Re: Spectral Editing is Not User Friendly

>The current feature is really a 'simulation' of editing the spectrogram, rather than actually editing it. ... the effect is not actually acting on the spectrogram - it acts on the audio, and the spectrogram is updated from the processed audio.
That is an implementation detail, from which user should be saved
(although I guess SpectraLayers work the same way, because directly
editing spectrum would be too hard to implement properly). So
implementing GIMP-style brush, acting on spectrum, would make spectrum
editing intuitive. Such brush would auto select the region and bands
(according to its size), then pass it to a filter (according to brush
intensity). Although usual rectangle/lasso/magic-wand selection is
nice too, because you select say white-noise/hum/buzz band and just
delete it. Also, switching to spectrum editing can be a toolbar button
or a hotkey, so users could discover and access the feature easily.

Anyway, spectrum editing is one of the most useful features of audio
editors: it improve good recording or fix otherwise failed recording
(i.e. somebody coughed or got phone call during a recording).

On 10/6/17, Steve the Fiddle <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hi Nikita,
>
> Spectral Editing in Audacity is a fairly new, and not yet fully developed,
> feature. Despite its shortcomings, it was considered to still be useful
> enough to include in the Audacity release.
>
> I like the idea of being able to export the spectrogram, edit in an image
> editor, and then import back into Audacity. I presume that what you have in
> mind is similar to the software "Photosounder" (http://photosounder.com/).
> That would be a totally new feature, with only superficial similarity to
> the current "spectral edit" feature.
>
> The current feature is really a 'simulation' of editing the spectrogram,
> rather than actually editing it. How it works is that the selected spectral
> region sets two frequency parameters (high and low). Specially crafted
> effects (the "Spectral" effects) can then use these parameters to control
> their behaviour. The effects then process the audio data as would any other
> audio effect. So the effect is not actually acting on the spectrogram - it
> acts on the audio, and the spectrogram is updated from the processed audio.
>
> Steve
>
> On 6 October 2017 at 13:38, Nikita Sadkov <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Hi! It was an amazing discovery, that Audacity now supports spectral
>> editing - arguably one of the most fundamental features, especially if
>> you want to synth custom sfx for your project or edit some badly
>> recorded material from https://freesound.org
>>
>> My complain is that it is very obscure and tedious to use in its
>> current form. You have to separately enable spectral selection and use
>> "Spectral edit ..." tools under "Effect" menu. I.e. you can't just
>> press Del to clear the frequencies or use Draw Tool (F3) to paint your
>> sfx with mouse.
>>
>> So I think it would make Audacity order of magnitude more useful, if
>> it copies UI from Sony SpectraLayers, together with layers, which
>> works just like a raster editor, but unfortunately lacks waveform
>> editing capabilities. Also, it would be nice feature to export
>> spectrum plot into png files, so people could edit it in GIMP and then
>> import back into Audacity.
>>
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engaging tech sites, Slashdot.org! http://sdm.link/slashdot
*********** ASKING FOR HELP *************

When asking for help on this list, please include the following information, so we can
help you properly:

* What operating system you are using (for example, Windows XP or Mac OS X 10.5.1)

* Exactly what three digit version number of Audacity you are using (Help > About
   Audacity, or Audacity >  About Audacity on a Mac computer)

* If this is a recording problem, what equipment you are recording with, and how is it
   connected to the computer?

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