Punch and roll is a technique used to correct mistakes we make during the recording process instead of later in the editing room. It can be a massive time-saver.

Audacity Example Video : https://youtu.be/rl5SZ6xG59A

Audacity Manual Punch and Roll : https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/punch_and_roll_record.html

Audacity Manual Punch-in Repair : https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/tutorial_punch_in_repair_of_recordings.html

Adobe Audition Example Video : https://youtu.be/olxjy8p2mxs

Booth Junkie's Voice Over Punch and Roll Walkthrough (using Reaper) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbs5dMB2Bbo

Recording Mic: Zoom LMF-2 Lavalier mic

Recording device: Zoom F2 32 bit float Field Recorder

Recording location: Dining Table

Recording format: WAV (32-bit float mono)

Sound Treatment Mixing and EQ: Adobe Audition

Editorial Edit: Descript.com

Mastering Sound Treatment: Auphonic Productions at Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto), Sample rate: 44.1kHz

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added

VST,  VST3, AU, AAX plugins! What does it all mean? Why are plugins for my DAW useful. How do I decide if they are worth the investment?

ERA Standard Bundle ( https://accusonus.com/products/audio-repair/era-bundle-standard ) I use this suite. Thought the Assistant plugin crashes my DAW! Not a problem as I don't need that as my DAW has the functionality, to build and effects-chain built in. 

iZotope ( https://www.izotope.com/ ) Start by looking for the Elements versions of the apps as these are cheaper. I have the Elements plugins but hardly ever use them.

PRODUCTION NOTES

Recording Mic: Zoom LMF-2 Lavalier mic

Recording device: Zoom F2 32 bit float Field Recorder

Recording location: On my bed

Recording format: WAV (32-bit float mono)

Sound Treatment Mixing and EQ: Adobe Audition with ERA Voice EQ Plugin

Editorial Edit: Descript.com

Mastering Sound Treatment: Auphonic Productions at Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto), Sample rate: 44.1kHz

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added

If you can afford it, then Descript ( https://www.descript.com/ ) is the number one time-saving tool for editing your podcast. It's killer feature is that it creates a transcript of your show that you can use to edit your waveform. 

And that's just the first killer feature. Let me explain....

PRODUCTION NOTES

Recording Mic: Zoom LMF-2 Lavalier mic

Recording device: Zoom F2 32 bit float Field Recorder

Recording location: On my bed

Recording format: WAV (32-bit float mono)

Mixing and EQ: Adobe Audition

Editorial Edit: Descript.com

Mastering Sound Treatment: Auphonic Productions at Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto), Sample rate: 44.1kHz

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added 

Let's explore why transcriptions are valuable and how to generate them.

Transcriptions Services:

Otter.ai

Rev.com

Descript.com

PRODUCTION NOTES

Recording location:  Bedroom leaning into my closet

Microphone: Rode SmartLav+ Lavalier Mic ( with Rode SC3 TRRS to TRS adaptor) and Zoom F2 Field Recorder

Headphones: None

Recording app: Auphonic Edit for Android.

Recording format: WAV

Sample rate: 48000Hz

Editing app: Adobe Audition

Sound Treatment: Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto)

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added the music from their free music stock.

With two TRRS inputs and one stereo headphone output, this tiny adaptor unit connects to any TRRS device. It allows you to connect to TRRS microphones as well as headphones to your phone. Ideal if you are out and about and want to capture an interview without your full rig to hand.

PRODUCTION NOTES

Recording location:  Bedroom leaning into my closet

Microphone: Rode SmartLav+ and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone

Headphones: None

Recording app: Auphonic Edit for Android.

Recording format: WAV

Sample rate: 48000Hz

Editing app: Adobe Audition

Sound Treatment: Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto)

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added the music from their free music stock.

The Rode Smart Lav Plus is a lavalier mic that plugs straight into a smartphone. Learn the advantage of this and how I plan to use lav mics with my Zoom H6 digital recorder to enhance my field interviewing setup.

The 3.5mm to XLR adaptor and phantom power to plug-in power convertor is the Rode VXLR Pro (make sure you get the Pro)

EDIT - I picked up a lot of RF interference on this recording. That's not got for a mic designed for phones! I'm going to test this further and I'll update if this mic is prone to RF. You will not hear the noise since Auphonic cleaned it all up. But it should not be there in the first place. Sigh...

PRODUCTION NOTES:

Recording location:  Sitting on my bed

Microphone: Rode SmartLav+ and Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone

Headphones: None

Recording app: Auphonic Edit for Android.

Recording format: WAV

Sample rate: 48000Hz

Editing app: Adobe Audition

Sound Treatment: Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto)

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added the music from their free music stock.

