# DeveloPassion's Newsletter 51 - Audio turmoil Hello everyone! I’m Sébastien Dubois, your host. You’re receiving this email because you signed up for DeveloPassion’s Newsletter. Thank you for being here with me ✨ If you enjoy this, please forward it to your friends 👍. If this email was forwarded to you, then don’t forget to subscribe and become a supporter ![[DeveloPassion's Newsletter Logo.png|DeveloPassion's Newsletter logo: lightbulb sprouting colorful idea nodes]] ## Welcome to the 51th edition Another week, another newsletter! I hope that you all had a great one 🤩 This week, my wife took the kids on vacation without me for the first time in ages. I felt bad about it, but I really needed some time alone to recharge my batteries and to do some introspection. Interestingly, as an introvert, never being alone has really been the hardest part of life since the pandemic has started. To make the best of it, I decided to take a few days off. But as a solopreneur, “off” is a foreign concept. It really takes a while to stop thinking about ongoing projects and how to move each of those forward… The feeling of guilt is hard to tame. But that didn’t last. I found myself doomscrolling multiple hours each day, following the War in Ukraine. Day after day, the situation kept getting worse, and I felt really anxious and stressed. I completely stopped sharing ideas and knowledge on Twitter and [kept sharing the interesting (and/or depressing) information I stumbled upon](https://x.com/dSebastien/with_replies). I thought that many people would unfollow me because of that, but it didn’t really happen. Surprisingly, the opposite has happened so far. Slowly though, I realized that I was having a real *overdose* of (bad) news. I couldn’t help but think about my kids, imagining them having to go through such horrible events. I wasn’t in the mood for sharing lighter/fun stuff. My thoughts are elsewhere. I’m wondering how long Kiyv will stand, whether the EU and NATO will go further, whether people in Russia will massively rise against their government, whether a real ceasefire will actually take place and let more people get out of harm’s way. I wonder and I’m worried. Worried that we might continue observing Ukraine while it gets completely destroyed by Russians. Worried that the millions who manage to escape will someday have to go back there, only to find ruins. Worried that the tyrant in Moscow might decide to play with his nuclear weapons. Worried about what the future will look like for my kids… Today, I have (mostly) managed to stop compulsively checking the news and social media. Watching a few movies *did* help, but it was certainly not easy to disconnect. While I felt glad about having had some time alone, I can’t really say that my batteries are recharged. Next week I’ll try to resume discussing lighter topics on social media, and return to the usual format of this newsletter. My thoughts will still be with the Ukrainians, and I’ll continue trying to help them with the means at my disposal, but I don’t want to let everyone down. ## Audio processing One thing I did this week is invest some time in learning about how to better record my voice. I bought a really [cool microphone](https://amzn.to/3HQxNEG), but I actually didn’t look at the software side of things until now. After a few hours of research, I ended up with the following audio processing pipeline: - [Rode NTG4+](https://amzn.to/3HQxNEG) connected to a [Zoom H5](https://amzn.to/3sLgbWs) using an XLR cable - Zoom H5 connected to the PC using a USB cable and acting as an audio device - [NVIDIA RTX Voice](https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/geforce/guides/nvidia-rtx-voice-setup-guide//) for “generic” noise canceling - [Equalizer APO](https://equalizerapo.com/) for more fine-grained noise canceling, compression, expansion, and equalization using mainly the [Reaper VST plugins](https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs//) (ReaPlugs) - [Voicemeeter Potato](https://vb-audio.com/Voicemeeter/potato.htm) for redirecting audio inputs to audio outputs (both physical and virtual) - OBS or Audacity to record ![[DeveloPassion's Newsletter 51 - Audio turmoil - Equalizer APO.png]] Caption: My audio processing pipeline in Equalizer APO A few additional tools were involved, such as [Spectralissime](https://vb-audio.com/Spectralissime//) and [Virtual Audio Cable](https://vb-audio.com/Cable//). ![[DeveloPassion's Newsletter 51 - Audio turmoil - Voice potato.png]] Caption: Voicemeeter Potato It took me a while to discover these and configure everything correctly. I actually went far down the rabbit hole (as usual 😂), but I’m pretty happy with the results. Plus I’ve learned quite a few interesting things about sound processing. If you are curious about my configuration, I’ll write an article to explain it more in detail. That's all folks! If you enjoy this newsletter, then please consider [becoming a supporter](https://dsebastien.net) and sharing this link with your friends: https://dsebastien.net ❤️ PS: don’t forget to join the [Personal Knowledge Management community](https://www.dsebastien.net/blog//2021-11-12-personal-knowledge-management-community), the [Software Crafters community](https://join.slack.com/t/softwarecrafterstalk/shared_invite/zt-umgx3v06-4rtJ20PXz867GTPzCk1zeQ), and [come say hi on Twitter!](https://twitter.com/dSebastien) 👋 LINK: - [[10 Essential Knowledge Management Methods Every Professional Should Master (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/10-essential-knowledge-management-methods-every-professional-should-master/-every-professional-should-master// LINK: - [[Why Obsidian is All You Need - From Simple Notes to Complete Productivity (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/why-obsidian-is-all-you-need-from-simple-notes-to-complete-productivity// LINK: - [[The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Obsidian (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/the-ultimate-beginners-guide-to-obsidian// LINK: - [[Knowii Community]] - https://www.store.dsebastien.net//product/knowii-community ## Related - [[Equalizer APO]] - [[My Equalizer APO configuration]] - [[My Voice processing pipeline on Windows]] - [[My VoiceMeeter configuration]]