The first thing you will want to do is install the SWS extensions. These are community-based add-ons to Reaper which extend the functionality significantly. They can be downloaded from the official SWS Extensions site.

Coloured waveforms using spectral peaks

Spectral peaks are a way to add colour to your waveforms – something which is more than an aesthetic choice. By colour-coding your frequencies, you can edit much better. This does come with a bit of a learning curve, but the different colours represent different sounds that are made with the mouth. For example, a high-frequency blue area of the audio is likely to be a hissing sound, perhaps an “sss” or “sh”.

You can also identify problem pops and bumps by looking for low-frequency (red) spikes in the audio which may indicate the microphone has been bumped.

These colour-coded waveforms make editing and finding problems a lot easier. To get the feature, you can open up the actions menu and toggle the Peaks: Toggle spectral peaks action. To edit the colours and view, you can select the action View: Show peaks display settings.

Split and ripple delete – Rapid actions to help you

When editing a podcast, you are likely to need to split and chop audio rapidly. There will be plenty of unwanted pauses, coughs, and other irrelevant content that can be chopped down to reduce the playtime and tidy the audio up.

While this can be done manually with the mouse and keyboard shortcuts, you can further refine the workflow to massively increase the speed of editing, thus, saving time.

The two custom actions I want to show you are refined ripple delete actions. Ripple deleting is a useful editing technique where you split the audio around an unwanted part, then delete it, shifting everything after it back to close the gap.

If you are unfamiliar with Reaper’s Custom Actions, I highly recommend you read this more in-depth guide.

In the instance of a cough, you would make a cut before and after the cough, delete it, then the audio that follows it would snap backwards and connect as if the cough was never there.

The first custom action requires you to split the audio manually (I use keyboard shortcut S to split at the cursor). IT is a custom action with two actions chained together:

Custom: Ripple Delete

• Script: X-Raym_Delete selected items and ripple edit adjacent items.lua
• Item Navigation: Move cursor left to edge of item.

This simple custom item will delete the unwanted audio, snap the next bit of audio back to join the gap, then move the cursor to the edit point.

The second edit is even more streamlined. It allows you to skip the audio splitting by dragging the mouse and making a selection over the audio you want rid of, then following the same action. It has these component actions:

Custom: Ripple Delete at time selection

• Item: Split items at selection
• Custom: Ripple delete [where this action is the one outlined above]
• Time Selection: Remove time selection and loop points

This example is a good one to demonstrate Reaper’s ability to add custom actions within other custom actions as part of a larger chain. You could add additional actions within it depending on where you want the cursor to go too, as outlined below.

Auto-remove silence

Another really useful custom action is to automatically remove silence. This is a great one if you have long pauses that you need rid of. The way it works is it tells Reaper to select any parts quieter than a defined threshold and delete them. This can be tweaked to allow brief pauses – something natural in conversation – and only remove silences longer than a defined time.

Custom: Remove silence and snap together

• Item: Auto Trim/Split items (remove silence)
• Script: mpl_Snap selected items to each other.lua

When you run this action, it will bring up a menu that allows you to define the volume, below which is silence. It will also ask you what length of silence to ignore. I tend to set it to ignore silences shorter than 5000ms (5 seconds).

Save chain FX

When you have finished editing and mixing an episode, it is very likely that the next episode will have the same presenter using the same microphone. There is no point going to all the trouble to set up you mixing FX and sound adjustments from scratch each time, so you can save your FX chains for later use.

Once you have made an FX chain you like, you can save it via File > Save FX Chain. By bringing up the FX menu and selecting File > Add FX Chain, you can bring up previous FX chains that you have saved.

The post How to speed up podcast editing in Reaper appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

There are many people searching for the “best DAW for podcast editing” and while pretty much any audio editing software will do, REAPER has several advantages.

For starters, it is ultra-customisable, meaning you can essentially configure it however you like. Compare that to a DAW such as Ableton Live, where you have a simple (but very efficient) single workflow available, REAPER gives users a lot to work with.

This video shows a really simple way to set up a podcast editing template that bypasses a lot of Reaper’s more complex menus. It is a good starting point for editors who only need basic changes and don’t want to fiddle.

One of the key things that this video shows is the simplified setup you can achieve, because let’s face it, podcast editors aren’t normally music producers.

SEE ALSO: The Ultimate Guide to ReaEQ – Reaper’s Stock EQ Plugin

Since REAPER is so fit for all purposes, it has a huge amount of features that the average podcast editor doesn’t need so following the steps in this video will give you a template to work with that doesn’t bog you down in all the surplus features.

The post How to make a super easy podcast editing template in REAPER appeared first on Audio Ordeal.

This article is originally published on descript.com.

Remote interviews are a fact of life for every podcaster, and in today’s era of social distancing, more so than ever. Since you rarely get the chance at an interview do-over, nailing down your remote recording workflow is essential. We’ll show you how to prepare for and record a remote interview, so you get it right the first time — with some additional tips along the way to make sure all your bases are covered. 

Choose the right remote recording setup for your podcast

The first step is to determine the remote recording setup that best suits the format and content of your podcast and your production and editing workflow.

In most cases, your best solution will involve recording remote interviews on Zoom, Skype, Google Hangouts, or a similar online conferencing service. This low-friction setup makes it easy for guests or co-hosts to contribute, but you’ll need to make sure you have the right software to record these interviews.

