Audiobook post-production. How to get my voice sound very good and professional?

cydmm

New member
Hi,
I am an Italian guy and I have recorded a couple of chapters of an Audiobook and all the editing is pretty much done, I already applied a light Noise reduction and a very subtle noise gate in order to clean the recording from background noise.
After that, I applied a smooth compression using Waves Rcompressor plugin a friend of mine gives me as a present … and the result is the one that you can hear with the sample I am attaching to this post. (Sorry if the audio is in Italian language but this should not be a big problem about just audio quality and its sound. At least I hope so….)

But from here, I a still don’t know how to finish in order to let my voice come out as best as possible…I mean a voice that sounds clear, professional, pleasant to listen to.
I do record with a Rode NT1a in a not so noisy environment. My DAW is Adobe Audition CC 2018.
What EQ should I use, if any? Anytime I try to Hi-pass at 80 Hz even with a smooth reduction, its seeems my bass tones get worse. I have monitor headphones (Audio Technica Pro ATH-M50X) and the bass range of my voice seems some boxy, too strong for me but friends listening to it do like my voice.
Maybe this roll-off is pretty unuseful here?
Do you think there are effects I should apply in order to improve the sound of my voice, considering it is an audiobook?
Which chain do you suggest to use?

I am attaching two samples: “Original Cleaned” is a portion of my recording after only the very light noise reduction and the subtle noise gate. While, the other file “Effects” is my result after applying a very light high shelf (2db) after 6KHz to give some more presence and “air”, and the smooth compression.

Thanking you all, I am looking forward to receiving your comments and suggestions

Mark
 

Attachments

  • Effects.mp3
    1.9 MB · Views: 32
  • Original Cleaned.mp3
    1.8 MB · Views: 56
Hello and welcome. I work with the ACX weekly and just so you know, your audio will not meet their requirements. Your two files are running about -29 to -31dbs RMS. The ACX is between a -18 and -23dbs RMS. Your dbTP is around a -6dbs and when you raise your output level to be between a -18 and -23, your dbTP will be raises as well and then you will fail that requirement. You have heavy breathing as well as loud lip smacks. You will fail on this as well.

Even if you pass the e-tester, once the human ears test it, they will reject you via the last two items I mentioned. I highly suggest you get these requirements under control before you invest any more time into your project, just to be told, you must start over. The highest rejection cause for the ACX is lack of consistency.

As far as your voice goes, it is killer! You mic is a great choice for audio books. It is fast out preforming the Shure 7b. I would use the original track and just roll the low end off around 80 to 100hrz. You mic will record starting at 20hrz. The ACX frowns on "Over Processing" and your mic can supply a very clean signal. You need to concentrate/practice on breathing as well as mic placement to soften the lip smacks so they can be filtered out or slightly gated. Drink plenty of water and try rubbing Vaseline on your lips as well. This may help with the smack attacks.

Your noise floor exceeds the ACX requirements of a -60db max by 30dbs. This is outstanding!! I do not use your DAW so I have no advice to help you there. If you want to learn more about the ACX requirements, you can check out this paper I wrote concerning these issues.
 
Hello and welcome. I work with the ACX weekly and just so you know, your audio will not meet their requirements. Your two files are running about -29 to -31dbs RMS. The ACX is between a -18 and -23dbs RMS. Your dbTP is around a -6dbs and when you raise your output level to be between a -18 and -23, your dbTP will be raises as well and then you will fail that requirement. You have heavy breathing as well as loud lip smacks. You will fail on this as well.

Even if you pass the e-tester, once the human ears test it, they will reject you via the last two items I mentioned. I highly suggest you get these requirements under control before you invest any more time into your project, just to be told, you must start over. The highest rejection cause for the ACX is lack of consistency.

As far as your voice goes, it is killer! You mic is a great choice for audio books. It is fast out preforming the Shure 7b. I would use the original track and just roll the low end off around 80 to 100hrz. You mic will record starting at 20hrz. The ACX frowns on "Over Processing" and your mic can supply a very clean signal. You need to concentrate/practice on breathing as well as mic placement to soften the lip smacks so they can be filtered out or slightly gated. Drink plenty of water and try rubbing Vaseline on your lips as well. This may help with the smack attacks.

