What effects, and in what order, do I apply to my recorded voiceover?

[AA63]

To help, I think it would be important to first clear something up.

"Voiceover" recording (for example, normal speaking/narrating over background music) is very different than singing (or rapping) over music.

You will be EQ/Compressing/Limiting in both, but the degree and techniques are very different - as are what "should" be done in different types of music to achieve a good result.

So... what is it that you are doing? If it is actual music, could you link to a similar song?

And unless it's VoiceOver work (as I described it above) - I would HIGHLY suggest you use a simple DAW (I mentioned Garage Band in the other post but choose whatever) - they are the right tool for music recording. Audacity can of course do it, but it really wasn't built for multi-track recording/music production.

Using a proper DAW will make your life much easier as most of what you are asking about are already presets built into the included plug-ins - and we can guide you from a proper perspective, instead of starting from workarounds.

A

 

[ruidito]

To help, I think it would be important to first clear something up.

"Voiceover" recording (for example, normal speaking/narrating over background music) is very different than singing (or rapping) over music.

You will be EQ/Compressing/Limiting in both, but the degree and techniques are very different - as are what "should" be done in different types of music to achieve a good result.

So... what is it that you are doing? If it is actual music, could you link to a similar song?

And unless it's VoiceOver work (as I described it above) - I would HIGHLY suggest you use a simple DAW (I mentioned Garage Band in the other post but choose whatever) - they are the right tool for music recording. Audacity can of course do it, but it really wasn't built for multi-track recording/music production.

Using a proper DAW will make your life much easier as most of what you are asking about are already presets built into the included plug-ins - and we can guide you from a proper perspective, instead of starting from workarounds.

A

Thank you so much for the clarification.

I want to record my voice reading what I've written. I want to overlay my own voice, without music, onto an instrumental track already recorded by someone else. Does that make sense?

Step 1: Record my spoken voice on a track (I'm using Audacity instead of GarageBand because I have both Windows and Mac, so I chose a program that runs on both).

Step 2: Take the instrumental track already recorded by someone else and open it in Audacity.

Step 3: Open my recorded spoken voice and overlay it with the instrumental track from step 2.

Now, my question is: Should I apply effects (EQ/Compressing/Limiting, etc.) to my spoken voice and then overlay it onto the instrumental track and render everything then, or should I apply the effects before rendering, when I combine my spoken voice (without effects) onto the instrumental track?

Thank you very much.

 

[SHB]

Here’s how I do it in the studio:

• Run any digital noise reduction first. This will be true whether it’s preprocessing the file or in the insert effects chain. This is for eliminating noise that will be present while the gate is open.

• Next is the high-pass filter. Generally, it’s 80Hz, but you can change that if needed if you do it as an insert. If the track is using noise reduction processing, you possibly won’t need this.

• Next is the gate/downward expander. You want this set so it doesn’t compete with the dynamics processing farther down the chain.

• Now we have the compressor. This will process the dynamics after the gate has opened.

• Finally, you have the limiter. Since it’s only there to keep the track from going above 0dB, you want to set it so it rarely does any processing. Of course, if it’s being used as a special effect, this doesn’t necessarily apply.

• Now that all the dynamics and background noises have been handled, hit up your EQ.

• From this point, any insert or send FX come into play here

I didn’t bother getting into parameters since that’s beyond the scope of the question, but I can provide guidance for that.

 

[ruidito]

Here’s how I do it in the studio:

• Run any digital noise reduction first. This will be true whether it’s preprocessing the file or in the insert effects chain. This is for eliminating noise that will be present while the gate is open.

• Next is the high-pass filter. Generally, it’s 80Hz, but you can change that if needed if you do it as an insert. If the track is using noise reduction processing, you possibly won’t need this.

• Next is the gate/downward expander. You want this set so it doesn’t compete with the dynamics processing farther down the chain.

• Now we have the compressor. This will process the dynamics after the gate has opened.

