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HPR3973: Creating an equalizer preset for your episodes of HPR

Hosted by dnt on 2023-10-25 00:00:00
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Here I describe my method for creating a macro using equalizer, compressor and normalize presets in Audacity, which can be used repeatedly to get consistent results, as long as you use the same voice, microphone and recording location.

This is the sample of the equalizer setting I use with a Sennheiser MB2 Pro headset:

Screenshot of a set of equalizer faders in Audacity. There is a low pass filter ending at 125Hz, then a valley of attenuation from 250 to 800 Hz, bottoming out at 400 and 500 Hz, then attenuation at 1.6, 2.5 and 5KHz.

This is the waveform for this episode before applying the Compressor.

Screenshot of a waveform in Audacity. The size of the waveform, i.e. the amplitude, varies considerably in different parts of the recording.

This is the waveform for this episode after applying the equalizer discussed earlier, the Compressor at threshold -31dB, noise floor -40dB and ratio 2:1. No make-up gain at the Compressor. Finally, Normalize to peak amplitude of -12dB. I was wrong in the show to say that I had been using "Amplify," in fact I have been using "Normalize."

Screenshot of a waveform in Audacity. The size of the waveform, i.e. the amplitude, is fairly even throughout the track.

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