How to edit a podcast on Linux?
Looking at the available options, I see many programs such as Ardour and Audacity that seems to focus on recording, mixing, streaming, etc. But what should use it to actually edit the thing?
By that I mean changing the order of things, removing silences, involuntary sounds, and noises, adding music and sound effects, as well as making what I'm saying more concise and intelligible.
I have a background in video editing, and I'm used to working in the "timeline paradigm" that is common to Adobe Premiere and older versions of Final Cut (I have no idea what Final Cut looks like now...). But I have no idea how to edit stuff using actual audio software, I've only used those to treat audio and then finish editing on other programs.
I'd use a video editor for that, but I currently don't own any machine powerful enough to use a video editor software comfortably.
I'm not sure if it's the best option out there or up to your standards, but Audacity should be able to do all the things that you're interested in? I know there are a number of podcasts that have fairly professional quality that have been using it for years.
You can use
Effects -> Truncate Silenceto remove silences beneath some threshold, andNormalize/Noise Reduction/Compressoreffects can be used to clean up vocals.You can record or import more audio and move it around on the timeline in a way that should be a bit familiar if you've done video editing.
Thanks! I understand that Audacity is very good for treating audio, applying effects, etc. But from the short time I used it, I don't think it's very practical for the kind of editing I'm used it, which is basically amounts to moving things around. Maybe I'm wrong, and my video editing habits are no good for audio.
Edit: some people are now are now saying Audacity has become spyware?
No, Audacity is not spyware
Audacity can do noise reduction with a profile. So if you're doing a podcast, get your two minutes of dead room sound, then use that later for your noise profile. You'll only need a few seconds of it, but you'll be looping that room sound behind cuts anyway if you're interviewing people from another space.
You can do multiple tracks with Audacity with ease, too.
I wouldn't blindly cut the silence in one go, though, since that can mess with the natural rhythm.
But audacity is great and really covers the basics and then some. I can't speak the spyware claims, though. Its been a long time since I've used it. I'm all in on Audition, which doesn't help you at all :)
This may or may not be useful, but This American Life has a decent list of resources for podcasters.
The words you need to search for is "Digital Audio Workstation" (or DAW) which is the equivalent of NLE in the video world. I heard that Reaper was quite good (and it's made in part by Justin Frankel, of Nullsoft (Winamp) fame).
REAPER is excellent - I'm using it to edit a podcast on Windows right now. It's a lot of power for a very reasonable amount of money, compared to the big-name DAWs
Another vote for REAPER. I use it mainly for music, but when I recorded an audiobook for my daughter's birthday it was super easy to do the editing in!
Based on the above, I would recommend Ardour. I am a podcaster, and I do effectively all my audio work in Ardour. Noise cleanup; chopping raw audio files up into segments, rearranging them; EQ; compression; all that good stuff. The main effort cost you'll run into is probably finding good plugins to do the things you need, because, for each common task (such as, say, EQ), there are several available, some better than others. But this is mostly a one-time cost, because you can mark them as favourites in ardour, then re-use them each time.
To start you off: x42's plugins are good, and Noise Repellent is a godsend.
Also: Ardour comes with some export presets that let you target common platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Amazon.
Awesome. Would you recommend any educational material for Ardour? Also, does Ardour have any specific software requirement that an old off-the-shelf Dell laptop might not have?
Ardour has performed well for many years. Meaning to say: old hardware shouldn't pose too much of a problem, especially if you don't need to be doing too much in real time. What's probably more important is just taking the time to tweak system settings (kernel config, and other system parameters) to be more favourable for audio work.
For educational material, the manual is good for looking up specifics as you need it, but the #ardour IRC channel on Libera has always been my go-to for help when I have problems and questions. They also have an ardour forum, but I don't participate there. Sometimes a websearch brings me there, though.
Try just diving in, and see how far you get.
If you want a full-featured NLE-like experience, I suggest you try Ardour or Bitwig Studio. Otherwise Audacity is fine, I use it for podcasting all the time.
Audacity should work fine. You can do non-destructive editing (saves/autosaves to a new file) and multiple channels. You can add channels, cut and paste to "new" timelines in channels below, as well.