Althouse: Audible Althouse #46.

April 23, 2006

Audible Althouse #46.

Here. What I hate about movies, who's beautiful and who isn't, feeling transformed by architecture, what makes a good song lyric, why animals love a nuclear disaster, and how I suffered through writing about blogging.

(You don't need an iPod. You can stream it on your computer here.)

11 comments:

chuck b. said...: Some Althouse commentor insults have really stuck in my mind. My favorite, if memory serves, came from some Kos fallout. Someone called you "a raunchy, despicable paragon of denial".

!!!

I don't even know what that is, but I like the way it sounds--great meter--and it just cracks me up every time I think about it.; 4/23/06, 7:50 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Thanks, Chuck. I'd forgotten that one.; 4/23/06, 7:57 PM
Palladian said...: You may want to recompress the file or check the levels or something, Ann. You sound like Prince Albert in a can!

Funny that your first subject is sound-related!; 4/23/06, 11:07 PM
Palladian said...: Wow, adjusting the EQ in iTunes really helps- I chose the "small speakers" preset and it makes it much, much better. If one is listening with iTunes, try it!; 4/23/06, 11:10 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Palladian: I can't understand what you're talking about. Could you say that more clearly? I don't know what any of that terminology means.; 4/23/06, 11:20 PM
Palladian said...: EQ is a term for a "graphic equalizer", the part of a stereo system that allows you to adjust the different frequencies of sound output by your amplifier. On a "physical" analog stereo system, the EQ was often a row of vertical sliders. iTunes has a "virtual" bank of EQ sliders that allow you to adjust frequency response. If you look at the iTunes window (I'm using version 6.0.4, the most recent version for Mac), you'll see various little buttons along the bottom. The third button from the right is the EQ button (it has three vertical lines representing sliders). You can also view the EQ window by going to the "Window" menu at the top of your screen in iTunes and choosing "Equalizer". The EQ window will appear and present you with 11 sliders to adjust the quality of the sound. There is also a drop-down menu at the top of the window with a lot of preset levels. One of them is called "Small Speakers". If you choose that one you'll notice quite a change in the quality of the sound. Be sure to have the podcast playing while you make these adjustments so you can hear what sounds best. The setting for "Spoken Word" also sounds ok. You can also adjust the individual frequency sliders if you're adventurous. Naturally, a good sounding EQ will be different for different recordings. I usually have it turned off, but in this case it worked wonders, making an unlistenable recording listenable; usually your podcasts sound pretty good; maybe you changed something this time? The sound was, as I said, very "tin can" like, squashed and with too much treble.

To go back to non-EQ mode, just uncheck the "ON" box on the EQ window.; 4/23/06, 11:44 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Okay, I tried changing the volume and remixing it, so see if you like it now. I've had trouble in the past with the sound being too low, and I did a few things differently. I think it's fixed now.; 4/23/06, 11:51 PM
Palladian said...: Ann, sounds better. The only problem I can hear is that you sometimes max out the audio, which is a problem with the volume level during recording. I don't know Garage Band, so I don't know what the interface looks like, but see if there's some sort of digital VU meter or audio level indicator and make sure you don't send it into the red when you're recording. If you notice the level indicators going into the red a lot, there should be a volume or level control that you can adjust until your loudest speaking sound doesn't send it into the red.; 4/24/06, 1:58 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Yes, I can see the levels in Garage Band. I was trying to correct the problem of low volume and overcompensated.; 4/24/06, 2:09 PM
Ruth Anne Adams said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/24/06, 2:57 PM
reader_iam said...: Great end.; 4/24/06, 3:02 PM