Just A Minute

 
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Re: Help me out of a Jam anyone? Just a minute 259 Getting Wound up with the 4 boys NOT Andree Melly earlier version

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Espen KrømkeFeb 27, 2011
 

 
I've done quite a lot of attempts of audio restoration but I'm not
particularly good at it. It's not easy.

When you work on audio files I believe it helps to keep a basic fact of
the trade in the back of your head: Tweaking audio is *always* a
question of *subtracting* from the source. You can never add anything
that's not already there. That is technically impossible.

To illustrate with a very basic example; If you got a recording that has
no bass, there will never be any bass on that recording. The bass is
gone. However you may create the illusion of a more balanced sound by
removing also some high frequencies. But it's a downward spiral. Always
subtracting.

Same goes with snap&crackle: You may zoom in on that particular moment
when the snap is and *remove* the frequency range of the crackle. That
will make the snap go away - but you will never get back the sound that
*would* have been there had there not been a snap there in the first
place. If you catch my drift?

My tool of choise used to be Sony SoundForge, nowadays it's Audacity. I
have never tried Adobe audition so I can not give any advice on that
particular program, however as long as it is a suitable tool for the job
(and I assume it is) it doesn't matter that much what tool you use - the
important thing is to know how to use it.
And learning the tools require an understanding of what sound is made
of, from a technical point of view.

But it's fun while you learn! And if you got the patience and time for
it, just go ahead and try&fail your way to get to know both the tool and
the theory.

Just remember to never, never ever overwrite a source. Always work on a
copy. :)

> And I don't suppose you or anyone else out there are skilled at restoring
> vintage audio recordings too? That's my next ambition - to learn to improve
> muddy, hissy and crackly old radio classics like JAM, ISIHAC, the Glums etc.
>
> I've dabbled with Adobe Audition, but the results have been mediocre at best.

 
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