• Finally, you have the limiter. Since it’s only there to keep the track from going above 0dB, you want to set it so it rarely does any processing. Of course, if it’s being used as a special effect, this doesn’t necessarily apply.

• Now that all the dynamics and background noises have been handled, hit up your EQ.

• From this point, any insert or send FX come into play here

I didn’t bother getting into parameters since that’s beyond the scope of the question, but I can provide guidance for that.

You are very kind, thank you so much for being so clear and precise.

I didn’t bother getting into parameters since that’s beyond the scope of the question, but I can provide guidance for that.

I haven't recorded anything yet; I'm still gathering information to get a clear picture and get organized. When I do and reach that point, if I need help, I'll write to you then. Thank you so much, really.

 

[Multicore]

The answer depends on (A) what you've got and (B) what you want. Effects are how you get from A to B.

I learned a bit about the topic a few years ago when I needed to produce a podcast. The input audio (A) is what it is and there's only so much I can do about the performance and recording equipment and conditions. What I wanted (B) was maximum intelligibility in podcast listening conditions, e.g. in the car, on a subway train, walking the dogs, doing the dishes. Also consistency and no distractions. Listening to broadcast radio and many other podcasts gave me a clearer idea of what I did and did not want.

I wouldn't recommend anything specific to you for several reasons. First, I don't know your A and B. Second, I only really know what worked for me and my A and B. Finally, things are changing extremely fast in the software tools available in this area. Since I learned how to do it I believe tools that automate and hide most of the technical aspects so that you don't need to learn them. Setting up and using a EBU R-128 leveler used to be something you'd have to learn to do but these days I expect you get a plugin, maybe adjust a knob or two of the more/less effect kind and it does the rest. Same with compensating a comb-filter effect in the A. Or EQing each voice so it's the same on each recording despite differences in recording conditions or nasal congestion etc.

For example, a few weeks ago I stumbled on CrumplePop "Advanced audio AI removes noise and boosts your vocal quality. Toggle it on/off to hear the difference." I mentioned it to a friend in radio. He told me a few days later that his wife, a podcast producer who has to deal with fairly badly recorded inputs, bought it almost immediately because it works so well.

You can still do it all the old fashioned way and get good results but that means spending time on learning to do that, time you could spend on your content instead.

 

[ruidito]

The answer depends on (A) what you've got and (B) what you want. Effects are how you get from A to B.

I learned a bit about the topic a few years ago when I needed to produce a podcast. The input audio (A) is what it is and there's only so much I can do about the performance and recording equipment and conditions. What I wanted (B) was maximum intelligibility in podcast listening conditions, e.g. in the car, on a subway train, walking the dogs, doing the dishes. Also consistency and no distractions. Listening to broadcast radio and many other podcasts gave me a clearer idea of what I did and did not want.

I wouldn't recommend anything specific to you for several reasons. First, I don't know your A and B. Second, I only really know what worked for me and my A and B. Finally, things are changing extremely fast in the software tools available in this area. Since I learned how to do it I believe tools that automate and hide most of the technical aspects so that you don't need to learn them. Setting up and using a EBU R-128 leveler used to be something you'd have to learn to do but these days I expect you get a plugin, maybe adjust a knob or two of the more/less effect kind and it does the rest. Same with compensating a comb-filter effect in the A. Or EQing each voice so it's the same on each recording despite differences in recording conditions or nasal congestion etc.

For example, a few weeks ago I stumbled on CrumplePop "Advanced audio AI removes noise and boosts your vocal quality. Toggle it on/off to hear the difference." I mentioned it to a friend in radio. He told me a few days later that his wife, a podcast producer who has to deal with fairly badly recorded inputs, bought it almost immediately because it works so well.

You can still do it all the old fashioned way and get good results but that means spending time on learning to do that, time you could spend on your content instead.

I find your answer interesting.

Thank you very much.