Audio Editing Steps and Sample Analysis

[Ricky52]

Hi Folks,

As I am new to recording and editing audio, I was thinking there must a generally accepted/used steps that are gone through for cleaning up, and editing a new recording.

I know there are a lot of factors to consider and tweaking to ones personal taste, but I am there are general steps to go through to complete a final product.

My second question is can I record a sample from radio that has a general voicing tone and sound that I like and then analyze it to see what the general settings might be and to use a general starting point to duplicate?

ricky52

[AfaraWayland]

Originally Posted by Ricky52

Hi Folks,

As I am new to recording and editing audio, I was thinking there must a generally accepted/used steps that are gone through for cleaning up, and editing a new recording.

My second question is can I record a sample from radio that has a general voicing tone and sound that I like and then analyze it to see what the general settings might be and to use a general starting point to duplicate?

ricky52

Ricky,

Editing for cleaning purposes (for me) means fades, crossfades, noise removal.

I want to make sure I remove all the pops, and clicks from the song that are created by the orientation of the audio files on my GUI/DAW.

Namely, when two files (butt-up) against each other, there is a possibility of a level difference between one file and the next. A pop or click occurs when there is a level difference.

Fading, or crossfading eliminates the pop or click by writing a level adjustment into a new file (usually) the GUI/DAW, which smoothens out the transition between levels.

General noise levels: I remove portions of the files that are not used in the song.

For example, space between the singer's last line and the following line.

I make sure to leave breath noises, but always try to remove any ambient sounds that the mic pic'ed up while the singer/player was not playing.

Other than those things, that's about all I do for editing. I have in the past, adjusted files via sample position to better fit with the rhythm of the song, but this practice is exceedingly time consuming, and the artist is better off just retrying the take until he gets it right.

Example, drum hits out of rhythm, guitar parts 40+msec out of time, etc...

In reference to question two,

I must ask, are you trying to emulate the sound that the system reproduces, or the sound of the music the system reproduces.

You are entering a world of ****(hot) pain, but I suppose it can be done...

[brandondrury]

I don't do a whole lot of cleaning. If there is noise, on a track where that instrument isn't playing (like electric guitars) I'll cut it out.

Other than that, I don't have many issues with "cleaning". If the sound needs cleaning, in my cases, I'll fix it and then re-record it.

My second question is can I record a sample from radio that has a general voicing tone and sound that I like and then analyze it to see what the general settings might be and to use a general starting point to duplicate?

I'm completely against this, personally.
Analyzing the RMS content of 4Khz and applying that to your music (assuming the song is same in structure and instrumentation) probably will get you in the ballpark in term of EQ @ 4Khz. Of course, if the structure, tempo, or instrumentation is different the results will be dramatically different.

So, this kind analysis will never be as accurate as you want it to be. On top of that, it'll probably have to be applied on the 2bus (like in mastering). Well, dramatic EQ on the 2bus is a one way ticket to your mix sounding good on your studio monitors and NOWHERE else.

The main reason I don't like this idea stems from the fact that the engineering isn't serving the music. I've made records that are fairly bright sounding. I've made records that are fairly dark. In every case, I'm doing this to create a certain mood on the album. There a million factors that go into tracking and mixing a record, but they all must serve the music.

I think this is one of the biggest mistakes engineers make. Great sounding major label recordings sound vastly different from record to record even in the same genre. While you may prefer one record over another (either musically or sound wise) both records are major label, pro sounding records. They both work because the music works in both.

You can get away with a lot of reverb on the vocals if the music calls for it. You can get away with a huge kick drum if the music calls for it. You can get a way with a small kick drum if the music calls for it.

So focus on making the music better...whatever that means. There is no magic way out. You just have to continually mix and track and mix and track until you get better. There is no way around it.

Brandon

[Ricky52]

Hi guys,

Brandon... I see your point. The idea behind any creative process is to find what makes (or fits) the end product standout and unique. And you're right in that I really don't want to take my time to analyse a piece of sound that beyond my capabilities and doesn't represent me.

I know in my head what I am looking for and will keep experimenting until I get what I want.

Hello AFaraWayland... I was wondering where the clicking was coming from and now I know what to look for. Evidently, I am doing things in pretty much the same manner but I am wondering when you guys apply... EQ, compression, Normalization and the like?

Thanks,

[AfaraWayland]

I never normalize.

I add eq and compression where I think I need it.

[richiebee]

I on the other hand hardly ever compress or EQ, but always normalize... oh what world of variety.



R.

[Ricky52]

Hmmm...

I am beginning to think that prehaps I am being over-zealous in my tinkering.

The compression seems to have been adding some real boom that I need to later tame down.

I need to read-up more on these to fully appreciate their use and capabilities.

Thanks,

[AfaraWayland]

lets talk normalizing,

what exactly is this useful for?

Brandon?

[AfaraWayland]

well, here's an explaination:

according to wiki,

"Audio normalization is the process of increasing (or decreasing) the amplitude (volume) of a digital audio recording. Typically normalization increases the amplitude of the audio waveform to the maximum level without introducing any distortion into the recording.
Specifically, normalization applies a constant amount of gain to an entire recording to bring the highest peak to a target level, usually 98% (-0.3 dB) or 100% (0 dB). This differs from dynamics compression, which applies varying levels of gain over time depending on the level of the audio source. Normalization applies the same amount of gain across the entire recording so that the dynamics are preserved.
Normalization is an off-line effect since it requires two passes. The first pass determines the highest peak, and the second pass applies the gain to the entire recording.
Normalization is often used when remastering audio tapes for CD production, in order to maximize the bandwidth on an audio CD, and to make it sound louder. It is often combined with dynamic range compression and hard limiting to increase the apparent volume of a CD."

I'd just let a mastering guy do this, or if mastering myself, do this through a series of busses with EQ compression and limiting.

[Ricky52]

Ah-ha... things are beginning to become more clear. I used compression to raise the recorded volume, but should have used amplification effect in Audacity. However, I did use normalization for the entire recorded track to bring the separately recorded tracks cut and pasted together to stabilize the volume across each.

During my narration recordings (no music), I may record 4 to 5 paragraphs on this first track and re-recod certain parts where necessary on the second or third tracks and doing a cut & paste back into the first track, or I may continue recording where I left off which is then recorded on a 4th and / or 5th tracks which are then added to the first track to complete a section or entire project. Typically, I normalize these changes to make the volume appear (sound) consistent through the entire recording. I will then add a little bass boost as well.

Soooooo, lesson learned.

What is EQ and compression used for?

Thanks