Assist Cleaning Up Audio File

LRClifford02 wrote on 4/29/2020, 3:10 PM

Sound Forge Pro V 11.0 (Build 299). There are no modules added on. Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. I know this is all old but I believe the version of the program and OS are not important. The plan is to upgrade in the future. I am familiar with a relatively few features of the program. I am recording a talk that has too much base. I have no control over the recording. It is possible to understand, but difficult. Would someone please tell what steps I must do to clean up this file?

I attached a small mp3 file.

 

 

Comments

rraud wrote on 4/29/2020, 5:57 PM

Can you post the file somewhere for download? (Dropbox or other file sharing site) Analyzing it within Sound Forge would yield better recommendations and possible presets.

LRClifford02 wrote on 4/30/2020, 9:13 AM

If I did it correctly the file can be downloaded from We Transfer. This will last 6 days. Thank you for offering to help. This is the link to the file.

https://wetransfer.com/downloads/6bfe36e0ebe28b3a8b34037217de841120200430140758/56de64074fac86676111c695d7c49c6020200430140844/7dc6b8

rraud wrote on 4/30/2020, 10:28 AM

Not a very good recording, It is very muddy... likely preamp or other input stage distortion. Not a lot can be done to fix that. EQ (equalization) helps some. Below is a screenshot of a 'Track EQ' setting, I can post the preset if you have 'Preset Manager' which would be in SF 'Tools' menu.

iZotope's RX Advanced or Spectral Layers 'may' help some as well (time an money). Maybe someone else on the forum has the time and tools to help out further...
.

Addendum,below are the Track EQ parameters:

Band 1 (High Pass Filter)
Freq. Hz: 112
Gain dB: -12
Rolloff: 12 dB

Band 2  (Notch)
Freq. Hz: 192
Gain: -4
Q: 1.8

Band 3 (Notch)
Freq. Hz: 2265
Gain: 0.7
Q: 3.8

Band 4  (Low Pass Filter)
Freq. Hz: 7544
Gain: - Inf
Rolloff dB: 12

LRClifford02 wrote on 4/30/2020, 7:10 PM

rraud, thank you for the information. I will try your solution in a few days. I am really busy right now. I realize it may take a miracle.

LRClifford02 wrote on 5/4/2020, 3:05 AM

I am closing this problem. I am recording a Zoom session using a program called "All Sound Recorder". That program records anything that goes through the sound system on the computer. I was recording on an HP 17" laptop with a Bang and Olufsen sound system. It sounds good while listening on the laptop.

I did a recording on a homemade personal computer. It recorded perfectly. I was surprised at the difference. I will continue to do my recordings that way. I wish I had done it this way for every recording session. Live and learn.

I will use rraud's solution to try and clean up the existing files. I appreciate the time and technical expertise you put into helping me. Again, thank you. I will flag your post as the solution.

rraud wrote on 5/4/2020, 9:28 AM

I occasionally 'record what you hear' directly to SF. On some PCs, recording directly off the sound card is permanently disabled. I had a Toshiba Satellite the could not record from the card and encountered other Toshiba's with the affliction, so I used a third-party app similar to your "All Sound Recorder" All of the Dell PCs I've owned (5 and counting) allow recording directly... as below.

In Windows' OS sound settings under the 'Recording' tab, enable "Stereo mix" or (though it may be named "Speakers" or similar. Then In SF, go to "Options> Preferences> Audio> Recording" and select 'Classic Wave Driver" confirm that the (above) "Stereo mix" is enabled. The speaker volume will control the record level.

 

LRClifford02 wrote on 5/4/2020, 12:29 PM

You must be quite the audio genius. Do you do this professorially?

rraud wrote on 5/4/2020, 5:57 PM

Thanks, but I am closer to being an idiot than a genius. That said, I have been employed in the pro audio field for 35+ years.