[OK]One minute test

All languages: post your test recording here. Help check audio files, provide editing services, and advertise for proof-listeners.
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Evilsheep
Posts: 2
Joined: September 9th, 2020, 10:28 am

Post by Evilsheep » September 21st, 2020, 2:05 pm

Good Afternoon!

I finished and uploaded my one minute test, so any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

File link: https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_evilsheep.mp3
Software: Audacity 2.4.2
OS: Windows 10
Mic type: USB

adrianstephens
Posts: 1397
Joined: August 27th, 2019, 5:06 am
Location: Cambridge UK
Contact:

Post by adrianstephens » September 23rd, 2020, 3:16 am

Evilsheep wrote:
September 21st, 2020, 2:05 pm
Good Afternoon!

I finished and uploaded my one minute test, so any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you in advance!

File link: https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_evilsheep.mp3
Software: Audacity 2.4.2
OS: Windows 10
Mic type: USB
Hello Andrew,
Welcome to librivox. You have a nice clear voice, I had no trouble understanding you.

Congratulations - you meet librivox's technical standards. Proof Listen OK!
-----------------------
You can stop reading here and get on with recording. I have additional comments that you can read if you want to develop your technique.

I don't like the sound if your microphone (meaning, if I was going to listen to a whole book, this would be sufficient to dissuade me). Someone, somewhere is processing (and distorting) the speech.
Is this the raw file? If so, the microphone must be doing it (see my video below on mics listened to). In that case, you might want to experiment with an alternative mic.
If it's you, you need to tone down any noise reduction or noise gating.


If you want to upload a new version and quote this message in your reply, I'll get a notification and will go in and re-check.


If you haven't already, you might spend some time browsing through the LibriVox Wiki. It contains a wealth of great information that you'll find useful and informative about who does what, and various technical aspects.

I suggest you spend some time becoming familiar with the forum and looking for projects that you think you'd enjoy working on. Just jump right in wherever it feels comfortable. Most of all, always have fun. You'll find lots of interesting material to record. If you're like me, you'll also discover you're learning a lot in the process and being exposed to books I otherwise wouldn't have opened or known about. You'll be contributing to an interesting project and interacting with a lot of fun and varied fellow LibriVox volunteers in the process. I recommend starting with short works, such as poetry and dramatic readings.

Thank you for participating in Librivox,
Adrian Stephens

PS - If you're interested in developing your technique, and have the time to spare there's a whole bunch of informative YouTube videos.
Our excellent admin Phil has recorded a lot of highly accessible videos (https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php?title=Instructional_Videos).

I have also recorded a number of YouTube videos on this subject, longer (and thereby going into more detail) than Phil's.

Part 0: Introduction. https://youtu.be/pMHYycgA5VU
Part 1: Installing Audacity https://youtu.be/w_QZ15c4_10
Part 2: Setting the Volume https://youtu.be/-RoWbeJoMKk
Part 3: The Checker Program https://youtu.be/-5szxU8JE7c
Part 4: ReplayGain plugin https://youtu.be/jwmSVJIDeVM
Part 5: Performance and Volume https://youtu.be/WaekYMX519I
Part 6: Microphones looked at https://youtu.be/gcVYx3ZSrfs
Part 7: Microphones listened to https://youtu.be/607ijxEw7mU
Part 8: Noise Reduction Using Audacity https://youtu.be/KsFkmvF-9d0
Part 9: Avoiding Pops https://youtu.be/zPpz1qv0XSk
Part 10: Recording and Marking Mistakes https://youtu.be/G_ceO3YmcM8
Part 11: Editing Marked Speech https://youtu.be/la87iCO7HeI
Part 12: Recording Dramatic Works https://youtu.be/ZuRKu9s9Krw
Part 13: Introduction to the Librivox forum https://youtu.be/ukGUc_Cyr0o
Part 14: Participating in Librivox https://youtu.be/_gCcMGey04E
Part 15: Case Study (Poem) https://youtu.be/41sr_VC1Qxo
Part 16: Case Study 2 (Dramatic Reading) https://youtu.be/GBIAd469vnM
Part 17: Editing using labels https://youtu.be/eM7wcwAL84w
My Librivox-related YouTube series starts here: Part 0: Introduction. https://youtu.be/pMHYycgA5VU
...
Part 15: Case Study (Poem) https://youtu.be/41sr_VC1Qxo
Part 16: Case Study 2 (Dramatic Reading) https://youtu.be/GBIAd469vnM

