5 STEPS to Improve Your VOICEOVER in Audacity
5 STEPS to Improve Your VOICEOVER in Audacity
Improve your next voiceover or narration in your next video using these 5 simple steps in Audacity
1. Noise Reduction
2. Compressor
3. Limiter Filter
4. Equalizer
5. Normalize
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Voiceovers
While not ideal for every video, a voiceover can be a perfect element to add to your next project. If you’re making an educational or a product video, you’re most likely using voiceovers. But even if your project is a family outing video, a vacation video, or even a montage, a good voiceover can be a perfect element that elevates your vide from good to great. Or at the very least, clear up a confusing video.
Recording voiceovers can be an art of its own, requiring professional equipment, recording studios, and time to make it perfect. But voiceovers can also be recorded at home, with minimal equipment and funding. Technically, all you need is a microphone and a way to capture and record audio. For starters, I would recommend a good USB microphone, such as the Blue Yeti, that plugs right into your computer, and a way to capture audio to your computer. I personally prefer to use Audacity, but you may also use FCPX, Premiere Pro, or one of many other applications available to you.
An alternative to using a USB microphone, is using a separate audio recorder, such as the very affordable Zoom H1, or at the very least, a mic designed to work with a smartphone. All these options will provide a much better result as opposed to the built in microphone on your computer or camera.
Another very important element of recording a voiceover is your space. The room you record your voiceover in can greatly affect your sound quality. Try and use a space with lots of sound absorbing materials, such as area rugs, soft furniture, pillow, etc.. Anything that stops sound waves from bouncing around, which can create reverb or echos. A mostly full closet or even your car can work great for this. You can also place an acoustic panel behind your mic to absorb the sound waves and improve your sound quality.
A good quality recording is the most important part of recording a voiceover. Aside from that, there are a number of steps you can apply in post production to improve the quality of your audio. The following five steps are meant enhance a good recording. They are NOT meant to fix a crappy recording. Just remember if you start with a crappy recording, no amount of effects will fix that, so a good quality recording should be your primary focus.
5 Post Production Steps to Improve Your Voiceover
The five following steps will help enhance your voiceover recording. These five steps are demonstrated in Audacity, but the same principles can be applied in other programs as well
Step One - Noise Reduction
Noise Reduction can reduce constant background sounds such as hum, buzz, and hiss noises, that were not or could not be eliminated before recording. It is not suitable for individual clicks and pops, or irregular background noise such as from traffic or an audience.
Step Two - Compressor
The Compressor Effect reduces the Dynamic Range of your audio, by compressing, or turning down the louder parts. This allows your audio to be amplified without clipping the louder passages.
Step Three - Limiter Filter
Whereas the Compressor Effect is used to compress the louder passages in your recording, the Limiter Filter focuses more on boosting the quieter part more then the louder passages.
Step Four - Equalizer
Equalization is a way of manipulating sounds by Frequency. It allows you to increase the volume of some frequencies and reduce others. There is NO right way to equalize a voiceover clip, but there’s definitely a wrong way. Everyone’s voice is different, so there is no standard way to equalize voice.
Step Five - Normalize
Normalizing Audio applies a constant amount of gain to the audio recording to bring the peak amplitude to a target level. This should always be the last step in your audio workflow for the effect to work properly. Without the dynamic compression achieved with the Compressor Effect and the Limiter Filter, the peaks in your waveform would prevent enough gain to be applied to the softer passages.
Thanks for the great tips. Here they are specific settings you used for future fans: 1. Noise Reduction 2. Compress Threshold -12dB Noise Floor -40dB Ratio 2:1 for most jobs Attack 0.20 secs Release 1.0 Leave the bottom two boxes unchecked 3. Limiter Hard Limit for voice overs Gain 3-4dB Limit -3dB (single track) to -4.5dB (multitrack) Hold 2.0 4. EQ-very subjective Bass Boost preset-OK Treble Boost preset-OK 5. Normalize last Check Remove DC Check Normalize at -1.0dB
I Don't Know You, But I love you Bro, Thanks A lot
Thanks Robert!! I did a print screen. Now I don't have to take notes.
Thanks for the summary. Great video.