Your noise floor exceeds the ACX requirements of a -60db max by 30dbs. This is outstanding!! I do not use your DAW so I have no advice to help you there. If you want to learn more about the ACX requirements, you can check out this paper I wrote concerning these issues.

Hi Mack,
thank you for your welcome and thank you for your comments.
Yes, my recording is not sufficiently loud for ACX requirements and even if I normalized it, the Peak Amplitude would raise excessively, since it is at 6dB without touching output level.
But applying some compression wouldn't make the waveform more compact, avoiding those peaks? Then, normalization could raise up output level with no worries to see dangerous peaks. Does it make sense?
The problem is that I don't know which settings to use for the compressor.

As regards your suggestions about loud breaths and mouth clicks you are perfectly right, I do have to radically improve my technique and I will be carefully studying the link you kindly suggested.

Thank you so much for your comments about my voice, I am very happy you liked it and that you think my mic is a very good choice, able to empower my voice and (once I will optimize my reading tecnique) produce a clean and rich sound.

As far as the noise floor is concerned sorry but I do not understand your comment, you mean that I succeeded to have a very quiet recording environment, don't you? My Amplitude statistics from Adobe Audition tell me that it should be like this.

What do you think if I try to make the following series of actions to the original recording:

1) Try to edit breaths and mouth clicks
2) 80-100Hz roll off to cut the lowest frequencies
3) Apply a light compression
4) Normalize

And see if the result would be satisfactory?

Naturally, this doesn't mean that I shall work on my reading tecnique but just to see if thes post-production steps do achieve a good result.

What do you think?
 
I have to agree with Mack Caster -- you have an excellent voice for this kind of work.....if only I could make my voice sound like that! :-(

I think you could edit your sample quite easily to meet most of the ACX amplitude and noise floor requirements (if I've read Mack's post correctly) by using Audition.

I've attached a reworked version which I think might achieve some of what you're after?.... light noise reduction, multiband compression, light exciter setting, gain adjustment and light clipping....
 

Attachments

  • Original Cleaned -20dB (1).mp3
    1.8 MB · Views: 16
Last edited:
Hi Mack,
thank you for your welcome and thank you for your comments.
Yes, my recording is not sufficiently loud for ACX requirements and even if I normalized it, the Peak Amplitude would raise excessively, since it is at 6dB without touching output level.

This is a very easy fix. I can not tell you how to do it in your DAW, but in Reaper, it takes about 4 to 5 mouse clicks to hone in on it.

But applying some compression wouldn't make the waveform more compact, avoiding those peaks? Then, normalization could raise up output level with no worries to see dangerous peaks. Does it make sense?
The problem is that I don't know which settings to use for the compressor.

Adding compression is the worst thing you can do! It is added to the over processed requirements as well as it will make your breathing and lip smacks sound louder. That's what compressors do. They reduce the peaks and this will make the softer audio seem louder.

As regards your suggestions about loud breaths and mouth clicks you are perfectly right, I do have to radically improve my technique and I will be carefully studying the link you kindly suggested.

As with anything in life Brother, Practice, Practice, Practice. It's easy to learn how to do it the wrong way and it is harder to break those habits already learned.

Thank you so much for your comments about my voice, I am very happy you liked it and that you think my mic is a very good choice, able to empower my voice and (once I will optimize my reading tecnique) produce a clean and rich sound.

I would have no problem buying your material. You have what is refereed to as a "Golden Voice" in the audio book industry. Sadly I often have to tell people they just will not be able to make money doing this, as their voice is not a good fit.

As far as the noise floor is concerned sorry but I do not understand your comment, you mean that I succeeded to have a very quiet recording environment, don't you? My Amplitude statistics from Adobe Audition tell me that it should be like this.

Yes. The ACX states your noise floor must be a -60db max. Your example was a -113dbs. Since the loudness gets louder the closer we get to 0dbs, your -113db NF exceeds the ACX by 50dbs. This is fantastic!

What do you think if I try to make the following series of actions to the original recording:

1) Try to edit breaths and mouth clicks
2) 80-100Hz roll off to cut the lowest frequencies
3) Apply a light compression
4) Normalize

And see if the result would be satisfactory?

Naturally, this doesn't mean that I shall work on my reading tecnique but just to see if thes post-production steps do achieve a good result.

What do you think?

