Advice needed for applying Reverb/Echo effect

[budwzr]

Maybe the way it samples the clips limits certain things, I don't know.

Anyway, similar to Vegas, is that there's a lot of controls hidden in plain view. It's much more complicated than it appears, but there is an arrangement view that's linear if you like that look. Look in the upper right corner for two symbols, one goes sideways the other vertical, that switches back and forth.

[AjnabiZ]

Maybe the way it samples the clips limits certain things, I don't know.

Anyway, similar to Vegas, is that there's a lot of controls hidden in plain view. It's much more complicated than it appears, but there is an arrangement view that's linear if you like that look. Look in the upper right corner for two symbols, one goes sideways the other vertical, that switches back and forth.


[Attachment 9356 - Click to enlarge]

I actually did test it out, it also changes by pressing TAB key.

Yes, this view is on the familiar side.

Just tested it by placing the audio file on it, and yes, it does work as i want it to.

Thanks for pointing it out.

[AjnabiZ]

Alright guys

Here is my first serious TEST attempt. Let me know what you think, any positive criticism will be appreciated. The speaker came too close to the Mic in a few instances, so you might see some clippings and he moved the mic once with his hand, away from him, So the noise of that was inducted into the audio.

This was our first recording attempt, we made note of all the issues/problems of noise, touching the mic, moving too close to the mic etc. The following test runs would be much better.

http://www.mediafire.com/?rhwa2xoab4hbisr

Audio recorded from Zoom H2n, effects applied and noise removed.

[budwzr]

Can you post it here directly? Or unlisted/private to YouTube? I don't let scripts run in the browser. If it's just an MP3, why is it 10MB? Must be long. I think 30-60 seconds should be plenty.

[AjnabiZ]

Can you post it here directly? Or unlisted/private to YouTube? I don't let scripts run in the browser. If it's just an MP3, why is it 10MB? Must be long. I think 30-60 seconds should be plenty.

Here it is:

[budwzr]

It sounds like what you wanted.

The gain is very low, you might want to master it. The peaks should hit up to 0db. You're only getting about half the dynamic range and if that gets amplified, it's going to get distorted.

I'll master it for you, and you'll hear the difference.

Scott is the real expert, I'm not.

Edit: And the speaker is too far from the mic, yes? The mic should be just a few inches away, with a pop screen in between. That's probably why the recording level is so low.

That recorder has AGC and compressor built in so you can get right up on the mic. Look for the "Speech" mode.

[budwzr]

Here you go. See if you hear the difference, then look at the waveform.

[AjnabiZ]

It sounds like what you wanted.

The gain is very low, you might want to master it. The peaks should hit up to 0db. You're only getting about half the dynamic range and if that gets amplified, it's going to get distorted.

I'll master it for you, and you'll hear the difference.

Scott is the real expert, I'm not.

Edit: And the speaker is too far from the mic, yes? The mic should be just a few inches away, with a pop screen in between. That's probably why the recording level is so low.

That recorder has AGC and compressor built in so you can get right up on the mic. Look for the "Speech" mode.

Thanks budwzr. Your absolutely correct.

The gain is indeed low.

Yes, the speaker is far, and in between the recording he moved closer to the mic. There was a distance of around more than 1 foot between his mouth and the mic.

We will be adding a couple of things

1). I have just assembled a homemade Pop Filter
2). We have ordered a custom built "Vocal Booth" where the Mic will reside.

What should be the optimum distance between the speaker and the mic ?
Keeping in mind that at first the speaker would begin to recite in a low tone and then gradually increase the tone of the voice.

Should i get the Mic Gain with his low tone or his high tone pitch ?

Did you notice the Peaking at the middle of the track ? He was peaking when he raised his tone. How to tackle this issue ? Should i keep the Mic gain low and then apply the Gain in the software ? Which would be the optimal way ?