To enn top frer! It means you're a great guy, thanks man!
Thank you so much
In Audacity 2.4.2 there is a Macro function whereby you can add a new macro and save multiple steps together. I successfully created a new macro to do all your steps at once, apart from the initial "get noise profile". Do that step first, then select the entire track and call up the Macro command. Very useful if you use the same commands and settings all the time on your audio files.
Thanks a lot for this advice bro
Thank you
Super helpful, thanks for the tip. To confirm, you got the noise profile, started the macro recording, went through all the steps listed in the video and stopped the macro?
Talking about quality and simplicity. 3.5 years old video still has huge value. 👌
Finally a useful video, my search lead me to other videos usually over 20 minutes long to cover only one or maybe two of the steps you manage to fit into 6 minutes. This tutorial is a 12/10 would like again.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
hey i remeber u
From where?
There are so many vids out there on this and this is by far the best! Straightforward and gives the best results
Wow man, this is the best short tutorial I've seen on Audacity! Iv'e been recording VO for my kid, but never happy with the output...these simple 5 steps were game-changing! Thanks for this!
I love that you added the before and after at the end so that we could see the difference! I was so hoping you would and you did!
This is awesome man! I didn't realise what I was missing out on before I saw this video.
Thank you so much for a straightforward tutorial that a non-technical person can understand! I can’t wait to try it!
Glad you enjoyed it!
totally agree! Me too
I really have to thank you. My audio track moved up to a professional-like in 5 simple steps. This tutorial is fantastic. Thank you again!
My brilliant FCPX teacher! This tutorial on Audacity was straight to the point and short. Thank you Serge!
Just WOW !!! Can't get better than this. Straight to the point, simple to understand and 100% results ! Thanks a ton.
Excellent tutorial. Straight to the point without needless banter. You explained each step and why they were done and provided helpful tips along the way. Best Audacity tutorial I've seen to date. Thank you.
THANK YOU! I'm completely new at this, but really want to make it work. Your video is the first one that is full of helpful information, but also have it be clear and concise (making it easy to understand and execute). Thanks you so much
Huge thanks for your clear and concise guidance with this program. For non-english speakers your attention to detail, use of windows, and above slow and clear speaking voice are particularly appreciated.
Thank you for this video. I just applied this setting as you thought here and my audio sounds better than my usual settings. Thank you.
I always had trouble with audacity for years, especially now when I finally got on par recording setup on my chromebook, I can finally see how I can use this for my work and many more future work.
I keep coming back to this video as a guide for mixing my voice-overs. It's a great guide. Thanks!
Best Tutorial video I've seen so far! finally someone who just gets to the point with out wasting my time. Great work dude
Just got into voiceover work recently, so this is a Godsend. Thank you so much for posting such a clear explanation.
Totally improved the vocals I had to edit for learning content. such an amazing and quick way to improve the overall quality of the sound. thank you for the very specific direction in your video.
Very concise and useful info! Since I do audiobooks, I tend to use RMS Normalize instead of Compression and Normalize, although it means running Noise Reduction twice. Finish with the ACX Analyze to make sure it all is within spec, or adjust if necessary.
Very nice explanation. I tried all the settings you suggested and audio quality increased significantly.
Thank you for putting that up. I'm an Audacity/Recording newbie and found it really helpful.
Thanks for the suggestions on using compressor and limiter! I had played with the compressor briefly but had not worked out the most ideal settings. One counterpoint: I would NOT recommend the default Noise Reduction setting of -12dB, except as a last resort. It seems to introduce high frequency artifacts similar to those heard in a low-bit rate source. If I'm not mistaken, I'm hearing them in your voiceover on this video. After experimenting with the noise reduction a fair bit, I've cut back to 6dB max, or even 3dB if I had the luxury of a quiet room during the recording.
This is amazing, out of all how to's you outweigh everyone! Thank you so much for this, its exactly what im looking for my voiceovers
Finally a concise, helpful and understandable tutorial vid. You are amazing at getting the info out there without the twaddle so many you-tubers go on with. Certainly the best lesson I ever watched on tech stuff that I normally have to wade through on KZhead ! Thank you so much Serge! You’re a legend!
