[S1, Ep12] 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 AudacityPeak audio requirements and how to get there using AudacitySample rate requirements and how to get there using AudacityNoise floor definition and requirements using AudacityHow to check your audio before uploading it using ACX CheckMeeting MP3 file requirements using AudacityA 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-audacityOther Places You'll Find Me: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me

[S1, Ep11] 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: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me

[S1, Ep10] 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=GfWCkfGKeoMPodcast 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: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me

[S1, Ep9} 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#p245549If 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: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me

[S1, Ep8] 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: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me

[S1, Ep7] 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: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me

[S1, Ep6] 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, 2023Use ACXLAUNCH to save 40% off the course, ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity through January 15, 2023That's it for now... Let's talk again next week.Other Places You'll Find Me: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me

[S1, Ep5] 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/-vAETZD4FLQThat's it for now... I'll be back!Other Places You'll Find Me: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me

[S1, Ep4] It's launch day for The Audacity Channel and The Audacity Bootcamp online school! In this episode I talk about the new Audio Setup button and the Share Audio button that were a part of the Audacity version 3.2.0 release. While the old Device Toolbar is now hidden behind the new Audio Setup button, you can still get it back if that's your preference.  The new Share Audio button is a convenient way make your audio available to others without sharing the entire project file.This launch of the Audacity Channel podcast coincides with the launch of The Audacity Bootcamp online school for podcasters and ACX audiobook narrators. If that's you, check it out! Several of the videos are available for free preview. Use the discount coupon codes below to get 40% off the already low price. Once purchased, these on-demand video courses are yours for life and they come with a 30-day money-back guarantee. This discount is available now through January 15th, 2023 as a holiday and launch incentive. Don't miss it!There are three Audacity courses at The Audacity Bootcamp online school:Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to AdvancedACX Audiobook Production Using AudacityAudacity Version Updates (FREE!)Launch/Holiday Coupon Codes:Use coupon code BOOTCAMPLAUNCH to receive a 40% discount on Audacity Step-by-Step: Beginner to Advanced.Use coupon code ACXLAUNCH to receive a 40% discount on ACX Audiobook Production Using Audacity.My Audio.com Profile: https://audio.com/mike-adamsOther Places You'll Find Me: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me

[S1, Ep3] I'm squeezing out another pre-launch episode to talk about asymmetric, or lopsided waveforms vs DC offset. Is a lopsided waveform the same as DC offset? I've noticed in some recent recordings I've done for a new online course I'm teaching that some of the waveforms are a little lopsided. This isn't usually a problem unless it's extreme where clipping could occur on one side of the waveform when applying gain or loudness normalization. For me, it was being caused by my dbx 286S audio processor in my recording chain. More specifically, it was being caused by activating the high-pass filter in the dbx 286S. I disabled the high-pass filter and it solved the problem. If you use the dbx 286S like I do and are seeing lopsided waveforms, this might be the solution you need.Links talked about at the end of this episode:The Audacity Bootcamp Online SchoolBeginning Audacity: Step-by-StepACX Audiobook Production Using AudacityHardware I used in this video (NOTE: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases).Audio-Technica ATR 2100 Cardioid Dynamic Microphone https://amzn.to/3Tx7UAADBX 286s Microphone Pre-Amp Processor https://amzn.to/3CMt4EVStarTech.com 4U 19″ Desktop Open Frame Rack https://amzn.to/3fWrE1EZOOM H6 All Black (2020 Version) Portable Studio https://amzn.to/3rIpfdl2022 MacBook Pro with an M1 Pro processor and 32 GB memoryAudacity Version 3.2.1Other Places You'll Find Me: 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 The Learn Audacity YouTube Channel The Learn Audacity Homepage The Audacity Channel on YouTube Facebook Contact Me