Editing from start to finish help

[wheeler8807]

I am just looking for an A to Z list of steps while editing my podcast. I've been at it for almost a year and I still don't know exactly what I should do initially. For example (I have done normalizing, dessers, match loudness, etc.) I still don't know what I should do first, second, and last. I would greatly appreciate a straight forward example to work off of.

just to give an idea of my set up I have a small room that has acoustic foam on the wall, we use condenser mics, and an H6 ZOOM.

[ryclark]

There are lots of Youtube tutorials on using Audition to edit Podcasts. Just 'Audition podcasts on Youtube' into an internet search.

[wheeler8807]

The only issue I have with that, is the fact that the videos on youtube tend to be geared toward people with better recording spaces/ equipment than mine. I was kind of just looking for a list based around what I should start with on the raw audio files then move to the multi track and then finalizing.

[Bob Howes · Accepted solution]

The thing is, there's no single A to Z about how to edit.  It all depends on the quality of your original recording--and the main trick is to get your original as good as possible.

For a podcast (or, indeed, and pure voice job) you want your recording area as dead a possible.  Hanging some duvets or movers blankets around you can help a lot.  The thing is, a bit of echo from your room is almost impossible to get rid of.

As for processing, only use what you need rather than a set series of effects you use out of habit.  For example, you mention a de-esser.  I'd only use this if there are objectionable ess noises...and I'd try to fix it at source by tweaking the mic position.

One thing often used is some EQ.  I can't suggest settings without hearing your voice but sometimes a bit of mid range boost can improve clarity as can a bit of bass cut.  A bit of upper mid boost can add some sparkle.

I tend not to use the match loudness feature but, rather, apply my own dynamics processing.  If you look at the selection of compressors, have a look for presets called "vocal boost"  or "voice over" and start with these but tweak some of the settings until you get a sound you want.  For me, normalise is probably my last process.

[SteveG_AudioMasters_]

What Bob is sort-of suggesting here (quite correctly) is that it's more important to understand the principles of what you are doing, because then, the steps you need to take to alleviate any particular problem become a lot more obvious and intuitive. In terms of processing though, the best clue you get is to look at what a traditional mixing desk does, and the order in which it does it. So you'd set the mic gain so that the first stage wasn't overloading, then you'd apply any compression you were going to need, and then you'd EQ it if you needed to, and anything else in the way of effects comes after that. That order is actually important, because if you EQ before compression, the results will come out differently, and that will almost certainly not be what you need. Same thing applies to effects like reverb - the compression will alter them significantly.

And all of this applies just as much to doing everything in the box.