* Ill look into the Speech Mode, ill have to find it first : )

One more questions pertaining to Mastering the Gain. How can I do it in Sony Soundforge or Ableton ? Is there a plugin ?


Did you notice the Noise Gate Release ? was it good ? Could it be improved ?

Setting for ExpressEX Gate :
Attack: 200
Release : 2500
Threshold : -40 dB

[AjnabiZ]

Here you go. See if you hear the difference, then look at the waveform.

Checking the difference. Thanks.

[AjnabiZ]

For mastering, ill go through the following tutorial

http://abletonlife.com/how-to-master-a-track-in-ableton-live

[AjnabiZ]

guys can anyone suggest a good middle price range HeadPhones to check the recordings.

Below $150.00

How about this one

Sony MDR7506 Professional Large Diaphragm Headphone

[AjnabiZ]

Did you notice the Peaking at the middle of the track ? He was peaking when he raised his tone. How to tackle this issue ? Should i keep the Mic gain low and then apply the Gain in the software ? Which would be the optimal way ?

Just found out how to handle the peaking issue

Just watched a tutorial on using the Limiter and Compressor (for evening out the sound)

[budwzr]

I guess I'm the only one paying attention to this thread.

AFA mastering goes, it's just a voice recording, so it's not so complicated. The idea is to bring out, or reveal, all the detail and nuance of the human voice.

AND to maximize the volume so that it can be played back or performed with the least amount of amplification, and that will reproduce well even on an iPod.

A limiter attenuates peaks only.

A compressor narrows the whole dynamic range and forces everything into this range.

Another member here wrote in another post that he "Normalizes" his voice audio first, to average out the volume, before processing further.

[AjnabiZ]

I guess I'm the only one paying attention to this thread.

And thanks for replying to my queries : )

I have just stumbled upon a wealth of information regarding using the different effects for Vocals

Here are the articles i have presently reading or have read


3 Basic Ways to Process Your Vocals in Ableton Live

http://www.quantizecourses.com/pages.php/?cat=3

and more.

[budwzr]

As a side note, I really enjoy using Ableton. I'm not a pro, I just want pro results. In the case of video, I want full control at tool level, but for sound I like to drag and drop presets made by pros. It's just so much easier, and allows me to focus on creativity where all the fun is.

[AjnabiZ]

As a side note, I really enjoy using Ableton. I'm not a pro, I just want pro results. In the case of video, I want full control at tool level, but for sound I like to drag and drop presets made by pros. It's just so much easier, and allows me to focus on creativity where all the fun is.

I should thank you for suggesting Ableton, i really have found it be to quite pleasant to work with. I did take a peak at Cubase, but got confused with the layout (maybe, i did not give it the proper checking time). Nevertheless, Ableton, i really like it.

I am thinking of purchasing Ableton Live Intro version which comes to around $99 which is quite reasonable but the limiter effect is not present in it, whereas its avaiable in the Ableton Live 8 version.

I am really getting a hang of ableton's interface. Very easy for beginners ...

[AjnabiZ]

I guess I'm the only one paying attention to this thread.

AFA mastering goes, it's just a voice recording, so it's not so complicated. The idea is to bring out, or reveal, all the detail and nuance of the human voice.

AND to maximize the volume so that it can be played back or performed with the least amount of amplification, and that will reproduce well even on an iPod.

A limiter attenuates peaks only.

A compressor narrows the whole dynamic range and forces everything into this range.

Another member here wrote in another post that he "Normalizes" his voice audio first, to average out the volume, before processing further.

Just watched 2 tutorial videos on Ableton's Limiter and Compressor, the author explained it very well and i understood on using the effects for Vocals.

[budwzr]

I am thinking of purchasing Ableton Live Intro version which comes to around $99 which is quite reasonable but the limiter effect is not present in it, whereas its avaiable in the Ableton Live 8 version.