Do every thing mentioned above but leave out the compression. It took me 120 secs to bring your audio into ACX requirements. This is without addressing the breathing or smackers.

View attachment 100969
 
I have to agree with Mack Caster -- you have an excellent voice for this kind of work.....if only I could make my voice sound like that! :-(

I think you could edit your sample quite easily to meet most of the ACX amplitude and noise floor requirements (if I've read Mack's post correctly) by using Audition.

I've attached a reworked version which I think might achieve some of what you're after?.... light noise reduction, multiband compression, light exciter setting, gain adjustment and light clipping....

Thank you so much rogs
 
This is a very easy fix. I can not tell you how to do it in your DAW, but in Reaper, it takes about 4 to 5 mouse clicks to hone in on it.



Adding compression is the worst thing you can do! It is added to the over processed requirements as well as it will make your breathing and lip smacks sound louder. That's what compressors do. They reduce the peaks and this will make the softer audio seem louder.



As with anything in life Brother, Practice, Practice, Practice. It's easy to learn how to do it the wrong way and it is harder to break those habits already learned.



I would have no problem buying your material. You have what is refereed to as a "Golden Voice" in the audio book industry. Sadly I often have to tell people they just will not be able to make money doing this, as their voice is not a good fit.



Yes. The ACX states your noise floor must be a -60db max. Your example was a -113dbs. Since the loudness gets louder the closer we get to 0dbs, your -113db NF exceeds the ACX by 50dbs. This is fantastic!



Do every thing mentioned above but leave out the compression. It took me 120 secs to bring your audio into ACX requirements. This is without addressing the breathing or smackers.

View attachment 100969


Mack,
thank you again for your words. I am some embarassed. They are very important to me because they come from an experienced professional that works in the audiobooks business.
That gives me even more energy end effort to improve and do my best in order to make a very good job and...maybe come out with the kind of job I really dreamt of for so long.

Anyway....I just came out with a couple of samples..I made two processings and ... I would like to know which one sounds best in you opinion. Then I will you tell the difference in terms of effects' chain.

Waiting for your precious feedback
 

Attachments

  • New Sample.mp3
    1.8 MB · Views: 11
  • Sample 1.mp3
    1.8 MB · Views: 13
Last edited:
I am leaving this community and I wish you well. I hope others will come to your aid as you truly do have a talent. I produce 30 podcast a month @ $300.00 per account. I employ 4 narrators @ $160.00 per finished hr and just built a studio to bring in more. My rate is $450.00 per hr. There is good money to be made. Keep the faith and above all things, be consistent.
 
.... The ACX states your noise floor must be a -60db max. Your example was a -113dbs. Since the loudness gets louder the closer we get to 0dbs, your -113db NF exceeds the ACX by 50dbs.
I'm not sure how Reaper calculates the noise floor figures, but -113dB seems quite a bit optimistic for the originally posted 'clean' file?

Audition calculates the RMS noise floor for the quietest section of that original file as more like -65dB.... which seems like a more realistic figure. (Still good enough for ACX of course..)
 

Attachments

  • 'Clean' mp3 noise sample.jpg
    'Clean' mp3 noise sample.jpg
    136.7 KB · Views: 21
I'm not sure how Reaper calculates the noise floor figures, but -113dB seems quite a bit optimistic for the originally posted 'clean' file?

Audition calculates the RMS noise floor for the quietest section of that original file as more like -65dB.... which seems like a more realistic figure. (Still good enough for ACX of course..)

I use 4 meters to calibrate my figures. When you deal with the ACX, it is the BG/NF as embedded within the audio I am referring to. I stand by my post. ;-)
 
When you deal with the ACX, it is the BG/NF as embedded within the audio I am referring to....

Fascinating way of considering noise floor figures. I'm sure the marketing people will love it... it's very flattering - compared to the more conventional ways of determining noise floors. :-)

I'm still not quite sure how you get a noise floor of -113dB from a recording with a maximum theoretical dynamic range of only 96dB?...
 
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Auphonic Leveler

Auphonic

I use there product to even out a recorded radio show. I tend to get soe guests that get quiet when they are trying to be sincere and this saves me a lot of trouble. I use Adobe Audition 1.5 to manually remove lip smacks, uhhhhhs, etc.

Good luck!
 
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