The proper order of audio effects for beginners

In the last post, we learned about the thought process for audio processing.

If you don’t have clarity on your thoughts, you will head in the wrong direction. Without a clear thought process, you will look for a magic solution that does not exist.

When you have clarity, you will know exactly what you need to do, and you will do that.

Initially, it is okay to think that some magic exists. But you need to realize the reality as soon as you gain some experience.

That’s what separates those who achieve their audio goal from the rest. Let’s explore some effects of the proper mindset.

If you are following my YouTube tutorials, I always provide this sequence:

1. Normalize

2. Noise Reduction

3. EQ

4. Compressor

5. Normalize

The above sequence holds true for any audio editing software. This is a beginner-safe sequence that guarantees to improve audio quality.

If your audio quality does not improve after applying the above effects, the issue is your recording quality.

In such cases, focus on improving recording quality instead of searching for solutions left and right.

From my consulting service, I saw many beginners waste hundreds of dollars on software, hoping for better audio quality. However, no audio software or plugin will magically improve audio quality.

Those software and plugins have specific use cases, and you have to use them for those use cases.

All these things start with the above five effects supported by any software.

It does not matter which software you use, you have to follow that order. That is the first step towards making a better sound.

In the above effects, noise reduction may become optional. The amount of noise reduction you need depends on your recording quality and purpose.

For example, for audiobook narration, you must follow a specific noise level guideline. But in content creation or for generic voice-over, you do not need to follow such strict rules.

Other than noise reduction, the rest of the above effects are kind of mandatory.

However, the configuration of EQ and Compressor varies from recording to recording. You have to find out the best EQ and compressor settings for your voice and recording setup.

That means if you change the recording setup, the EQ and Compressor settings need to be adjusted.

But that is for advanced-level audio quality. For the beginner level, you can follow the generic guidelines on my YouTube videos.

For Audacity, follow » this video.

For Adobe Audition, follow » this video.

The only consistent effect is the Normalize effect. No matter what type of recording you have, the best configuration is to Normalize to -3 dB.

You can follow the Normalize to -3 dB settings in any software with any recording for different purposes.

There is one special thing for Normalize effect.

It is one of the rare audio effects that you can use multiple times without any side effects.

Please reread the above sentence. You can use Normalize multiple times without any side effects on the audio.

You can not use other audio effects at will multiple times. If you use effects like noise reduction, EQ, or compression multiple times, the tone and inner quality of the audio change.

If you use the Compressor effect two or three times, you must know why you are using it more than once.

But with Normalize, you do not have to worry about audio quality. Normalize acts as a volume control and does not alter the inner quality or balance of the audio.

In my suggested audio effects order, I used Normalize 2 times, at the beginning and at the end.

There are a couple of reasons for using Normalize 2 times. The first Normalize effect sets the peak level of the audio for further processing.

Not every audio recording will have the exact same peak. Once I Normalize it to -3 dB, the peak is set to -3 dB.

The rest of the audio processing is set according to that. If the audio peak is not close to -3 dB, the generic compressor settings I use may not work.

Setting the peak to -3 dB will also let me hear the audio at an ideal volume level.

So, if I can not hear it properly after the first normalization, my recording has a serious problem.

Another benefit of the first Normalize effect is that it creates a 3 dB headroom. Keeping some headroom during processing is important to avoid distortion.

We can boost some signals in EQ and compression, so some headroom will prevent the signal from being distorted.

The last Normalize is for setting the peak to -3 dB again. Because after the first processing, the peak can be altered significantly.

The last Normalize will set the peak to industry standard -3 dB for the final audio.

So you see lots of going on with those five effects. The order is important for beginners.

An expert audio editor may not always follow that sequence, but they know how each effect affects the audio.

The order I showed you in this post is risk-free for beginners. However, if you learn advanced EQ and compressor techniques, you can achieve the desired tone of voice using those effects.

You may already have the EQs & Macro pack from me or have seen it on my YouTube videos. If you have access to it, you can check the EQ curve on separate macros to study how a particular tone can be achieved.

For example, the EQ curve that makes Clear voice improvement will be different from intelligent voice improvement and so on.

If you use Adobe Audition, you can check the Pre-Built Adobe Audition Presets.

In the Adobe Audition Presets, you will notice I achieved different goals, such as clear voice or rich and full voice, using almost similar effects but a slightly different configuration.

In my next post, I will discuss the “compression sandwich technique.” I coined that term, and its purpose is truly magnificent.

Once you know the Compression Sandwich technique, you will have the superpower to achieve any loudness level.

If you are looking to produce quality Audio with Audacity, please check the Audacity Bundle (Beginner to Advanced): https://www.patreon.com/master_editor/shop/audacity-bundle-beginner-to-advanced-189564

If you are thinking of producing Voice Over, Audiobooks, or Podcasts in Adobe Audition, please check the Adobe Audition Bundle: https://www.patreon.com/master_editor/shop/adobe-audition-bundle-beginner-to-240352

If you are looking for 1-1 assistance, please check Premium Consulting: https://www.patreon.com/master_editor/shop/premium-consulting-for-audio-editing-318200