It’s also wise to make sure you can record phone calls. Phone interviews don’t offer great audio fidelity, but they make a great backup option in case of technical problems or schedule changes. Phone interviews probably won’t be your first choice, but it’s a good idea to be able to record a phone call just in case you need to. 

If you’re recording with the same remote co-host on each episode of your podcast, consider a double-ender setup, in which you and your co-host record your own audio tracks locally and combine them in post-production. For most podcasters, this isn’t the most convenient solution, but it does translate into the highest audio fidelity for you and your co-host.

The best way to record an interview is to prepare for it

When it comes to interviewing — especially remote interviewing — a little preparation goes a long way.

Do some research into your guest’s background, expertise, and projects. Who are they? Why is their work notable? What do you (and in turn, your audience) hope to learn from them?

Putting together a rough outline of the questions you’d like to ask will come in very handy. Write down a handful of specific questions and key points, but keep your outline broad and high-level. That’ll allow you to more easily adapt to the flow of conversation.

SEE ALSO: Best Home Gear for Podcasting in 2020

Maintaining that conversational flow remotely can be substantially trickier than doing so person-to-person. Prime yourself to listen more than you speak — in particular, try not to interrupt your guest. Editing out awkward silences between speakers is much easier than dealing with too much crosstalk!

When it’s time to record the interview, take a couple final preparatory steps to ensure a clean recording. Close all unnecessary software and set your computer to “Do Not Disturb” mode to make sure unwanted distractions don’t pop up (or worse: end up in the recording).

How to record a Skype call, Zoom interview, or Google Hangout

For most remote recording situations, Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts are your platforms of choice. All three are easy to set up, simple for guests to use, and feature audio fidelity good enough for most podcasts. 

Both Zoom and Skype offer built-in call recording functionality, but Google Hangouts currently limits this offering to enterprise users. There’s an additional caveat: the file format (.MP4 or .M4A) that each platform outputs may not be what you want, depending on your podcast production and editing workflow.

For maximum control over your final product, you’re better off using third-party apps to record computer system audio directly into the recording software of your choice rather than relying on their recording functionality.

If you’re on a Mac, BlackHole is a great open-source tool that allows you to route audio between apps, which means you can record the audio output from Zoom (or Skype, or Google Hangouts) directly into your preferred recording software. On Windows, Virtual Audio Cable offers similar functionality. 

If you’re already using Descript to record, you won’t need to use additional audio routing software. When recording audio into Descript, open the Record panel, choose Add a Track, select your input, and choose “Computer audio.” Click the Record button whenever you’re ready, and audio from Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts will be piped into Descript. 

No matter which remote recording setup you use, make sure you test it — and test it again — with a friend or colleague before you’re actually recording your podcast. Troubleshooting when you should be interviewing ranks near the top of everyone’s Least Favorite Things To Deal With, so make sure everything is in order before your guest is on the line.

How to record a phone interview with Google Voice

Social distancing means nearly everyone has gotten used to handling calls and meetings on Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts. But maybe your podcast guest is really old-school, or their computer is on the fritz, or maybe they’re simply only able to access a phone during your scheduled call time. It’s likely phone interviews will never be your first choice, but being able to record an old-fashioned phone call will come in handy.

Recording phone calls can be tricky, but using Google Voice to make an outgoing phone call from your computer means you can use the same remote recording setup detailed above to record the call.

Follow Google’s instructions to set up Google Voice and then learn how to make an outgoing call. Once everything’s set up, you’ll be able to record phone calls with Google Voice just like you’d record an interview on Zoom or Skype. 

Again, make sure to test with a friend and then test again before your interview. 

If lossless audio quality is a must, record a “double-ender”

For most remote recording situations, Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts are your platforms of choice. All three are easy to set up, simple for guests to use, and feature audio fidelity good enough for most podcasts. 

But if you have a remote co-host that regularly appears on your podcast, and you want to maximize the quality of your audio, a “double-ender” is the way to go: Each host or guest records themselves locally, and audio tracks are combined in post-production. For an additional cost, you can use third-party recording platforms that simulate double-enders without each speaker managing their own recording software.

A traditional double-ender sees each speaker recording their own audio track using their recording software of choice (Descript, Audacity, Quicktime, etc.), and then the host or editor combines each speaker’s recording into a finished product. Each speaker should have a decent microphone — if they’re using a laptop microphone to record, you probably won’t hear a substantial advantage with a double-ender over a Zoom, Skype, or Google Hangouts recording.

Alternatively, you can simulate a double-ender by using a platform like SquadCast, Zencastr, or Cleanfeed. These services record lossless audio from each speaker, upload each track to the cloud, and combine them automatically. These platforms cost money, but they’re a great alternative to a double-ender when guests or co-hosts don’t have the time or wherewithal to fiddle with recording themselves locally. Again, make sure each speaker has a decent microphone — otherwise you won’t reap the full benefits of lossless audio.

Make remote recording hassles a thing of the past

Recording your podcast remotely isn’t painless, but once you get the hang of it — and nail down your workflow — it’ll become second nature.

The post How to record a podcast remotely and get it right the first time appeared first on Audio Ordeal.