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Post by cristiansp on Dec 9, 2017 9:53:43 GMT -8
So Maybe this can be turned into like a sticky question - maybe recommending newbies about what software to use. However, speaking personally, I understand that there's recording software, and there's DAWs - and sometimes the two functions are implemented into the same software.
Frankly, I always use audacity because I can't make heads or tails of all the other software (I looked at reaper, sony whatever, cool edit pro), so I just went back to audacity anyway, but people are all like "No Don't USE AUDACITY... IT'S MY OPINION YOU SHOULDN'T USE AUDACITY..." over at GFTB; so I don't know if it's time I start taking this seriously. From what I understood, people were putting down audacity because the graph doesn't accurately depict volume levels of the recording in the y-axis, and because the compressor is apparently bad, not to mention there's no extra features. So, with my understanding of compressor, I can understand why audacity's compressor tool is poor - essentially I've yet to see it make a difference - but - provided you don't need the extra bells and whistles of more professional software, then the lack of compressor seems to be the only reason why you should ditch audacity? I mean - essentially - I've been told many things about my recordings, but I've almost always been told that the quality of the audio clip is fine/clean.
And what advice do you have for people who have looked at DAWs and felt like they couldn't understand a thing - like me?
Ok actually - i've just played around adjusting the threshold on audacity (I was just leaving it on default) and it actually made a difference this time xD. Set it much lower.
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Post by benedict on Dec 9, 2017 10:59:43 GMT -8
First, take everything I say with a grain of salt because I use Reaper. That being said... Don't stop using Audacity! At least, don't feel compelled to drop Audacity for the reasons you listed. It's a really nice DAW, and is plenty powerful for VA work. I've done a ton of SFX backgrounds in Audacity as well. I switched to Reaper for two reasons: First, I was working on a collaborative project with two other people, and Reaper was the tool of choice. Second, I wound up liking the non-destructive edits in Reaper enough to go through the rest of the learning curve. (And it's a steep learning curve!) But I still use Audacity for a couple of things, and could still honestly use it for everything I do. Like most DAWs, it's functionality can be extended through plug-ins. If you don't like the compressor that comes with Audacity, there are other compressor plug-ins you can use with it. Here's a tutorial that uses one of the after-market compressors: nototally.com/audacity-tutorial-compression-using-chriss-dynamic-compressor-plugin/Here's the Audacity page on the plug-in: manual.audacityteam.org/man/chris_s_dynamic_compressor.htmlI think you summed it up when you said this: "I've been told many things about my recordings, but I've almost always been told that the quality of the audio clip is fine/clean." The proof really is in the pudding. If your sound is good, your sound is good. Period. As for your other question about people who have looked at DAWs and felt like they couldn't understand a thing, don't sweat it. It happens with every piece of software I use. The software developers come to their particular package with their particular philosophy. Once you've used that package for a while, that underlying philosophy becomes part of how you think about that task. Switching to another one is jarring and involves a lot of re-learning. I learned 3D CAD on a program that was really designed for CG animation modeling (Rhino 3D). Later on I had to switch to Solidworks. The approach is so very very different, the learning curve felt like a friggin' cliff. I'm still trying to make the adjustment, but I'm starting to get the underlying philosophy of Solidworks now. DAWs are no different. Audacity uses a "do this to it" approach. DAWs like Reaper use a "route it through this" approach. Both work fine, but they're different ways of looking at the task at hand. If you do decide to change DAWs, find a good set of tutorials you can work through with your own audio files to really explore the new software. On the CAD end of things, Rhino came with a set of tutorials that took me about a week to plow through. By the end, I was mostly functional. I haven't seen the same for Solidworks, and suspect that's why I'm having such a hard time adjusting. On the DAW end of things, I didn't find a comprehensive set like that for Audacity, but there are so many people using it that finding tutorial videos for specific things isn't that difficult. That's how I got up to speed on it. When I switched to Reaper, I'd have been lost if I hadn't found Mike Delgaudio's tutorials.
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Post by cristiansp on Dec 9, 2017 16:00:06 GMT -8
I appreciate what you said that ultimately if I sound good then that's all that matters. I just find myself starting to worry - because I do some things which lots of tutorials would say are big No no's - but not only can I get away with them, they seem to be the best route for me, and I am constantly afraid that I'm letting myself down because of this. In fact I'll probably PM you, would love to ask you something. I think that, and Benedict correct me on this - the only area where Audacity lets me down, is when it comes to record myself singing. I - unfortunately - do not have perfect pitch yet, so every now and again i'll be a bit sharp or flat, but with audacity it's not so easy to fix that - I know you can select the one note, and do a 'change pitch' but it hardly seems like the right tool to be using. I remember my Vocal Coach used the MAC software (pro logic I think) And basically, the only thing I saw her use which is not available in audacity is when the whole vocal recording is transumted into a graphical image kind of like vertical piano keys, and if a note is out of key, she can grab the appropriate key, and adjust it to the right note. This is the only thing I miss. I tried this audacity alternative - gsnaps but it just seemed tedious. It required me to keep figuring out the key of the song - (and i'm not a musician so don't know how -.-) and mostly it made me sound weird. My sister on the other hand automatically gets none of the notes wrong so for her audacity is enough. What can I do/use for myself?
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Post by benedict on Dec 9, 2017 23:24:41 GMT -8
I'm afraid I don't have an answer for that one. I'm mediocre at best when it comes to singing, and I've never recorded myself when I do.
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Post by cbdroege on Dec 10, 2017 5:50:21 GMT -8
There is nothing wrong with Audacity. It's a tool, and if it gets the job done, it gets the job done. You'll also find people telling you it's not okay to use a digital pens to make paintings, and that it's impossible to make artistic photographs with anything other than a DSLR. It's all bullshit. Use the tools that work for you.
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Post by Rebekah Amber Clark on Dec 10, 2017 11:24:10 GMT -8
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Post by Brittany Ann Phillips on Dec 10, 2017 15:36:25 GMT -8
I remember hearing some advice from Crispin Freeman regarding DAWS. Your raw recordings will sound exactly the same no matter which DAW you use. The only difference is the extra plug ins and features with how you edit your recordings. If your finished audio sounds great in Audacity, keep using it! If you're unhappy with it, there's nothing wrong with using a different DAW. Everyone has their own personal preference.
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Post by Lady Stardust ★ on Dec 11, 2017 0:11:11 GMT -8
I have been using Audacity for my voice recording for well over a decade. It's simple, free, and easy to use. You can also add a ton of plugins if you need to add effects, etc. However, many of these plugins don't have presets like the ones in Adobe Audition would, which can be frustrating if you don't quite know what you're doing with the settings. Where Audacity tends to fall short is if you're actually mixing/producing audio (radioplays, demo reels, etc) because it seems more suited to recording and less for mixing. I honestly miss Adobe Audition---I owned an older copy on a previous computer and then it became subscribeware with no way to transfer over, and I hate the idea of not being able to own a software outright and having to keep paying each month. So I don't know what I'm going to use for mixing if I ever need to do production work again. For simply auditioning or recording lines, Audacity is perfectly fine and I use it to record professional gigs from home all the time But if you want to try something else out, virtually all other software offers a free trial option that you can evaluate for a bit and see if it suits your needs better.
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