The Audio 101 Show (Part 2)

Episode Summary: Part 2 of the Audio 101 series — editing and post-production, from noise reduction through final export, with the glossary terms every podcaster eventually needs to know.What You'll LearnThe full post-production glossary: noise reduction, normalization, EQ, compression, and moreThe exact settings used for noise reduction and high-pass filtering on every episodeHow to hit broadcast loudness standards using LUFS and the Match Loudness panel2 one-click tools (Essential Sound panel, Auphonic) for a faster editing passPart 1 covered pre-production and recording fundamentals. This episode covers what happens after the recording is done.EditingThe goal is shaping the story, cleaning up gaps and mistakes, and producing a naturally sounding episode — fixing "ums" and "ahs," deleting dead air. Work left to right, start to finish. Keep it simple and avoid over-cleaning.Post-Processing: Plugins, Filters & Effects1. Noise ReductionUsually applied right after editing. Tip: record 3–5 seconds of quiet room tone before anything else, giving the noise reduction plugin a clean sample of ambient noise to work from. In Audition: capture a noise print from that room-tone section, then apply Noise Reduction (a common setting used here: 60%). Noise reduction filters measure ambient room noise and scan the full recording to remove it — doing this early matters, since raising overall volume before noise reduction also amplifies the noise itself. Use sparingly — aggressive reduction makes voices sound distinctly strange.2. NormalizationPulls overall volume up to a target decibel level without affecting dynamic range (the gap between the loudest and quietest moments). In practice: normalizing an entire track to -3dB pulls up the whole track proportionally, so even the quietest parts get a little louder.3. EQ (Equalization)Equalizers work across frequencies: low end on the left, mids in the middle, highs on the right. The approach used here: apply a high-pass filter at -80dB on every episode (often called "rolling off the low end"), removing low-end rumble picked up as room noise. A slight high-end boost via a shelf adds a bit of air/treble to the voice, and sweeping through the mids catches trouble frequencies for subtle cuts (around -4dB) when needed. Great resource: the EQ cheat sheet from The Podcaster's Studio.4. Dynamic RangeSimply the gap between the loudest and quietest parts of a recording.5. CompressionRead the complete show notes and resources on mikemurphy.ai.Support the showSubscribe To Weekly Newsletter:AI UnpluggedConnect With Me🌐 Website📧 Newsletter🎥 YouTube🐦 X💼 LinkedInComments, Questions & Feedback: [email protected]