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how to make audio book

Talk about anything audio here. From video narration to podcasting, MP3s to MP4s - whatever your flavor, this is the place.

Re: how to make audio book

Postby Bob » Sat Jun 22, 2013 3:31 pm

I don't know how many people here use Sound Forge, I don't. I think that Sound Forge does have a noise reduction tool that works similar to the one in Audacity. Check under the tools menu or look it up in your user manual.

Price isn't always an indicator of quality. Some you will be paying for the "Brand" and others you will pay for the technology. But, be wary of "too cheap" -- there's usually a reason it's cheap. There are different types of microphones and some of the technologies are more expensive to manufacture. Dynamic microphones are generally the least expensive and work well where you can be close to the sound source, but they tend to be noisy if you are trying to pick up quiet sounds at a distance. Condenser microphones are more expensive to manufacture but have a higher frequency response than dynamic microphones. Condenser microphones come in small and large diaphragm. The size of the diaphragm makes a big difference in sound. For voice, you want a large diaphragm which will have a better bass response and will give warmth to the voice. A small diaphragm will pick up highs better, but voice may sound weak or even tinny. There is a large variation in how microphones sound, even among different models from the same manufacturer.

A few tips: If you will be using the microphone in a studio setting where your mouth will be close to the microphone, you'll need a pop filter. This is just a mesh screen that blocks your breath from directly hitting the microphone causing a pop. A foam microphone cover will also work for this and is better in a outdoors setting where you can get wind noise in addition to pops. Condenser microphones require a preamp. This is often built into the microphone. Professional microphones typically use an XLR connection. Those types typically don't have the built-in preamp. Condenser microphones also need an external power source to place a charge on the diaphragm, USB microphones pick that up from the USB power connection, Professional microphones with an XLR connection require a "phantom power" source which is typically built into the mixer or preamp unit.
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Re: how to make audio book

Postby MGadAllah » Sun Jun 23, 2013 1:27 am

wow!
I am really impressed by all the technical information you are diving me into ... honestly impressed and learned a lot :)


Bob wrote:I don't know how many people here use Sound Forge, I don't. I think that Sound Forge does have a noise reduction tool that works similar to the one in Audacity. Check under the tools menu or look it up in your user manual.
Thanks for the tip, I did found it where you said exactly
Image

Price isn't always an indicator of quality. Some you will be paying for the "Brand" and others you will pay for the technology.
Thanks for the tip.

But, be wary of "too cheap" -- there's usually a reason it's cheap.
Ok, I will do so.

There are different types of microphones and some of the technologies are more expensive to manufacture. Dynamic microphones are generally the least expensive and work well where you can be close to the sound source, but they tend to be noisy if you are trying to pick up quiet sounds at a distance. Condenser microphones are more expensive to manufacture but have a higher frequency response than dynamic microphones.
Then I think Condenser Recording Microphone is the best choice for me because I will only need it for the audio book and nothing else.

Condenser microphones come in small and large diaphragm. The size of the diaphragm makes a big difference in sound. For voice, you want a large diaphragm which will have a better bass response and will give warmth to the voice. A small diaphragm will pick up highs better, but voice may sound weak or even tinny. There is a large variation in how microphones sound, even among different models from the same manufacturer.
I am afraid that I can not understand what is the exact meaning of the diaphragm and when I searched in amazon I've found quite many search result but I am not able to understand or figure it out correctly.

A few tips: If you will be using the microphone in a studio setting where your mouth will be close to the microphone, you'll need a pop filter. This is just a mesh screen that blocks your breath from directly hitting the microphone causing a pop.
Thanks a lot for this tip as I never thought about such a thing and will sure get a suitable one.

A foam microphone cover will also work for this and is better in a outdoors setting where you can get wind noise in addition to pops.
I never thought that little tiny thing will make any kind of differences. Thanks for clearing this out :)

Condenser microphones require a preamp. This is often built into the microphone. Professional microphones typically use an XLR connection. Those types typically don't have the built-in preamp.
You mean it is like an amplifier or equalizer?

Condenser microphones also need an external power source to place a charge on the diaphragm, USB microphones pick that up from the USB power connection, Professional microphones with an XLR connection require a "phantom power" source which is typically built into the mixer or preamp unit.
Does it differ in the result of the sound quality to have a usb one or an external power source?

