The Audacity Channel

In this episode we continue the theme of Season 2, the ingredients for good audio, with a look at microphone types. The microphone we select will contribute significantly to the quality of audio in our initial recording. Choosing a mic that compliments our room is imperative. Choosing the wrong microphone for the room we're in can result in the majority of our post-production time being spent trying to fix bad audio instead of making good audio, better.

Here are some microphones to consider. Full discloser, these are affiliate links. That means that while the price is the same, I earn a little bit (very little) from each purchase using these links.

Condenser Mics

• RØDE NT1 Large Diaphragm Mic - https://amzn.to/3IK2pKs
• RØDE NT1A Large Diaphragm Mic - https://amzn.to/3ZsObF5
• RØDE NT-USB-MINI - https://amzn.to/3ZlAUhG
• Synco D2 Small Diaphragm Shotgun Mic - https://amzn.to/3ywQf3f
• Sennheiser MKH 416 Small Diaphragm Shotgun Mic - https://amzn.to/3KUVMHZ
• Audio-Technica AT2020 XLR Mic - https://amzn.to/41KKlst
• Audio-Technica AT2020USB+ Mic - https://amzn.to/3EUCrDe
• Lewitt LCT440 Pure Large Diaphragm Mic - https://amzn.to/3L0KFxu
• Neumann TLM 102 Large Diaphragm Mic - https://amzn.to/3ZlD4xz

Dynamic Mics

• Samsom Q2U USB/XLR Mic - https://amzn.to/3SPIezu
• Samsom Q9U USB/XLR Mic - https://amzn.to/3F0oROq
• Audio-Technica ATR2100 USB/XLR Mic - https://amzn.to/3Jh3smA
• Audio-Technica AT2040 XLR Mic - https://amzn.to/3ZZySDV
• Shure SM57 Mic - https://amzn.to/3mubSOV
• Shure SM58 Mic - https://amzn.to/3SUe5iv
• Shure MV7X XLR Mic - https://amzn.to/41P0wF2
• Shure MV7 USB/XLR Mic - https://amzn.to/3ybgHz0
• Shure SM7B XLR Mic - https://amzn.to/3ydAFJr
• Electro-Voice RE-20 XLR Mic & Shock Mount - https://amzn.to/3KXcvKQ
• Electro-Voice RE-320  XLR Mic - https://amzn.to/41OBWo0

It's March Madness at the Audacity Bootcamp! Save 50% on my courses at https://audacitybootcamp.com

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me

Welcome to The Audacity Channel podcast. This season of the show is dedicated to making our initial audio as good as it can be. Making sure we've done all we can do to make our initial recordings the best they can be can save hours of editing and post-production mastering and cleanup. In this initial episode of Season 2, we return to the topic of room treatments. Good recorded audio for our podcasts and audiobooks starts with a well-treated room or recording space and room treatments don't have to be expensive to work well. In fact, you may already have everything you need to treat a room for spoken word recordings.

Here's a look at the topics we're covering in each episode of Season 2 of The Audacity Channel podcast:

• Episode 1: Recording Room Preparation
• Episode 2: Microphone Types
• Episode 3: Microphone Placement
• Episode 4: Microphone Technique
• Episode 5: My Recording Hardware Chain
• Episode 6: Audio Quality: Hitting the Mark for Excellent Audio
• Episode 7: Editing Multi-Track Projects in Audacity
• Episode 8: Adding Realtime Effects in Audacity
• Episode 9: How To Set The Correct LUFS Level
• Episode 10: Exporting Our Audacity Project as an MP3

MARCH MADNESS STARTS NOW! The Audacity Bootcamp 50% off March Madness sale is happening the entire month of March. To take advantage of this 50% off sale, simply enter the coupon code MADNESS when signing up for a course. This is 50% off the already low cost of my Audacity courses and I cover your sales tax!! To take advantage of this March Madness sale, point your web browser to:

• The Audacity Bootcamp Online School for Podcasters and Audiobook Narrators

Once there, select the course(s) you're interested in, enroll and enter the coupon code MADNESS. Once you enroll, you own the course. There is no recurring fee and there are no strings attached. My course videos are comprehensive and will give you the skills and confidence you need so you can produce exceptional audio using Audacity. But don't take my word for it. Check out the reviews while you're there and take advantage of the free preview videos I've provided.

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me

Let's talk about Audacity's powerful tools for ACX audiobook production. Audacity lends itself seamlessly to ACX audiobook production. Meeting the ACX requirements for audiobooks can be a real challenge but it's a challenge that Audacity simplifies if we know where the right tools are and how to use them. In this episode we look at:

• RMS level requirement and how to get there using Audacity
• Peak audio requirements and how to get there using Audacity
• Sample rate requirements and how to get there using Audacity
• Noise floor definition and requirements using Audacity
• How to check your audio before uploading it using ACX Check
• Meeting MP3 file requirements using Audacity

A Look Ahead at Season 2:
This episode of the Audacity Channel podcast brings Season 1 to a close. We'll resume in Season 2 beginning March 1st. Season 2 will consist of 10 episodes dropped over a 10-week period and the entire season will be dedicated to making our initial recording as good as it can be. In Season 2 we'll explore topics like room conditioning that doesn't have to cost a lot, microphone types and their strengths and weaknesses as it relates to podcasting and audiobook narration, microphone placement and microphone technique. We'll also take a look at the role of an audio interface and we'll talk about sample rates, bit depth, and bit rates and what each of those terms is referencing. We'll also talk about non-destructive editing and using realtime, stackable effects, and I'll show you the order of effects I usually use and we'll take a look at my recording hardware chain. We have a lot to cover in Season 2 and I will see you there, beginning March 1st.