Evilsheep
Posts: 2
Joined: September 9th, 2020, 10:28 am

Post by Evilsheep » October 15th, 2020, 2:00 pm

adrianstephens wrote:
September 23rd, 2020, 3:16 am
I don't like the sound if your microphone (meaning, if I was going to listen to a whole book, this would be sufficient to dissuade me). Someone, somewhere is processing (and distorting) the speech.
Is this the raw file? If so, the microphone must be doing it (see my video below on mics listened to). In that case, you might want to experiment with an alternative mic.
If it's you, you need to tone down any noise reduction or noise gating.


If you want to upload a new version and quote this message in your reply, I'll get a notification and will go in and re-check.
I switched to a different microphone, so hopefully this will be a little better. I don't know if uploading a file with the same name overwrote the old file, but the link is the same. Please let me know what you think!

File link: https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_evilsheep.mp3
Software: Audacity 2.4.2
OS: Windows 10
Mic type: USB

adrianstephens
Posts: 1397
Joined: August 27th, 2019, 5:06 am
Location: Cambridge UK
Contact:

Post by adrianstephens » October 15th, 2020, 10:46 pm

Evilsheep wrote:
October 15th, 2020, 2:00 pm
adrianstephens wrote:
September 23rd, 2020, 3:16 am
I don't like the sound if your microphone (meaning, if I was going to listen to a whole book, this would be sufficient to dissuade me). Someone, somewhere is processing (and distorting) the speech.
Is this the raw file? If so, the microphone must be doing it (see my video below on mics listened to). In that case, you might want to experiment with an alternative mic.
If it's you, you need to tone down any noise reduction or noise gating.


If you want to upload a new version and quote this message in your reply, I'll get a notification and will go in and re-check.
I switched to a different microphone, so hopefully this will be a little better. I don't know if uploading a file with the same name overwrote the old file, but the link is the same. Please let me know what you think!

File link: https://librivox.org/uploads/tests/test_evilsheep.mp3
Software: Audacity 2.4.2
OS: Windows 10
Mic type: USB

Hello Evilsheep,

This sound is *much* better. You are still Proof Listen OK.

Advisory: There is some minor background noise. It sounds to me like traffic rumble, with a bit of mains-powered motor. It can just about be heard with good headphones.
You can listen to the noise by taking a portion of silence and normalizing it (Audacity Effects/Normalize) to that you can hear it clearly. Think to yourself, what is the source of the noise?
There are three things you might try to reduce the background noise. You might need to do more than one of these.

To make the noise visible in Audacity you need to switch the track’s display mode to “Waveform (db)” using the little pulldown arrow just to the right of the track name (prior to Audacity 2.4) or in Edit/Preferences/Tracks/Default Waveform scale: Logarithmic (dB) (Audacity 2.4 onwards). I recommend leaving it there, as I do all my editing in this mode.

1. Avoid the noise. Move to a quieter room. Turn off the clothes drier. Choose a quieter time of day to record. Set the laptop power settings to “passive cooling”.
2. Move closer to the microphone, but watch out for those “p” sounds! You should be about 4 to 12 inches (10-30cm) from the microphone. You will need to position it to the side and/or use a pop filter.
3. Use noise reduction using Audacity as shown here: [https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/Noise_Cleaning](https://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/Noise_Cleaning). I recommend making this a part of your editing routine. You’ll be surprised how much difference it makes, but be careful of over-doing it (more than about 18dB), which can affect the quality.


Thank you, again, for participating in Librivox,
Adrian Stephens
My Librivox-related YouTube series starts here: Part 0: Introduction. https://youtu.be/pMHYycgA5VU
...
Part 15: Case Study (Poem) https://youtu.be/41sr_VC1Qxo
Part 16: Case Study 2 (Dramatic Reading) https://youtu.be/GBIAd469vnM

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