Audacity How-To

How to Apply Noise Reduction in Audacity

/ Mike Adams / Leave a comment

Reducing the amount of noise in a track is important for clean audio. Now that we have the ability to do it via realtime effects, it can be done non-destructively. But not everyone is on board with using realtime effects yet so I want to take a few minutes to show you how to apply the Noise Reduction effect that comes packaged with Audacity.

Hardware I used in this video (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases).

Software I used:

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Audacity 3.2.1 Released PLUS: How to Unhide the Device Toolbar

/ Mike Adams / Leave a comment

Without much fanfare Audacity version 3.2.1 is out and among other fixes, includes a fix for the missing ffmpeg file for M1/M2 Mac users. Here’s a link to the fixes in this version of Audacity.

https://github.com/audacity/audacity/releases/tag/Audacity-3.2.1

Plus the Device Toolbar lives! You just need to unhide it if you want it back.

Contents:

  • 00:00 – Intro
  • 00:16 – Audacity Version 3.2.1
  • 00:29 – ffmpeg Workaround in 3.2.0 for M1/M2 Mac Users
  • 01:18 – ffmpeg Fix in Version 3.2.1
  • 01:53 – Unhiding the Device Toolbar
  • 03:10 – Wrap-up

Hardware I used in this video (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases).

Software I Used:

  • Audacity Version 3.2.1 (for post-processing)
  • Camtasia 2022
  • Auphonic Desktop App

Other places you’ll find me:

Destructive Editing vs Non-Destructive Editing Using Audacity 3.2.0

/ Mike Adams / Leave a comment

In this video I demonstrate the difference between non-destructive effects vs destructive effects in Audacity 3.2.0. Prior to Audacity 3.2.0 any effects added to a track were destructive, meaning each effect I added was embedded in the waveform itself, changing the waveform. As soon as I saved my project and closed the program, I could never undo what I had done. This is destructive editing. But starting with Audacity 3.2.0, that’s changed. We now have the option to use non-destructive editing where the effects I add don’t touch the waveform but remain external to it. This is non-destructive editing.

Contents

  • 00:00 – Intro: The Difference Between Destructive and Non-Destructive Effects
  • 00:45 – Destructive Editing Demonstration
  • 01:53 – Non-Destructive Realtime Effects
  • 02:49 – Adding Non-Destructive Realtime Effects
  • 03:31 – Enabling and Disabling Realtime Effects
  • 05:55 – Stacking Multiple Effects
  • 07:14 – Destructive Effects Are Still Available
  • 07:47 – Wrap-Up

Hardware I used in this video (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases).

Software I Used:

  • Audacity Version 3.2.0 Beta 20220913
  • Camtasia 2022
  • Auphonic Desktop Leveler

Other places you’ll find me:

The Audacity 3.2.0 Audio Setup Button

/ Mike Adams / Leave a comment

In Audacity 3.2.0 the device toolbar has been replaced by the Audio Setup button. This gave us back some important real estate in the user interface. This video is a quick look at the new Audio Setup button in Audacity 3.2.0.

Hardware I used in this video (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases).

Software I Used:

  • Audacity Version 3.2.0 Beta 20220913
  • Camtasia 2022
  • Auphonic Desktop Leveler

Other places you’ll find me:

The Share Audio Button in Audacity 3.2.0

/ Mike Adams / Leave a comment

Audacity 3.2 has a new feature that makes sharing your audio productions quick and simple. As one who teaches Audacity, I’ve lost count of the number or times I’ve been asked to share a project or part of a project’s audio and the number of times I’ve asked others to do the same. Enter, Audacity 3.2. With the new Share Audio button in Audacity 3.2 we can share our audio with the click of the mouse button. The audio is shared on Audacity’s new audio.com website (what a great URL!). I show you how to share your audio using Audacity 3.2 in this video.

Contents:

  • 00:00 – Intro
  • 00:15 – Share Audio Button
  • 00:47 – Share Demonstration
  • 01:10 – Linking Audacity 3.2 to Audio.Com
  • 01:39 – Uploading Audio to Audio.Com From Audacity 3.2
  • 02:07 – Review and Share Your Audio Once It’s Uploaded
  • 02:46 – Audio is Private by Default 03:01 – Wrap-Up

Hardware I used in this video (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases).

Software I Used:

  • Audacity Version 3.2.0 Beta 20220913
  • Camtasia 2022
  • Auphonic Desktop Leveler App

Other places you’ll find me:

How To Fix Loud Noise Floor in Audacity to Meet ACX Standards

/ Mike Adams / Leave a comment

There’s no substitute for a high-quality initial recording. Taking necessary steps to get the best recording possible saves time and a lot of headaches in post-production cleanup. There’s no substitute for a pristine recording. But sometimes that just doesn’t happen for any number of reasons. In this video I show you one way to clean up the noise floor in our ACX recordings using the Noise Reduction effect in Audacity.

Contents:

  • 00:00 – Introduction
  • 00:15 – ACX Noise Floor Requirements
  • 00:35 – Example Waveform
  • 01:01 – Initial ACX Check
  • 01:30 – Setting the RMS Level
  • 02:30 – Applying the Limiter
  • 02:56 – Fixing the Noise Floor Using Noise Reduction
  • 04:56 – ACX Check for Noise Floor Passed
  • 05:17 – What is Noise Floor?
  • 05:44 – The Importance of Recording Good Audio
  • 06:24 – Wrap-Up Enroll Now! ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity – https://www.audacitybootcamp.com/p/acx-audiobook-production-using-audacity

Hardware I used in this video (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases):

Software I Used:

  • Audacity Version 3.1.3
  • Camtasia 2022
  • Auphonic Desktop Leveler

Other places you’ll find me: