Tutorial: How to Edit & Process Your Podcast with Ableton Live

In episode 1 we looked at setting up your studio session with Ableton Live, AKG Lyra microphone and JBL-104BT monitor and in episode 2  it was time to record. Now that the podcast is recorded, it needs to be processed before it can be uploaded. This is a combination of editing out unwanted parts of a recording and applying a processing chain to enhance the audio and clean it up.

Any region of a recording that does not have a dialogue over it can be removed from the recording. The room tone that was recorded is placed underneath the entire podcast to keep those cuts from being noticeable (any drop to complete silence can be jarring to the listener).

Processing of the audio can begin once editing is complete. We’ve created a podcast **Processing Chain** which is available for download so you can just drag and drop it onto your recording.
** Download Processing Chain Here:     
**Please note this Processing Chain is compatible with Ableton Live 10 only, will not work with older versions

This chain consists of:

• EQ – a tool that removes unwanted frequency content from a recording.
• Compressor – evens out the overall volume of a recording for a more consistent level throughout.
• Limiter – This stops volume from going past a certain threshold and peaking any speakers and equipment.

The only parameter that needs to change in this chain is the threshold of the compressor as this reacts to the volume of the recording and will need to change for every episode and speaker involved in the podcast.

Once all processing is done, the entire episode needs to be listened to and keep an eye on the max volume shown on the master fader. It should never go above zero (as this degrades the signal) and should sit between -3 to -1 dB.

The final step is exporting the episode. File > Export Audio/Video is the pathway to export from Live. The render length should be set a few bars past where the episode finishes making sure nothing is cut out and as the Lyra is one the most affordable USB microphones on the market that can record at 48/24, the export can be set to those parameters to achieve a higher quality finished product.

Once the project has been bounced it is ready to upload and podcasting status has been achieved.