For furtwaengler

[rachfan]

Hi Dave,

I took your Medtner 3rd Concerto, found a stingy but usable lead into the horn introduction, and using AVS Audio Editor, sampled that lead-in and then filtered out that same type of noise throughout the recording.  I never edit my own recordings, so have only the most rudimentary understanding of how to use this stuff, whereas others here might be far more sophisticated and proficient with it.  But audition it anyway to see what you think.  If you don't like it, that's perfectly OK.  I understand.  If you do like it better, then great.  If the latter, you could then just download it to your PC, then upload to your post, check the delete box on the original recording (or leave it, whichever), and there you have it.  Or, if someone can finesse the edit more, so much the better.  

Now I need to listen to your recording!

David

[furtwaengler]

Thanks very much for your efforts, David. A couple curiosities or the 16 kbps bit rate and the file length 1:34:16! And every minute has some music playing which must be scrambled and repeated. Even with that it is an improvement!

I'd like to know more about what you used, though. I'm not intending to make deceptive edits, I just want something I can more confidently share with friends I know are sensitive to noise and quality. I have many recordings subject to such trouble, most of which I have no difficulty enjoying myself, but cannot be passed on to people with a higher standard of audio quality. Other then that I did patch an early entrance of the trumpets, because at that point everything came to a halting stop. I simply replaced the problem area with the restart, and can only barely tell. 

Thanks for your efforts. I really appreciate your taking time on this.

Dave

[rachfan]

Hi Dave,

Yes, there was a lot going on in that music aside from the music.  The 16 bit is very low end, so didn't help the recording much as you say.  Another interesting facet was that once I removed the static noise, then the people's conversations out in the hallway became more apparent!  But, at least the edit solved a major problem--the recording noise.  Somebody much more adept than I could probably do more filtering, but as the other person commenting on your thread pointed out, the more the filtering, the more the music itself starts to lose fidelity.  So this is one of those things where less is more.

If you want to play around with an editing program, you can download Audacity for free on the net.  I used AVS Audio 6.1 for this, which is a purchased product.  The editors at this level all pretty much do the same functions with about the same results I think.  Professional recording studios have far more advanced capabilities than these general purpose editors.  But that member's other comment is also very true--the real secret is having a recorder and microphones that can deliver a beautiful recording in the first place, obviating the need for an editing program.  Flawless input always trumps corrective editing.

The time it took was very little.  I downloaded your file.  Then I opened AVS and imported your file, selected noise reduction, marked out the sampling area on your recording (a very skinny place where the static was doing its own solo before the first downbeat).  Then the editor took that as the noise profile, searched the music and obliterated noise accordingly.  Then I saved and exported it back to the PC noiseless, and updated it here.  The editing was probably two minutes.  

You make an interesting point about being able to enjoy your noisy recordings.  I'm the very same way.  Back when I was young, and before LP records, we all listened to 78 rpm shellac records which we played with saphire needles--Paderewski, Brailowski, Gieseking, Backhaus, Lipati, all of them. Those records had snap, crackles and pops, static and even needle scratches and surface abrasions. So the surface noise was often quite bad.  But we were born with different ears than the kids get these days.  We could immediately filter that stuff out, and the music would shine through in all its glory.

Glad I could assist you on that.

David