This though does not completely show you the exact decibel reading of each section. You following all of this so far? Good! Volume LevelsĪudacity shows you the sound of your recording in waveform. This gives you a sound signal that is loud enough, but one that still leaves enough space before hitting the 0db ceiling. When podcasting using Audacity, aim for a db level that’s between -7db and -14db. Go beyond it and you get a distorted sound – and if you’re lucky, a busted speaker as well. The ceiling in terms of what an audible db is at 0db. Now the first thing you need to understand is that Audacity measures sound levels in “db” (decibels). Since I am assuming that this is your first dive into the world of mastering audio tracks, then I guess we should start from the basics. How To Use Audacity For Mastering: Where Do You Start? Mastering on the other hand is making sure that the engine, exhaust and brake system of your car is tweaked to its top racing performance. Going back to the Honda Civic example mixing is you taking all the racing parts and putting them into the car. Now all of those need to be arranged in such a way to make it sound properly, right? MixingĪ typical podcast usually has an intro music, the actual program itself, advertisement and outro music, right? Well, there’s actually a huge difference between the two. Now some people believe that they don’t need to master their audio source because they already “mixed” everything.

Mastering gets rid of all unwanted noise and ensures a much better playback quality – irrelevant of the device the file is played on. And I don’t know about you, but listening to music, or in this case, a podcast that is filled with hiss and inconsistent volume levels can be very entertaining.

Just like music, podcasts are meant to be listened to. Now some of you might say “Is it really needed?” This is to ensure that during playback, the sound comes out great. The main reason behind mastering is for you to balance out and optimize elements within an audio file.

The audacity podcast