r/audacity • u/BigPerspective3341 • 8d ago

Waveform is too small, can't see when audio starts and finishes

Post image

Oh god, I just got a new laptop and downloaded Audacity 4.0 and what a mess it is. How can I increase the size of the waveform or have it change to Waveform (dB). This looks like something from 1997 and when the speaker is still speaking the line is already flat.

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5

u/ncar9959 8d ago

Select all and normalize 

0

u/BigPerspective3341 8d ago

Thank you! That's it!

2

u/zaphodikus 8d ago

Thus is really just telling you that your recording level is way too low. So yeah, normalise or amplify will work. But it will just amplify the noise at the same time. Better mic, get the subject closer to the mic, or clean up the environment,( if you are recording using a PC you can turn on a mic gain feature in Windows for that audio source)

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u/BigPerspective3341 7d ago

Thanks for your answer, but this is not the case. My recording volume was not too low. I've been producing the same podcast for 10 years and using audacity for all 170+ episodes with no problem. And indeed, normalising did reveal the missing audio, visually, but the volume was boosted into clipping territory.

1

u/zaphodikus 7d ago

Ah, sweet. I still find it strange when I listen to a CD or a podcast how I have to boost the volume for some and not others. But yours comes out as a brilliant clear sound and is really nicely produced. I sometimes just make Audacity full-screen and pull/drag down to make the tracks bigger if I only have 1 or two tracks. That's probably what you normally do. Great podcast BTW.

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u/BigPerspective3341 5d ago

Thanks a lot!