Audio Effects Explanation and Application

Free Audio Editor provides plenty of audio effects to emphasize audio of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games or other media. This page is an overview of the most common audio effects used in sound production and it may help you apply the audio effects more correctly.

 

 

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Audio Effects Explanation

1. Echo:

This is an audio effect that stimulates the effect of reflected sound waves in certain space, such as a big room, a theater. Applying this effect means that some delayed signals will be inserted to the original ones. Click the button Echo and set the delay time correctly. The parameter should be at least 50 ms otherwise you will perceive only one sound, without the delayed one. For your convenience, we provide some commonly used presets, imitating the sound reflection in tunnel, philharmonic hall, etc.

2. Vibrato:

It is a frequently used audio effect, to be exactly, vibrating sound that caused by regular pitch-change during singing and instruments performance. You can apply this effect to create expression and vocal-like sound. Click the button Vibrato to set the detailed parameter of “depth”, “Frequency” and “Phase”, as well as apply the presets of Fast/Slow vibrato and robotic voice.

3. Amplify:

To amplify means the function to change, usually increases the amplitude of the sound wave. Click the button Amplify and with the amplifier we offered, you can easily adjust the volume by four presets: quarter volume, half volume, double volume and triple volume.

4. Fade:

Fade is an audio effect that is used for gradual increasing or decreasing the signal level. Acoustically and little by little, you can perceive the alteration of the sound. You can click the button Fade to set the parameter of fading or use the presets. If you want a sound gradually enhanced from silence at the beginning, click the button Fade In; but if you want a sound gradually reduced to silence at the end, click the button Fade Out.

5. Normalize:

Normalizing is an operation that’s applied to change the amplitude of the whole sound wave signal. It aims to get the amplitude peak value to meet a specified standard. As its typical feature, normalizing could maximize the amplitude without inducing distortion. You can click the button Normalize to set the parameter or use the four presets level: Very Soft, Soft, Normal and Maximum.

6. Envelope:

The envelope effect is actually a waveform. By bending the wave up and down along the timeline, you can adjust the volume of the selected part. The sound you hear will become louder or slighter over time. To apply this effect you have to select a specified region and then click the button Envelope and you can see an operating window with a green line in the middle. Try to drag the green line to the place you want according to the parameters below and on the right.

7. Compressor:

The compressor is a very practical adjusting tool. It can auto-accommodate the sound wave signals. It is frequently used to smooth the region between loud and quiet parts. It decreases the audio signals which sound too loud and increase those quiet ones. Click the button Compressor to set the parameters or use the presets offered: General Voice Level and TV/Radio Advertisement.

 

 

8. Chorus:

It is a simulating effect which can be achieved by taking one signal and mixing it with one or more copies of itself. The delay times number of those pitch-modulated copied ones often ranges from 20 ms to 30 ms. Click the button Chorus to set the parameters. There are many presets offered: Bathroom, Bathroom With Light Flanger, Cassette Tape Hard/Light Stretched, Electronic Voice, Flying Hard Flanger, Psychedelic, Simple Chorus, Slow Metallic Flanger and Stereo Chorus Left/Right.

9. Flanger:

The flanger and chorus are very similar and are different in few aspects. One of them is how many times the delay is applied. The number of delay times in a flanger is smaller than that in a chorus, the range of which is commonly set from 1 ms and 10 ms. This induces a “sweeping” sound. To apply this effect, click the button Flanger to set the parameters or choose the presets offered: Blur, Classic/Crying/Deep Slow Flanger, Fast Sweeping Loop, Flanger-Vibrato and Light Chorus.

10. Phase:

It is the function with which you can split a sound wave signal into two and alter the relative phasing between them, in order to achieve many kinds of sweeping sound. You can apply this by clicking the button Phaser to set the parameters or using the presets offered: Gymnastic Hall, Large Hall, Shower Room and Stadium.

11. Reverb:

Reverberating is the function that creates the sound persistence effect after the original sound is removed. You can hear many reflections after the ceasing of a sound. They gradually decrease till they become silent. Click the button Reverb to set the parameters or choose the presets offered: Alien Saying, Cellar, Metal, etc.

12. Time and Pitch:

With the speed/pitch changing tools offered, you can easily hear the higher or lower note you want at any speed. Click the button Speed Change to set the parameter or choose the presets to slow down or speed up the tempo without altering the pitch. Also you can click the button Pitch Change to set the parameter or choose the presets Alto, Bass, Helium and Soprano to change the tone with the original tempo maintained.

13. Equalization and Filters:

Equalization and filters are also provided in Free Audio Editor.

14. Peak EQ:

You can use this equalizer to alter the signal frequency response in order to create different tonal qualities. Click the button Peak EQ to set the parameters or use the preset filters of 10 kHz, 1 kHz and 200 Hz.

15. Notch Filter:

It is a band-stop filter that has a narrow stop band. Click the button Notch Filter to set the frequency and the steepness or choose the preset filters of 10 kHz, 1 kHz and 200 Hz.

16. Band Pass:

This passes a limited range of frequencies. Click the button Band Pass to set the frequency and the steepness or choose the preset filters of 10 kHz, 1 kHz and 200 Hz.

 

 

17. Low Pass:

This is often applied to remove high-frequency signals that you don’t want. Click the button Low Pass to set the frequency and the steepness or choose the preset filters of 10 kHz, 1 kHz and 200 Hz.

18. High Pass:

Contrary to the Low Pass, it removes the low-frequency parts. There are two presets offered: General Audio Cleanup and Radio/Telephone Quality Audio.

19. Low Shelf:

It allows all frequencies to pass when it increases or reduces frequencies below the cutoff frequency by specified amount. Click the button Low Shelf to set the frequency and the steepness or choose the preset filters of 10 kHz, 1 kHz and 200 Hz.

20. High Shelf:

Contrary to the Low Shelf, it allows all frequencies to pass when it increases or reduces frequencies above the cutoff frequency by specified amount. Click the button High Shelf to set the frequency and the steepness or choose the preset filters of 10 kHz, 1 kHz and 200 Hz.

21. Mix Stereo:

You can use this function to adjust your stereo mixing. Click the button Mix Stereo to set the channel parameters or you can use the presets to decrease the stereo effects, choose the channels you want and swap the channels.

22. Inverse:

This effect is used to invert the phase of the sound wave signals. Click the button Invert and it will automatically accomplish the process.

23. Reverse:

This function is to make the order of the signals completely converse. What you hear after the application is also converse. Click the button Reverse and it will automatically reverse the signals.

 

All these audio effects mentioned above are provided in Free Audio Editor. You can use the presets to easily change the effects to meet you needs or, if you are an expert, you can directly change the parameters of the audio effects. Now add audio effects to your music to make them catchy!

 

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