Recording on Android (For Beginners)
Jun 15, 2017 12:38:13 GMT -8
Rebekah Amber Clark and benedict like this
Post by The Uncertain Man on Jun 15, 2017 12:38:13 GMT -8
Hello!
Here's a quick Android guide to Voice Acting with your phone or mobile device.
My guide is mainly intended for people who've yet to purchase a proper microphone, or who are away from their recording space and need to fire off a quick audition. It contains a very lazy guide to recording and editing. I haven't done much research into using mics with mobile devices, though I believe this microphone will work with mobiles and tablets [citation needed] - www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/50c0cbe703025c75/
The main reason for this is because they allow for exporting different formats, rather than just MP3.
I can export a MP3, WAV or AAC (though sadly not OGG or FLAC), and in addition to this we can also record at higher sample rates. I realize that it's not going to make much difference when we're using the built-in microphone on my LG G5, but every little helps right? You may have a better microphone, or as technology advances the integrated microphones on a phone may improve.
I used the app to record a quick clip and it used these settings - Sample Rate - 16kHz (Medium, default quality), Format - MP3 128kbps Bitrate. --> soundcloud.com/taff62/voice-reco...st/s-2n00v
And then I increased the settings to - Sample Rate - 44kHz (Highest, CD Quality), Format - PCM (Wav) High Quality. --> soundcloud.com/taff62/voice-reco...gs/s-9GP9N
Now, I can't personally hear much difference in those recordings. I've listened with a decent pair of headphones, and just using my phone's speaker. But if you're strapped for cash and still want to pursue Voice Acting as a hobby you're going to want to be as good as you can be.
In addition to this app, there's also another recorder from Sony, called Audio Recorder --> play.google.com/store/apps/detai...rder&hl=en
Sony are a reliable company compared to the sea of unknown developers on the app stores. I haven't used this app but you can be sure it'll be just as good, if not better. However some users have reported that this app has access to a lot of things it shouldn't, including phone records. If you're not bothered about privacy, go for it!
WavePad Audio Editor is a good app for the job --> play.google.com/store/apps/detai...e&hl=en_GB
Opening WavePad you’ll then need to select +Add and then Import from Folder…
Find where you stored your previous recordings and select one. It’ll now appear in the WavePad menu, so tap that and you’ll be brought to a nice editing screen.
From here you can tinker with all sorts of effects and tools. But the quick and easy one we want is Noise Reduction, for our background noise.
Before we do this you might see some tiny pops or clicks that may have been made by your mouth or by something else in the background.
If they’re before you start speaking, feel free to drag your finger across them and cut them out. You’ve already improved your recording.
Next, highlight a bit of empty space with a little bit of background noise and select Effects at the top. Then scroll along to Cleanup, select it and then select Advanced Cleanup FX.
Select Grab Noise Sample… and select Apply Subtraction from Noise…
This should remove the background noises you’ve sampled. You can even apply it to the whole recording to hopefully remove it from your speech.
imgur.com/EuilN4d
This is all I've got time for sadly, however I will add more to it in future.
If anyone else has any other tips or anything to add, please feel free to leave a post!
Here's a quick Android guide to Voice Acting with your phone or mobile device.
My guide is mainly intended for people who've yet to purchase a proper microphone, or who are away from their recording space and need to fire off a quick audition. It contains a very lazy guide to recording and editing. I haven't done much research into using mics with mobile devices, though I believe this microphone will work with mobiles and tablets [citation needed] - www.audio-technica.com/cms/wired_mics/50c0cbe703025c75/
Voice Recording Apps
So, there are quite a few apps out there that'll do the job, but the app I selected was Voice Recorder by Splend Apps --> play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.splendapps.vox&hl=enThe main reason for this is because they allow for exporting different formats, rather than just MP3.
I can export a MP3, WAV or AAC (though sadly not OGG or FLAC), and in addition to this we can also record at higher sample rates. I realize that it's not going to make much difference when we're using the built-in microphone on my LG G5, but every little helps right? You may have a better microphone, or as technology advances the integrated microphones on a phone may improve.
I used the app to record a quick clip and it used these settings - Sample Rate - 16kHz (Medium, default quality), Format - MP3 128kbps Bitrate. --> soundcloud.com/taff62/voice-reco...st/s-2n00v
And then I increased the settings to - Sample Rate - 44kHz (Highest, CD Quality), Format - PCM (Wav) High Quality. --> soundcloud.com/taff62/voice-reco...gs/s-9GP9N
Now, I can't personally hear much difference in those recordings. I've listened with a decent pair of headphones, and just using my phone's speaker. But if you're strapped for cash and still want to pursue Voice Acting as a hobby you're going to want to be as good as you can be.
In addition to this app, there's also another recorder from Sony, called Audio Recorder --> play.google.com/store/apps/detai...rder&hl=en
Sony are a reliable company compared to the sea of unknown developers on the app stores. I haven't used this app but you can be sure it'll be just as good, if not better. However some users have reported that this app has access to a lot of things it shouldn't, including phone records. If you're not bothered about privacy, go for it!
Voice Editing
So we've got a couple of files that we've recorded and now we need to smooth them out a bit. Reduce background noise, maybe add a bit of EQ.WavePad Audio Editor is a good app for the job --> play.google.com/store/apps/detai...e&hl=en_GB
Opening WavePad you’ll then need to select +Add and then Import from Folder…
Find where you stored your previous recordings and select one. It’ll now appear in the WavePad menu, so tap that and you’ll be brought to a nice editing screen.
From here you can tinker with all sorts of effects and tools. But the quick and easy one we want is Noise Reduction, for our background noise.
Before we do this you might see some tiny pops or clicks that may have been made by your mouth or by something else in the background.
If they’re before you start speaking, feel free to drag your finger across them and cut them out. You’ve already improved your recording.
Next, highlight a bit of empty space with a little bit of background noise and select Effects at the top. Then scroll along to Cleanup, select it and then select Advanced Cleanup FX.
Select Grab Noise Sample… and select Apply Subtraction from Noise…
This should remove the background noises you’ve sampled. You can even apply it to the whole recording to hopefully remove it from your speech.
imgur.com/EuilN4d
This is all I've got time for sadly, however I will add more to it in future.
If anyone else has any other tips or anything to add, please feel free to leave a post!