Finally I've a 200 usd budget for the whole thing and the most important thing is the quality of the recorded sound, and I will set in my room and not in a studio and will close as much doors and windows as possible to make it like a silent tube lol hehehehehehe.
So please and I am honestly I am not lazy but if you can suggest a package pre-set or collected manually that would be really amazing.

The reason I am asking is that I've already did bought the Olympus WS-802 Voice Recorder and Olympus ME-51S Stereo Microphone and the result as you realized in the previous uploaded file recorded by Olympus equipment was not good as I was expecting.

The most wired thing that I did sent them an email before I did the buy and they confirmed the quality will be excellent. But it is reminding me with a similar situation happened to me here before when I asked Adobe support staff about something and they were not as super technical knowledge as you were here in the forum.

Thanks a lot and sorry for long reply :)
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Re: how to make audio book

Postby Bob » Tue Jun 25, 2013 4:31 am

You mean it is like an amplifier or equalizer?


Not an equalizer, that's something else. It's a type of amplifier. If you get a USB condenser microphone like the one that Steve uses, you won't need to worry about it. Likewise, with a USB microphone, it gets the power from the USB connection.

Does it differ in the result of the sound quality to have a usb one or an external power source?


No. There should be no difference.

I am afraid that I can not understand what is the exact meaning of the diaphragm and when I searched in amazon I've found quite many search result but I am not able to understand or figure it out correctly.


The condenser element is a thin membrane or diaphragm that vibrates when sound waves hit it. The condenser diaphragm and it's backing plate have a voltage applied and the sound vibrations change the electrical properties. This generates the audio signal that the microphone produces. The size of the condenser element does make a difference. But, that's not usually given in the specs. There usually is a mention in the description. The microphone Steve uses says it has a large condenser element for a warm sound.

You may need to go into the sound settings and increase the microphone levels if the microphone is not loud enough.

The microphone Steve linked to should be fine. But, before you buy another microphone, check the settings on your Olympus voice recorder. It shouldn't have that much noise. You may have the sensitivity turned up too high. Try the dictation setting and record with the unit closer to your mouth, say 10 cm give or take. That close, you may need a pop filter.
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Re: how to make audio book

Postby MGadAllah » Tue Jun 25, 2013 6:25 am

Thanks a lot :)

The microphone Steve linked to should be fine. But, before you buy another microphone, check the settings on your Olympus voice recorder. It shouldn't have that much noise. You may have the sensitivity turned up too high. Try the dictation setting and record with the unit closer to your mouth, say 10 cm give or take. That close, you may need a pop filter.
I will do so and feed you back.
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Re: how to make audio book

Postby RJ Johnston » Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:04 am

I have the Olympus WS-802, and use it mainly as an MP3 player. Today, while I was walking, I took a dollar bill out of my pocket and folded it over the top of the Olympus to cover the microphones and then started talking with the microphone close to my mouth. When I played back the recording, there weren't any pops, and the quality was maintained. I had the Olympus set to "VCVA" (Variable Control Voice Actuator) record mode.

No matter what microphone I buy, I am still not going to sound like Stacey Keach.
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Re: how to make audio book

Postby MGadAllah » Wed Jun 26, 2013 2:17 am

What is the recording mode you used?
Lecture, Conference, Meeting, Dictation, DNS ...etc

So no matter what is the setting I am using ... recording using the WS-802 will not be good always ?
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Re: how to make audio book

Postby RJ Johnston » Thu Jun 27, 2013 1:13 am

VCVA is a feature where recording stops when there is silence, and then recording starts again when there is sound. This saves memory by eliminating the silent parts.

When VCVA is on, the "scene" options -- lecture, conference, meeting, dictation, DNS -- are not available. You have to turn off "scenes" in order to turn on VCVA. VCVA is 2 items up from Scenes on the REC menu.

Dictation and DNS should provide the best quality of the "Scene" options by eliminating surrounding noise that would be picked up with lecture, conference, or meeting.

With VCVA, you control the noise threshold by adjusting a slider. When the noise threshold is set high, the sound has to be loud before recording starts. With a low noise threshold, any noise will cause recording to start, which is not desirable.

If you do not want to bother with VCVA, then go to "Scenes" and choose either dictation or DNS. DNS is for speech-to-text recognition with Dragon Naturally Speaking software.
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