Exactly! Short, concise, to the point! Thank you!
Mate, thank you so much. I'm a brand new youtuber and audio is the hardest part for me to fix at this point in time. You have expedited the process by at least 3 months from this video. Liked and subscribed and a big fat thank you.
Awesome, watched the video, done the editing and it was superb. All this took me just 30 minutes for the first time. You saved a lot of my time :)
Hey Serge, thanks for this! This is very helpful! You were brief and straight to the point! I look forward to seeing more of your videos! You just earned a new subscriber! :)
Thank you so much. Had a humming voice from my soft box lights that was bothering me. Much better now. Will come back to this tutorial in the future.
Serge THANK YOU! I don't know how I missed this one. Just applied the settings on a project, excepted the equalizer 9 a bit too much IMO), and this is awesome.
Thanks, I've been using Audacity for a year or two but this was like an open sesame to all the ways i could have been using it properly!
thank you, i did some of this before on other youtube videos, but his one made me 100% ready start posting my reviews!
Wow I was pretty suprised. I normally use my mixer to add bass to make my mic sound better but it just made it more sensitive to low sound witch made it clip easily but now with audacity and thanks to your help, my audio recordings sound a lot more better (and I mean A LOT, like from cheap to studio). Thanks a lot
Just to say thanks for a really helpful video - I've just applied it to a previous 'best effort' clip in Shotcut, transferring the settings used in Audacity as far as possible, and it's a huge improvement!
Thank, mate. Have a deadline on Sunday and this saved me a lot of headache. Too many social media producers are expecting video editors to fix their horrible audio and it's insane.
Thank you, this tutorial has been very useful. You have demystified what was once dark murky waters for me. I find that in my recording scenario, doing an additional round of noise reduction at the end was useful. But this may introduce artifacts so experimentation is necessary.
I used to do Noise Reduction and Compressor effects for my voiceovers...Limiter,EQ,Normalise etc I used for my music recordings,...but after watching your video, i will try using those for voiceovers too...thanks!
Thank you Serge, this is my go to video for voice overs
This will help me in my VO journey! Thanks, my man!!
Great tip Serge. Quick and simple
This was actually so helpful thank you! Actually made my audio sound closer to professional.
Thank you for the clear explaination of what each effect does. I have a much better understanding now of the purpose for the Compressor and Limiter!
Thank you for this GREAT tutorial Serge! I got my first offer to narrate an audiobook and this has been very helpful!!!!
Thank you! The Bass and Treble Boost were exactly what I needed!
Thank you very much! Been looking for this kind of video everywhere!
these settings are absolutely awesome. I don't have the best microphones & this made it 10x better!
Thanks for the video Serge!! I spent too many hours doing research before finding this gem!!
Great advices Serge. You helped me improve my sound
I don't usually leave comments on videos, but your short tutorial here literally solved a headache of finding answers regarding these EXACT function's purposes. You've earned a subscriber in me! If Serge or anyone can answer, when is it subjectively advised to apply the bass and/or treble boost to voice over recordings?
This was super helpful. Love your clear instructions. Thank you!
This video was so helpful getting back into using audacity again it's quick and easy. Straight to the point just how I like it!
These videos are wonderful and so helpful to starters and sometimes even professionals.
I am always amazed at how much I learn from you. Whenever I need to find out how to do something, you have the answer. Many thanks, Serge.
Happy to help!
This video was crazygud! I took that exact 6 minutes and the result is REALLY great! Huge thanks!
THANK YOU serge for valuable information, this helps me lot in my audio editing :)
Thank you so much about this!! Have a great day everyone!
eh bro I've saved this vid and have used it many times over the last year. I bookmarked it and use it when I have to edit audio for a podcast or a voiceover for a vid. super appreciate this vid, i know my audio quality isn't perfect but this gets me like 90% of the way there with no fuss. Thanks a lot
Thank you Serge, your voice very crisp and clear
It's so nice to find an Audacity tutorial with good quality audio!
Thank you for the tips and this improved my audio quality
Thanks a lot man. My voice quality improves after applying those effects. Great video!
