Enhancing Quality of Poor Audio Tape

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I recorded a meeting (on a consumer cassette tape recorder using
consumer tape) and it isn't loud enough to clearly hear the speaker,
even when the volume is turned up all the way. Is there any way of
enhancing the quality of the recording?

Thank you.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Movieweb <pab@pbishop.com> wrote:
>I recorded a meeting (on a consumer cassette tape recorder using
>consumer tape) and it isn't loud enough to clearly hear the speaker,
>even when the volume is turned up all the way. Is there any way of
>enhancing the quality of the recording?

Maybe.

First, get the best transcription you can, with the azimuth correct.
Getting the playback azimuth correct will help the top end a lot, and
get you something to work with.

Now, you have a combination of signal, uncorrelated noise, and room
tone.

Secondly, start cutting the bottom end off. How much you can cut off
depends on what sort of filters you have, but there will be a lot of
noise at the bottom end. This helps with some of the noise.

You can take it to someone with a CEDAR system to try and remove some
more of the noise. Most of the lower end magic noise boxes don't work
very well in really catastrophic cases, but you can try them too. The
Waves restoration bundle seems to have an okay broadband noise removal
tool.

There's not much you can do about the room reverb problems that you are
going to have, but it's possible just some judicious EQ and maybe some
NR will get you to the point where you can transcribe the words.
--scott


--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Movieweb wrote:

> I recorded a meeting (on a consumer cassette tape recorder using
> consumer tape) and it isn't loud enough to clearly hear the speaker,
> even when the volume is turned up all the way. Is there any way of
> enhancing the quality of the recording?

Is it muffled and hissy ? Lots of background noise interference ?

Have you ever seen the film ' The Conversation ' ? It may give you some
ideas.


Graham

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

>
>Movieweb wrote:
>
>> I recorded a meeting (on a consumer cassette tape recorder using
>> consumer tape) and it isn't loud enough to clearly hear the speaker,
>> even when the volume is turned up all the way. Is there any way of
>> enhancing the quality of the recording?
>
>Is it muffled and hissy ? Lots of background noise interference ?
>
>Have you ever seen the film ' The Conversation ' ? It may give you some
>ideas.
>
>
>Graham
>
>

Many of them are pipe dreams.

OTOH, Stevm St Croix has a company that sells a program that will extract human
voice from background very well.

Only two problems with it.

You must be afilliated with law enforcement to buy it and it costs $10,000
Richard H. Kuschel
"I canna change the law of physics."-----Scotty