(c) Todd M. Bates of (HauntedVoices.com)
Posted: 2/2/2005
Using Adobe Audition For EVPs 
 
Adobe Audition is a great piece of equipment for the serious researcher. This software was formally Cool Edit and Adobe acquired the company and made some great improvements to the program. Haunted Voices is currently working with Adobe to create a program that is focused on the paranormal community and I will keep you up to date on the progress. The following information is some of the basics behind operating the program and processing your recordings. I will break these down for you in a step by step process.  
 
Uploading your recordings to your computer using Adobe Audition: 
 
For this process you will need what is called a “Patch Cord�?and these can be purchased at your local electronics store. 
 
Step 1: INSTALLATION - Plug one end of the patch cord into the “Ear/Headphone Jack�?of your recording device and plug the opposite end into the “line in�?jack of your computers sound card. 
 
Step 2: SETTINGS - Open the Adobe Audition software and click on FILE then NEW and this will bring you to the Waveform settings option. For your sample rate you should select between 22050 and 42100 (The higher the number the more space that will be taken up on your hard drive). Next you will want to select Stereo because this will upload your recording on both the left and right channel (Better Quality). For your resolution you can choose 16bit for most recordings or if you have a high end sound card you can choose the 32bit float. Then press OK. 
 
Step 3: UPLOADING - Now that you have your software ready for recording now it is time to upload your data and record it to your computer. Some investigators choose to just upload the segment that they wish to process but I usually upload the entire recording and then remove any negative excess later.  
 
FOR CASSETTE RECORDERS: 
 
Press the pause button and the play button to preload your cassette recorder and hover the mouse cursor over the record button of Adobe (Little red button in lower left corner) with one finger on the pause button and the other on the left mouse button, press and release the two simultaneously and this will begin your recording to the program. *BE SURE YOUR LINE IN FEATURE IS SELECTED* this can be done by clicking on your volume horn located by the clock and look to see if this is muted or not. You may need to click on the properties then on the advanced tab to see some of these features. Click on options then properties and select “Recording�?make sure the “Line In�?option is selected in this feature.  
FOR DIGITAL RECORDERS: 
 
The process is pretty much the same for the digital recorder except you would just press play on the device when you are ready to record. There have been some issues with using the USB option that comes with most new models of digital recorders to upload your date. I personally choose not to use this option for a couple of reasons. One is that the USB option in my opinion can not decipher the sound as well as the computers sound card can and this may result in a lower quality recording. Two, there is more work involved with using this option. First, if you are in the field and do not have your computer with you then you have to bring the software drivers that came with your recorder and install them on another computer if you wish to analyze them on site. With the patch cord you can upload them very easily to any computer and NO software or drivers are needed. *SOME MODELS WILL UPLOAD IN MONO IF USING THE PATCH CORD* This type of thing is normal for some newer models because the computer chip inside is only designed to decipher mono from stereo by using the program that is included with it. You can always change the recording to stereo with Adobe later. 
 
Step 4: AMPLIFYING - This process can be used if you feel you have captured an Evp and wish to enhance the sound for better processing. Click on the EFFECTS option located at the top of the program and then hover the mouse on AMPLITUDE then click on AMPLIFY/FADE. This will bring you to a Presets menu. Keep in mind that a little goes a long way in this program. I usually start with a 3db (Decibel) boost and then replay the recording and apply a further boost of 3db �?10db as needed. *DO NOT OVER AMPLIFY YOUR RECORDING* this can greatly reduce the sound quality and possible damage your data and you will be forced to record it once again. 
 
Step 5: CLEANING - This process seems to be the most difficult for investigators to understand and I will try my best to explain it. If you wish to go over this section “hands on�?then please contact me for a private lesson. This process will differ between cassette and digital recordings due to the “hiss�?(also referred to as white noise) generated by cassettes. You can either break down your segments (explained further with private lessons) and clean them or you can clean your entire recording (this may take several minutes to complete) I usually clean my entire recording because you never know what may be missed or hidden in there once it has been cleaned. Click on the EFFECTS tab once again and then hover the cursor over FILTERS, then click on SCIENTIFIC FILTER. In your PRESETS box locate HISS CUT ABOVE 10 kHz click on this option and then press OK. This will filter out a small amount of the hiss and be sure to listen to the entire segment after the reduction has been made. If you wish to continue making small hiss cuts use this feature. If your recording has heavy background noise (usually cassettes) then I would recommend using the NOISE REDUCTION option. Click on EFFECTS then hover over NOISE REDUCTION and clicking on HISS REDUCTION this will open your settings box. *PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW CAREFULLY* this is where a lot of us tend to ruin or distort our recordings so please follow carefully. In the settings box you will see a graph of your recording and a box of presets. The LIGHT HISS REDUCTION preset is usually the only one that you will be using. Click on the LIGHT HISS REDUCTION preset to highlight it and you will see your graph flat line (This is normal) once you have highlighted this preset then click on GET NOISE FLOOR and this will quickly adjust your recording and load it onto the graph. Press OK and the light hiss reduction will be made. Listen to your segment after making this adjustment and you will usually not need to make another reduction. If too many of this are made then your recording will sound extremely digitalized and the Evp will be unsuitable for evidence. I would recommend using only the scientific filter for your reductions unless you have heavy background hiss. 
 
REMOVING CLICKS AND POPS: 
 
This is a nice feature that Adobe Audition has and is an asset for those of us who still use cassettes for recording. This filter will repair what is needed and reject what is not so it is a pretty safe filter to use. To use this filter click on EFFECTS then hover over NOISE REDUCTION then click on CLICK/POP ELIMINATOR (Avoid using the AUTOMATIC option *Adobe Audition v. 1.5 only) on your preset options click and highlight your desired filter (usually the HISS + LOTS OF CLICKS filter) and click OK. This process may take several minutes to complete with a longer recording. You should hear a significant difference after using this filter. 
 
Step 6: REVERSE OPTION - This is a feature that can be used to see if your captured Evp has a “Reverse Meaning�?This should be attempted with all of your Evp just to be sure that you have not captured 2 different words or phrases. There have been several Evp that have been captured that say one thing forward and something completely different in reverse. The reason that some spirits do this is unknown but is a pretty common occurrence. To reverse your Evp click on EFFECTS then REVERSE *be sure to highlight the area you wish to reverse prior to doing this*  
 
Step 7: ENHANCING SOUND - for those of us that choose to upload or share our evidence with others on the internet then I would recommend using this next feature. Click on EFFECTS then FILTERS and then select GRAPHIC EQUALIZER. Click on the tab that says 30 BANDS 1/3 OCTAVE. You will see numerous presets at the bottom and I usually use the one titled “Destination Home Theater�?select this filter and click OK and this will improve the sound quality on some of your Evp. This DOES NOT alter your evidence but merely enhances it. 
 
To learn more about Adobe Audition or receive Private Lessons please feel free to contact Haunted Voices http://www.hauntedvoices.com