We have all been confused at some point by the countless options of a new DAW (digital audio workstation). My job today is to help you configure and comprehend the tools given to you so you can improve your audio. This is my step by step guide for all beginners to Audacity, I hope you are satisfied with the results.

Recording Techniques

Before actually hitting the record button, take a step back and allow yourself to be a foot away from the mic. This will stop you from popping and distorting the audio track. If you are going for a more close up effect for ASMR try lowering the overall recording volume in your audio mixer or gain knob. Most binaural microphones used for ASMR do not have pop filters and you must test out the sound levels with a few practice runs in audacity.

Once you are ready to hit the record button, make sure to wait 4-5 seconds to allow a gap in the recording before speaking and also after speaking. This allows you to have enough background noise registered and makes it easier to eliminate with the noise reduction tool. Now that you have recorded your audio, let’s talk editing.

Editing Your Vocals

Before we add any effects we want to get rid of all the background noise possible from your track. To do this highlight the first few seconds you recorded and click Effects -> Noise Reduction. Here you will want to click “Get Noise Profile”. Once you have registered that information the tab will close and you may highlight the entire track, head back to Noise Reduction and click the “OK” button at the bottom. You have now reduced a large amount of background noise or possible distortion.

The next step will be to add a compressor which will increase the vocal volume and help add a little clarity. Go to the Effects menu -> Compressor and bring down the Threshold to about -16dB through -18dB. As you can see from the example the audio wave looks rather loud, this is what you want to achieve without actually making it distorted.

Optional: Bass Boost

Adding a bass boost will create a depth to your vocals this is great for anyone looking for a deep booming voice. Go to the Effects menu -> Equalization and select Bass Boost from the drop-down Curve menu as seen in the pic. This is not a needed step but a great effect for certain types of voices.

You can also raise the Treble Boost within the same menu to increase vocals with a higher range. The treble boost is the counterpart to the bass and is used most of the time when you are looking for sharpness.

Final Step: Hard Limiter

We now have an audio wave which might look demanding to the ear. Our very last step is to normalize this beast. Go to Effects -> Limiter change the type to Hard Limit and Limit (dB) to -3.00 as seen below. The usual limit range is between -2 and -5.

Once you have completed these steps you can take a listen. You must remember that all results vary due to microphone quality. I have also posted an article discussing great budget microphones so you can get started with ASMR today.

Please like and share if you enjoyed the tutorial, Thank you.