there’s no audio in the human voice that gets that low so cutting off below 80hz can elimimate some bass rumble if that’s what it is but the best option is to try and find the source and cut it out from interfering with the audio recording.
In answer to your question you can record in to Audition anywhere between -20db and -3db and you have usable audio. From what I’ve seen Mike’s preset template has a very good set up that will level pretty much all audio.
I have my levels set to record at -6db. This gives me headroom where I know am not likely to be clipping. My dbx286s has a clip light and that feeds into a Scarlet 2i2 which also has the red ring around the gain control so there’s plenty of warning when setting up your audio hardware if you’re likely to clip.
When setting your input levels firstly speak normally go get a rough idea of where it should be. Then read something in the style of your finished read and again watch for peaks to make sure nothing is hitting the red. Within reason it’s best to record too quiet as opposed to to loud, you can always normalise up the audio but if it’s clipped it’s wasted!
I would suggest recording into Adobe Audition once you’ve identified and removed the source of the “buzz” and put that recording direct into the preset template. It may well be that you don’t need to do anything other than record then process through the presets.
As with anything audio related, poor quality in will hamper badly final quality out. So you want to get rid of the buzz at source. Audition does have noise reduction that could deal with it but see that as a last resort if you absolutely cannot find and erase the source. Noise reduction is world class in audition but it works by identifying (or being taught via capture noise rprint) unwanted frequencies. It then dials back those frequencies which lessens (or removes) the noise but any corresponding frequncies in your vocals will also be dialed back as part of the process. Noise gating or downward expanding isn’t an option here because while it will remove the buzz while you’re not talking the buzz will instantly become audible again when you start talking.
In answer to your original question, if you do normalise then do it to -3db as this leaves headroom for any processing or EQ that you do without the risk of clipping. If you’re using 32 bit for your recording then you can recover digital clipping (passing 0db in digital post production) but the best idea is to leave some headroom to work with.
I’m attempting to screen record my problem (have never used one so learning that too) so you can get a better look. I will get back to you hopefully sometime today. Thanks Mark.
Mark, I have a very short video done, but as soon as I uploaded it to youtube, the volume went way down. I would have to send you the original file (which is MUCH louder and you can hear the buzzing) possibly through google drive or Dropbox. What do you suggest? This website won’t let me upload it.
It’s not so important that I hear the buzzing as it is that you find and eradicate it.
Is this happening recording into Audition and Audacity? Is it something that’s only started since you switched to recording in Audition or it’s always been there?
First thing to do is check for any lose cables in your audio hardware chain. Make sure all the equipment is connected correctly. Also make sure there’s no earth issues in the power supply to the equipment too.
Listen very carefully around the room for any sound that could be being amplified into what you’re getting also. Could be as simple as a hard drive spinning or fan spinning while you’re working on the computer and that pressing against the desk you’ve got the microphone stand on.
There’s no easy answer to eradicating this unfortunately but if you want to record decent audio for your videos you’ll need to remove any unwanted buzz for certain at source as you record in.
I have never heard this buzz before while using audacity. I have a Samson g-track mic that is connected by USB into my computer tower. my mic is on a small desk away from the computer. There is complete silence in my room (no buzzing). I made the recording because i thought maybe there was something you could see on the screen that I possibly needed to tweek. I’m lost.
I tried to share the link to my video below, but it isn’t working I think
If Windows check the control panel sound settings match those in Adobe Audition. Also just go back to Audacity and record something again now to check it’s just Audition related
Yes, my gut feeling is that it’s related to something like that as well. I’m going to do some tests today and hopefully I get this all sorted out.
Here is the link to the video on YouTube, but it may be hard to hear the buzz what with YouTube turning down the volume (so it appears) on videos you upload.
Edit - I just looked at my microphone recording properties and it says the mics is at +2.1 db.
You definitely need to eradicate that noise as there’s nothing usable in that audio sadly.
I’m not sure the exact make up of Mike’s presets but there does sound to be a bit of clipping in the audio when is voice processed too which you may need to eradicate too by tweaking the presets.
Just out of interest record some voice in audacity. Save it as a .wav file and pull that into the presets. See if you get the same clipping.
It sounds like there’s either a downward expander of noise just nibbling at the quieter parts of your audio. As I say I don’t know the exact make up of the template. I use on in mine to quieten the breaths but I don’t know whether that’s what’s causing the slight fluttering on some of your quieter bits.
If I was you I’d said the record gain back to zero while you’re trouble shooting. You should get usable audio if you record anywhere between -20db and -3db. No point in introducing additional gain that you don’t need while you trouble shoot.
What you should do is check out Mike Russell’s YouTube channel. He’s got loads of informative videos to help you on your way. Also, check out his YouTube Podcasts every Friday at 8:00 PM (UK Time.) Do this and pretty soon Mike will be hiring you as a Voiceover Artist.
Also, DO NOT be ashamed of how you sound. I used to be that way. Now, I am making jingles and such with confidence. Your voice is what makes the jingle/VO unique. Don’t get discouraged. Even Mike has probably gone through A LOT of ideas before creating his jingles.
Good sound is very important for Youtube and we can not think without it. I think that it is a hardware issue in your presets. So you can check it or buy WavePad because it helps smooth recording. There are many apps that available in Itunes store for good voice recoder. check this https://applesupportnumber.net for your issue and best recording apps
