<p>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.</p>
<p>This is the sample of the equalizer setting I use with a Sennheiser
MB2 Pro headset:</p>
<p><a href="https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps/hpr3973/hpr3973/eq.png"
title="Equalizer window"><img
src="https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps/hpr3973/hpr3973/eq_thumbnail.png"
title="Click on the thumbnail to see the full picture"
alt="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." /></a></p>
<p>This is the waveform for this episode <em>before</em> applying the
Compressor.</p>
<p><a
href="https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps/hpr3973/hpr3973/before.png"
title="Waveform before processing"><img
src="https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps/hpr3973/hpr3973/before_thumbnail.png"
title="Click on the thumbnail to see the full picture"
alt="Screenshot of a waveform in Audacity. The size of the waveform, i.e. the amplitude, varies considerably in different parts of the recording." /></a></p>
<p>This is the waveform for this episode <em>after</em> 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."</p>
<p><a href="https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps/hpr3973/hpr3973/after.png"
title="Waveform after processing"><img
src="https://hackerpublicradio.org/eps/hpr3973/hpr3973/after_thumbnail.png"
title="Click on the thumbnail to see the full picture"
alt="Screenshot of a waveform in Audacity. The size of the waveform, i.e. the amplitude, is fairly even throughout the track." /></a></p>