Whatever is missing is because they don't want you to use Intro to make professional recordings, but for you, you have a limiter built into the recorder, and you're not using Ableton to actually MAKE the recording, so no big deal. I use Intro too because I'm not a pro either.

You're using the software for post-production, like me.

So many people think they need software like SoundForge to do audio, but they never get exposed to custom VST plugins actually designed for the music industry, and they only have their own personal tastes and ears to go by.

Myself, I want to hear and see what others are doing so I don't pigeon-hole myself mentally.

[AjnabiZ]

I am thinking of purchasing Ableton Live Intro version which comes to around $99 which is quite reasonable but the limiter effect is not present in it, whereas its avaiable in the Ableton Live 8 version.

Whatever is missing is because they don't want you to use Intro to make professional recordings, but for you, you have a limiter built into the recorder, and you're not using Ableton to actually MAKE the recording, so no big deal. I use Intro too because I'm not a pro either.

You're using the software for post-production, like me.

So many people think they need software like SoundForge to do audio, but they never get exposed to custom VST plugins actually designed for the music industry, and they only have their own personal tastes and ears to go by.

Myself, I want to hear and see what others are doing so I don't pigeon-hole myself mentally.

To get by the limiter issue, i found a few VST plugins, but havent gotten the time to try them out yet.

Regarding Soundforge, i need it for editing, clipping some parts of the track. Can ableton edit parts from the track ?

[budwzr]

Yes. Use the selection tool, just like SoundForge. You can trim, loop, copy.

You can also right-click and "manage" the file. This will release locks on it, then you can open in SF.

I usually do that stuff in SF though myself too. Just like Vegas can make composites, but doing them in a graphic program is cleaner and you don't have to keep track of what you did.

Your recording should be easy to edit because there's a pause every few seconds. It has built in breaks.

[budwzr]

Did you find the envelope tools?



Everything can be envelope edited individually. Volume, pan, plugins, all of it. Look for the little "e". In the "Clip" box.

I'm thinking you were in the arrangement view, and that you loaded the clip there. If so, it won't show up anywhere else. You should load the clip from the mixing screen, then switch over.

[AjnabiZ]

Did you find the envelope tools?


[Attachment 9436 - Click to enlarge]

Everything can be envelope edited individually. Volume, pan, plugins, all of it. Look for the little "e". In the "Clip" box.

Not yet, what does it do ? Whats its use ? How can it be used for Vocals ?

[AjnabiZ]

im hearing something strange in the recording while placing them in Ableton.

Im hearing short skips in the audio track. I dont know why its being caused, i even disabled the warp option but the tiny skips are still there when im in the arrangement view.

But the audio is fine when im in Session view with Warp turned off.

[budwzr]

Is your computer slow?

You have to have warp on to edit. Don't worry about it popping, it will render fine.

Anyway, go to session view and look for the small "E", and turn on envelopes, then go to the little dropdown box and all your effects will be there, and also volume and panning, and from there you make points like Vegas and adjust all the parameters.

I was under the false assumption that your recording would be ready to take on the effects evenly. Didn't know you had issues during the recording.

So using these envelopes you can clean it up.

[AjnabiZ]

Is your computer slow?

You have to have warp on to edit. Don't worry about it popping, it will render fine.

Anyway, go to session view and look for the small "E", and turn on envelopes, then go to the little dropdown box and all your effects will be there, and also volume and panning, and from there you make points like Vegas and adjust all the parameters.

I was under the false assumption that your recording would be ready to take on the effects evenly. Didn't know you had issues during the recording.

So using these envelopes you can clean it up.

I dont think the comp speed is an issue since the CPU Load meter shows 1% and i still hear the tiny skips, they do away when i turn off the Warp option.


How do i work with the Envelopes, how will it help clean up the recording ?

[budwzr]

Shape the envelopes by making points and curves.

As far as the jittering, turn off the plugins and see if that stops it. If not, then something went wrong in the beat match. Delete the clip and bring it back in.

Did you record your clip before export?