#Audacity compressor how to#
#Audacity compressor professional#

Like I said, even though Audacity is quite basic compared to other professional DAWs out there, do you really want to go through all the headache of tweaking all of those? So, if this is your first time to master your podcast, do you really want to do it by yourself? You will also notice that moving the mouse up and down changes the size of the waveform.ĭragging up increases the volume, while dragging down lowers it. Hold down the left mouse button and scan sideways through your audio file.Īs you scan sideways, you are automatically highlighting sections within the file. Look for it at the middle part of the Audacity window (it’s the hour glass shaped icon). In a nutshell, using an Envelope Tool allows you to tweak the volume of a sound file.īut then again, as with anything associated with mastering, it’s not as straightforward as you think. In fact you will be given three settings to tweak Threshold, Noise Floor, Ratio, Attack Time and Release Time. Is that it? Well, you have the option to click “OK”, but it won’t do much. To apply compression to your audio file, all you need to do is: To make it easier to understand, think of it as Audacity getting rid of loud parts in your audio file.ĭuring the second part of compression, and since all the loud parts have been removed, it then increases the volume of the entire file. To see the exact db reading, click on a section of the waveform and click Analyze -> Plot Spectrum.Īudacity will then provide you with a graph that indicates the db reading of each point within said highlighted section.Ĭompression is the act of lowering the gap between the quietest and loudest parts of an audio track.įirst part is that it reduces any audio that goes beyond a specific level you indicated. This though does not completely show you the exact decibel reading of each section. You following all of this so far? Good! Volume LevelsĪudacity shows you the sound of your recording in waveform. This gives you a sound signal that is loud enough, but one that still leaves enough space before hitting the 0db ceiling. When podcasting using Audacity, aim for a db level that’s between -7db and -14db. Go beyond it and you get a distorted sound – and if you’re lucky, a busted speaker as well.

The ceiling in terms of what an audible db is at 0db. Now the first thing you need to understand is that Audacity measures sound levels in “db” (decibels). Since I am assuming that this is your first dive into the world of mastering audio tracks, then I guess we should start from the basics.

#Audacity compressor how to#

How To Use Audacity For Mastering: Where Do You Start? Mastering on the other hand is making sure that the engine, exhaust and brake system of your car is tweaked to its top racing performance. Going back to the Honda Civic example mixing is you taking all the racing parts and putting them into the car. Now all of those need to be arranged in such a way to make it sound properly, right? MixingĪ typical podcast usually has an intro music, the actual program itself, advertisement and outro music, right? Well, there’s actually a huge difference between the two. Now some people believe that they don’t need to master their audio source because they already “mixed” everything. Mastering gets rid of all unwanted noise and ensures a much better playback quality – irrelevant of the device the file is played on. And I don’t know about you, but listening to music, or in this case, a podcast that is filled with hiss and inconsistent volume levels can be very entertaining. Just like music, podcasts are meant to be listened to. Now some of you might say “Is it really needed?”

This is to ensure that during playback, the sound comes out great. The main reason behind mastering is for you to balance out and optimize elements within an audio file.