The Link I Mention in This Episode:
For a deeper dive into using Audacity for ACX audiobooks, be sure to check out my online, on-demand video course, ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity at https://www.audacitybootcamp.com/p/acx-audiobook-production-using-audacity

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me

In this episode I want to talk about the importance of knowing Audacity fundamentals. Even though we now have the ability to use realtime non-destructive tools in Audacity, knowing the fundamentals and how to get around in Audacity, as well as knowing when and how to use some of the pre-packaged effects remains relevant. This is why I still teach the fundamentals in my online Audacity courses, in addition to the more recent, realtime capabilities. I'm a fan of both!

You'll find the iZotope sale I mentioned in this episode at: https://www.izotope.com/

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me

The release of Audacity version 3.2.4 includes a fix of the Meter Toolbars. Previously, any resizing of the meter toolbars would be lost when Audacity was closed. But with the release of version 3.2.4 that is no longer the case. Now when we resize a meter toolbar, it retains that size until we change it again. I also give Chris Curran a shout out for having me on his YouTube channel to talk about Reaper. Here's a link to that video and to Chris's Podcast Engineering Show.

• Reaper Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfWCkfGKeoM
• Podcast Engineering School: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/
• Podcast Engineering Show: https://podcastengineeringschool.com/category/show/

Don't forget, I teach Audacity for podcasters and audiobook narrators at the Audacity Bootcamp online school. If you're looking for a deep dive into Audacity for spoken word production, the Audacity Bootcamp can meet that need. And now, I even pay the sales tax when you purchase a course.

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me

There is a de-clicker plugin available on the Audacity website that can be downloaded and installed in your version of Audacity. The de-clicker is useful for removing unwanted mouth sounds and other unwanted clicks in your audio. Here's a link to the de-clicker. You'll see it about halfway down the page, on the left side. https://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic.php?p=245549#p245549

If you need help installing it or if you want to see how to install a Nyquist plugin in Audacity, this short video of mine can help.

https://youtu.be/BMZ5gwkn2uo

-Enjoy!

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me

Post-production editing of our podcasts can be grueling. It can be an exhausting time-consuming part of our audio production if we're not intentional about the recording phase. There are things we can do before pressing record that will save valuable time in post-production. Getting a good initial audio recording is indispensable because it can literally save us hours of cleanup later on. Not everything can be fixed in post but doing everything we can to make sure our initial recording is as good as it can be, means fewer problems in post. And ensuring our recorded audio is as good as it can be, doesn't have to be expensive. 

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me

This question pops up every so often so I thought it would be a good idea to talk about it. Digital waveforms are a recent phenomenon in the history of the world. They began to emerge in the early 1970s as digital music began gaining traction. It became increasingly necessary to convert analog audio into digital audio so computers would know what to do with it. Computers can't do anything with analog audio but once it's converted into digital audio, we can use programs like Audacity to do our magic and make the audio sound amazing. Before the emergence of digital audio, we couldn't see audio. But now, we can see our audio in the form of digital waveforms, as well as hear it. A waveform is a digital representation of the audio we captured during our recording. We captured the digital audio using a sample rate and bit depth. When we export our audio to our podcast or audiobook, bit rate becomes important. So let's talk about it.

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me

In this episode I wrap up a few loose ends from the previous one concerning the new Default filter option for viewing plugins and I talk about how to recover plugins that might go missing. Plus, saving our realtime effects chains is on its way in a future release of Audacity. This is going to be a big time-saver when applying the same effects chain on new projects or different tracks within the same project.

Here's a link to the image I mentioned showing a proposed method for saving realtime effects chains: Audacity Bootcamp on Twitter.

40% off codes for The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and audiobook narrators:

• Use BOOTCAMPLAUNCH to save 40% off the course, Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced through January 15, 2023
• Use ACXLAUNCH to save 40% off the course, ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity through January 15, 2023

That's it for now... Let's talk again next week.

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me

And just like that, version 3.2.3 of Audacity has been released. I'm pressed for time today but I wanted to make this short episode to get this info out to you. I've confirmed that there is a new Effects view option in 3.2.3 called Default that wasn't there in version 3.2.2. You can get to it by going to the Preferences window and and selecting Effects in the left-hand column. When I started version 3.2.3 the first time, it started in this Default configuration which grouped my effects by type. But not everyone on the 3.2.3 experienced that same thing. There's an updated YouTube version of this if you prefer it:

• https://youtu.be/-vAETZD4FLQ

That's it for now... I'll be back!

Other Places You'll Find Me:

1. The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. The school consists of the following online courses:
   • Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced
   • ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity
   • Audacity Version Updates
2. The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel
3. The Learn Audacity Homepage
4. The Audacity Channel on YouTube
5. Facebook

• Contact Me