Adobe Audition Tutorial for Podcasters [2024]

Adobe Audition is a powerful editing software that offers all the tools you need to create a professional-sounding podcast! Podcasters love it for its advanced editing features, excellent noise reduction capabilities, and seamless integration with other Adobe products.

If you’re new to audio editing, editing software can seem overwhelming. But in this tutorial, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know to edit a podcast in Adobe Audition!

• Getting Started with Adobe Audition
• Basic Editing
• Using Multitrack View
• Applying Effects
• Troubleshooting Common Issues
• Exporting Your Podcast
• Final Thoughts
• Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started with Adobe Audition

Before diving into editing, you’ll want to make sure your software is set up properly and that you’ve created a new multitrack session.

Step 1: Set Up Your Project

1. Open Adobe Audition and go to File > New > Multitrack Session.
2. Give your session a name and choose a location to save it.
3. Set the sample rate to 4800, select a bit depth of 24-bit, and choose a mono master track.

Step 2: Import Your Audio Files

1. Click on File > Import and select the recording audio you want to use (e.g., your recorded interviews, intros, and any music or ads).
2. Drag and drop your files into separate tracks. If it helps, you can label each track for easy reference (e.g., Host, Guest, Music).

Now you're ready to start editing your podcast episode!

Basic Editing

With your audio files imported, you can start editing your podcast audio. Here are some basic editing tools for your audio production:

Cutting and Trimming Audio

Use the Razor Tool (shortcut: Command + R) to cut unwanted sections. Simply click where you want to cut, then use the Selection Tool (shortcut: Command + V) to delete or move sections.

Adjusting Volume Levels

Select the track you want to adjust and use the Clip Volume Control (the yellow line running through each clip) to raise or lower the volume. You can also apply fades by clicking and dragging the small squares at the beginning and end of the clip.

Removing Background Noise

If your recording has background noise, Adobe Audition’s noise reduction tools can help!

Pro Tip: Don’t skip this step in podcast editing! Removing background noise will make your audio sound high-quality.

1. Select a section of your audio that contains only the background noise.
2. Go to Effects > Noise Reduction/Restoration > Capture Noise Print.
3. Highlight the entire audio clip, then go to Effects > Noise Reduction/Restoration > Noise Reduction (Process).
4. Adjust the reduction settings until the background noise is minimized without affecting the overall quality of your voice.

Using Multitrack View

The multitrack view lets you edit multiple audio tracks at once, making it easy to add music, sound effects, and voiceovers.

• Use the Solo button (S) to focus on a single track or the Mute button (M) to temporarily silence a single track.
• Use track effects: Apply effects like equalization (EQ), compression, and reverb to specific tracks by clicking on the Effects Rack for that track.

Applying Effects

Adobe Audition offers a wide range of effects to help you clean up and normalize your audio. Here are a few essential ones to try:

Equalization (EQ): EQ is like adjusting the bass and treble on a stereo. It helps make your voice sound clear and balanced by emphasizing or reducing certain frequencies!

Use the Parametric Equalizer (Effects > Filter and EQ > Parametric Equalizer) to adjust the frequency levels of your audio.

Pro Tip: Boosting the mid-range frequencies (between 1kHz and 5kHz) can add clarity to your podcast sound while cutting low frequencies (below 100Hz) can reduce rumble and hum.

Compression: Compression controls the dynamic range of your audio, making softer parts louder and louder parts softer.

Apply compression (Effects > Amplitude and Compression > Multiband Compressor) to create a more balanced sound.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

If you run into problems while editing, don’t worry! Here are a few quick fixes for common problems:

• Audio is out of sync: Make sure your sample rates match for all imported files. Convert files before if needed!
• Background noise remains: Adjust the noise gate settings by going to Effects > Amplitude and Compression > Dynamics. Check the AutoGate box and set the Threshold from -25dB to -35dB to reduce ambient noise.
• Volume levels vary too much: Use the Hard Limiter (Effects > Amplitude and Compression > Hard Limiter) to keep audio levels consistent.

Exporting Your Podcast

When you feel like your episode is ready to go, it’s time to export your podcast recording for distribution!

1. Go to File > Export > Multitrack Mixdown > Entire Session.
2. Choose your desired file format (MP3 or Wav is recommended for podcasts).
3. Click Export!

Final Thoughts

Adobe Audition is a great choice for podcasters who want more control over their audio or who already have access to the Adobe Creative Cloud suite!

Though the software may seem complicated at first, with practice, you’ll be able to streamline your editing process and produce high-quality episodes.

If you need more help, reach out to our Podcaster Success team at support@buzzsprout.com.

Keep podcasting!