Anchor automatically converts the WAV file into a 128kbps .m4a file

Please make sure you back up your work as you edit. And let me give you some ideas on some simple ways to name multiple versions of your work to make it easy to go back to a previous edit. Here are a couple of examples:

This is a simple numbering system:

myrecording_001.wav

myrecording_002.wav

myrecording_003.wav

myrecording_004.wav

myrecording_005.wav

or

The same system with annotations:

This is a simple numbering system

myrecording_001_(source_file).wav

myrecording_002.wav

myrecording_003_(normalized).wav

myrecording_004_(auphonic).wav

myrecording_005(added_music).wav

Another way using timestamps of the date I'm editing plus where I've reached in the timeline in hours_minutes:

myrecording_20210318_00_10.wav

myrecording_20210318_00_25.wav

myrecording_20210318_00_50.wav

myrecording_20210319_01_10.wav

myrecording_20210319_01_30.wav

PRODUCTION NOTES

Recording location:  Sitting on my bed

Microphone: I used a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 phone  (no windcover) handheld into the phone mic

Headphones: None

Recording app: Auphonic Edit for Android.

Recording format: WAV

Sample rate: 48000Hz

Editing app: Adobe Audition

Sound Treatment: Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto)

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added the music from their free music stock.

Anchor automatically converts the WAV file into a 128kbps .m4a file

Creative Commons, Royalty Free, Public Domain. What does it all mean? And what are the best ways to find music quickly for your project?

Free Music Sources:

Podcast Host Free Music Packs - https://bit.ly/2NrDcfk

Transistor.fm Free Music - https://bit.ly/2Qkc3w9

Free Music Archive – the biggest repository for free audio downloads. These songs are licensed under Creative Commons and other licenses.  - https://bit.ly/3eWQ8Fz

Pixabay: Copyright-free stock music by a community of creators

YouTube Audio Library: Huge selection of royalty-free music

Incompetech: Wide-array of tracks created by solo artist, Kevin MacLeod

The Free Music Archive: Expansive, free music library for podcasters

909 Music on Soundcloud: Modern, cutting edge, podsafe songs

Musopen: Classical music tracks

CCMixter: A community music remixing site

Shutterstock

Epidemic

Storyblocks

Artlist.io

PRODUCTION NOTES

Recording Mic: Zoom LMF-2 Lavalier mic

Recording device: Zoom F2 32 bit float Field Recorder

Recording location: My car (I was picking up my kids from school, so you might hear some cars, doors slamming, and birds chirping in the background!)

Recording format: WAV (32-bit float mono)

Editing app (and EQ): Adobe Audition

Sound Treatment: Auphonic Productions at Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto), Sample rate: 44.1kHz

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added the music from their free music stock.

Episode art: Canva

Anchor automatically converts the WAV file into a 128kbps, stereo, .m4a file.

Music adds so much to your show. Actually, I forgot to mention in this episode that you can use music to cover up background noise. Listen to the show to explore the other benefits. 

PRODUCTION NOTES

Recording Mic: Zoom LMF-2 Lavalier mic

Recording device: Zoom F2 32 bit float Field Recorder

Recording location: My car (I was picking up my kids from school, so you might hear some cars, doors slamming, and birds chirping in the background. Boy did I park in the worst place!)

Recording format: WAV (32-bit float mono)

Editing app (and EQ): Adobe Audition

Sound Treatment: Auphonic Productions at Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto), Sample rate: 44.1kHz

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added the music from their free music stock.

Episode art: Canva

Anchor automatically converts the WAV file into a 128kbps, stereo, .m4a file.

When you record, do you hear pops or clicks coming from your mouth? This is mouth noise, and it's unpleasant for the listener. Let's explore some techniques to get rid of it.

Apps to help get rid of clicking (Make sure you scan for viruses. And install at your own risk. Back up everything ) :

DeClick Plugin for Audacity ( https://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?p=245549#p245549 )

Youtube instructions on installing and using the above. ( https://youtu.be/3zESSLTU4vw )

ERA Noise Removal Bundle has a de-clicker, although it's not detailed on the webpage yet. ( https://accusonus.com/products/audio-repair/era-noise-remover#gyb )

PRODUCTION NOTES

Recording Mic: Zoom LMF-2 Lavalier mic

Recording device: Zoom F2 32 bit float Field Recorder

Recording location: Dining table, seated, no pillow-fort.

Recording format: WAV (32 bit float mono)

Editing app (and EQ): Adobe Audition

Sound Treatment: Auphonic Productions at Auphonic.com

Auphonic.com settings [to output as a 16bit mono WAV file]: Adaptive Leveler (on), Loudness Normalization (Loudness Target -19 LUFS ), Filtering (on), Noise and Hum Reduction (Reduction Amount: Auto), Sample rate: 44.1kHz

I uploaded the resulting WAV file to Anchor.fm to host the file and added the music from their free music stock.

Episode art: Canva

Anchor automatically converts the WAV file into a 128kbps, stereo, .m4a file.