Over-Editing Your Sound

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Over Editing Your Podcast

I had a few people mention that my show has been sounding different and wanted to know what I had done to my sound (they didn’t like the direction I was going).

I have been using Adobe Audition and have been running my fules through their noise reduction, then I would compress the vocal track and add some EQ to add clarity. Then I would compress all of the tracks when I mix the file down to the mp3.

Today’s show has no compression. You are hearing me go straight from the microphone to the recording (except for when noted).

You will hear me record a file.

When I remove the noise it doesn’t sound that different. Then I compress the vocal and add some EQ to brighten up the sound. That sounds different. I then take the file thats been “noise reduced” and “compressed and EQ’d” and run it through a multi band compressor. This makes it sound big and very broadcast-like. However, my listeners are saying its too much tweaking.

Going forward I will remove a few of these steps. Just because you can do all these fun things to your audio, does not mean you should.

What do you think of the final output?

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Leave A Reply (3 comments So Far)


  1. Gene Murray
    659 days ago

    I like your new “old” sound! As good as National Public Radio. Less is more.


  2. Dave Jackson
    657 days ago

    You are not alone in this train of thought. I’ve got voicemail saying the same thing.


  3. Will King
    653 days ago

    I want to add a contrarian viewpoint — keep overediting your sound.

    I listen to podcasts often in noisy environments (shower, while freeway driving, while walking along noisy streets). Podcasts that allow a great deal of dynamic range are often unlistenable in such situations. People naturally speak in low tones when being interviewed, and those comments are often inaudible in such situations. I understand that some people listen in setups where they can appreciate the dynamic range, but I prefer audio that keeps the audio loud for all vocal situations because of the environments in which I listen. For my two cents, it’s not too much tweaking.

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