Such an easy-to-understand video, great job! Other tutorials are just too long for me and hard to understand
Great video, easy to follow, explains everything, short, concise... have I praised you enough?
These tips made my voiceover so much better. Thank you!!
thank you.. good clear steps... much improved audio!
This was quick and right to the point with very specific instructions which I love. I don't even know if they work yet lol but I'm about to re=watch the video and this time take notes so thank you!
EXCELLENT!!!!! Thank you so much for making this VERY immportant step easy to understand!!
Thank you for this Serge! Much help for us newbies. 🙏🌹🙏
You won me over at the 2 second intro !! Very informative with no messing around. Straight to the point and by God it worked !! This should be a tutorial on how to do a tutorial. Thankyou very much indeed kind sir !! You taught an old dog new tricks. Now I sound as sexy as I feel for a 42 year old man xD well I will in future videos at least
You are GREAT MAN !! Thank you for your priceless help!
Thanks a lot man...there are lots of bad videos related to this topic...i followed urs and my voice is 100 times better now
Yay! It works! So good result! Thanks!
Thank you Serge! This video was VERY Helpful!!
This is a Brilliant breakdown! Nice,simple definitions/descriptions for everything. Clear and everything worked really smoothly! I'm working on being a Audiobook Producer and now that I have the equipment, my homemade whisper room and this great editing breakdown, I feel so much more confident! TYSM! I'm very grateful and wish you all the creative vibes! Be Well!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for your concise and helpful tutorial on some of the basics.
Just bought a yeti and I was looking for a video like this. Great stuff!! thanks bunches
Excellent advice - this has certainly been a big help. Thanks!
You know what happens? Do you know what happens when you make a really good and helpful video? Huh? YOU JUST MADE THE PLAYLIST!
OneManCast cringe
Y2J
@@maravillas No u.
Do see what happens Larry?
Hello, I love this video. I've been using Audacity for a week and found some great videos, but I am able to follow your steps while working on the audio. You speak so clearly and at the right pace and get right to the point. Thank you for your thorough tutorial. Could you answer whether or not the Levelator app would be needed after I follow your steps. I like the results I receive with following your video, yet I want to know if there are more steps involved in editing/mastering audio in Audacity. Perhaps, you have additional videos on Audacity? Thank you, again.
Great comprehensive video. Great jo!
I was looking around for tips to make my voice sound better In my Let´s Plays and your tips really helped me to figure out how to do it, thanks. :)
Really excellent video - improved my voiceover immesurably in just a few minutes.
This took my recordings to the next level. Many thanks!
In Audacity 2.3.3, the Equalization effect has been replaced by two new effects: Filter Curve: An FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) filter, similar to "Draw" mode in the old Equalization effect. Graphic EQ: A graphic equalizer, similar to the "Graphic" mode in the old Equalization effect. The old Equalization effect is no longer available. Note that in the new effects, the preset curves are now accessed via the "Manage" button, in "Factory Presets".
Really nice, I’ll definitely apply these settings for my voiceover tomorrow. Subscribed the channel
I have a slightly different approach but I've learned a new one from you. Thank you Serge!
Great information. Explaining what each step actually does to your audio in layman's terms is the most valuable information that can be provided. I personally do my Equalizer right after Noise Reduction, but to each their own, so long as Normalize is the last step.
Agreed about the normalize step. I'd love to hear about your Audacity workflow. Always open to learnign and trying different things
Excellent tutorial and extremely valuable. Thank you.
Such a good video, most tutorials just show the steps but you also explained the why and that is what i look for in tutorials. Great job!
I find it helps a lot when people know why they are doing what they’re doing
Incredible tutorial..Great job and really appreciate for putting this up
Wow dude thank you so much, this improved my demo reel a lot. :D
another great post. Thanks, Serge
excellent video . top notch .as others have stated simple,quick and straight to the point o and it makes a big difference to my voice over on my channel . kudos to you
Straight to the point and really helpful
This is the best tutorial so far ,, simple and to the point,
Great video buddy, very helpful. Thanks!!!
Wow, really helpful video and a fantastic final result. Thanks!
This was a fantastic quick tutoring...thank you so, so much!