Category: Zone BBS Suggestions and Feedback
I've noticed that a lot of recorded audio profiles suffer from hiss, clipping, and breathiness (as illustrated by the reviews in my user profile). As a public service, allow me to lend a few tips that I've learned from personal experience. Note: To see these tips in a formatted HTML Page, copy and paste this link into your web browser: http://wraith.byinter.net/audprof.html
First and foremost: Always, always review your audio profiles before you post them. Don't just assume that they're ok. You're trying to give people an idea of your personality, and sloppy work with that audio profile may give them the wrong impression. If it doesn't sound good, if it isn't as clear as it should be, if the script of the audio profile isn't as fluent as you'd like it to be, don't just leave it and make do... Re-record it. People listening to your audio profile will thank you for it, and they will look at you in a better, more pleasant light.
Second: In order to help with audio clipping and distortion (most often caused by setting your microphone volume too high), there are a few things you can do:
(1) Adjust the software volume.
(A) Go to start, run, type "sndvol32" (without the quotes) and hit enter.
(B) Once inside the system volume control, access the "Options" menu with an ALT+P, then open the properties dialog box (hit enter on the Properties entry from within the Options menu).
(C) Once here, make sure that your preferred audio source (soundcard) is selected, then tab to the group of radio buttons which determines the settings you're altering (Playback/recording). Set the group of radio buttons to "Recording", then hit enter.
(D) Once the Properties dialog box disappears and you've returned to the System Volume Control, repeatedly hit tab as many times as necessary until you land on the microphone volume slider. Now, with an appropriately capable recording program (Sound Recorder will suffice for this step), record short clips of speech. If the sound is too distorted, switch back to the volume control and bring the slider down some, then try again.
(E) Once you've established a comfortable volume level for your microphone, close the volume control and proceed on. Note: If your microphone is the inverse (E.G., you get low volume output from the microphone), return to the Options menu and make sure "Advanced Controls" is checked. Once this is done, tab as needed to the "Advanced" button and either hit space or click on the button. Once inside the advanced controls dialog box, make sure that a setting called "Microphone gain" or "Microphone boost" or the like is checked. Hit enter once you've done so and try again.
(2) If your volume settings are perfect and you still receive these distortions, disable the boost option from the advanced controls dialog box (described above). Alternatively, keep the microphone further away from your mouth. It may be that your microphone is omni-directional, and isn't very good for a direct, full-on audio stream.
Third: A lot of audio profiles contain a lot of rumble and vibration which is recorded when the microphone picks up speech (especially true of microphones which aren't equipped with a windscreen). Here's a tip: Don't place the microphone directly in your breathing path. It's your breathing against, across, or into the microphone whilst forming consonants that causes this.
(A) If you're wearing a headset with a microphone attached, place the microphone above your mouth, and not in front. You might actually want to place it a bit over your nose, so that airflow noise from there will also be negated. If this results in volume drops, turn up your volume in the system volume control a few notches.
(B) If you're using a desktop or otherwise mounted microphone, Don't talk directly into the mouth piece of the microphone. Talk instead at an angle towards one side of the microphone, so that your breath slides by and not over or across it.
(C) You might also try wrapping the microphone with a layer of slightly thick porous material (silk, cloth, tissue paper, etc). The added covering will work as an improvised windscreen if your microphone doesn't have one. It won't look elegant by any means, but it works (Yes, I've tried this before).
Fourth: A lot of audio files have hiss and humming in the background (from computer fan noise, or from electronic noise inside the computer). If you really want to make your audio sound as clear as it can be, you'd do well to send your audio file through some post production processing.
(A) Download and install the free-to-try Gold Wave. It will suffice for the purpose of cleaning up your audio file, and runs very smoothly. Go to http://www.goldwave.com/release.php
(B) Once Gold Wave is installed, open the application. Open your file from within the program. Hit space to play it, and take notice of any hiss or fuzz in the background.
(C) If there is any (Which there most likely will be), access the "Effect" menu with ALT+C, then press F to enter the "Filter" submenu. Hit R, and you'll be placed in the "Noise Reduction" dialog box.
(D) First, try a light hiss filter on your file. Type an l, then down arrow to select "light hiss removal". Tab thrice and hit space, and make note of the change in your audio file. You can tab once to the Stop button to halt the previewing of the noise filter.
(E) If "light hiss removal" doesn't work for you, shift tab back to the edit field and type an I, then down arrow to select "Initial noise". Again, tab three times over and activate that button to preview the change the filter makes.
(F) Once you done both of these and chosen one, hit enter to apply the change.
(G) If your audio file still has some hum in the background, return to the noise reduction dialog box and type an R, then down arrow to select "Reduce hum". Preview this change, because sometimes this filter removes a lot of noise, some which you don't want. If you're satisfied with the change, hit enter. If not, hit escape.
(H) Once you've made the necessary changes and judgments, and assuming you did alter your file and want to keep the changes, save the file with CTRL+S. Now your audio profile should be fairly clean and crisp, perfect for posting.
Hi Wraith. hehehehehe Okay!!! I get it!!! lol!!! I know you put this up for my personal benefit!!! heheeh jk jk!!! But I personally don't care what impression I give to other people. I know I'm cool and that's all that matters!!! But I might follow these instructions if I want to record any more music!!! lol!!! Huggles!!!
*sexy*
A further tip. In Sound Recorder, if you use it, record it in 22050 HZ, 16 bit, Mono by going into the file menu, hit propertys, hit "Format Conversion-Convert now" and choose in the name combo-box, choose radio quality. In the atributes combo-box, down arrow twice. Save your changes by hitting OK.b
ok wraith, I think we got your audio profile perfectionism.... lol why you did not say this before? lol
thanks for the tips Wraith.