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javerbach
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How do I see the frequency of a point in spectral frequency display

Jun 28, 2012 3:13 PM

Tags: #frequency

Hi all,

 

I have recently tried out Au 6 (I use Au 3 at the moment), and though I very much like almost everything so far, there is one HUGE problem...how do I see the frequency of a point under the cursor?  In Au 3 this appeared in the status bar, but I can't figure out how to see it in Au 6.  I spend a lot of times editing bird sounds, and this is an absolutely vital feature for me; without it I will probably have to stick to Au 3.  A huge thanks for anyone who can help with this!

 

John

676 Views   8 Replies   Latest reply: therealdobro, Jul 15, 2012 10:44 PM
 
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  • ryclark
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    1. ryclark,
    Jun 28, 2012 3:48 PM   in reply to javerbach
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    Audition CS 6 unfortunately no longer has that option. However under Edit/Preferences/Spectral Display you can turn on grid lines (whose opacity you can alter to suit) which will help you see what frequency a sound is. As you zoom in vertically you get more accurate frequency discrimination. Also you can now change the scaling of frequencies to be more Logarithmic or Linear.

     
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  • javerbach
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    2. javerbach,
    Jun 28, 2012 3:53 PM   in reply to ryclark
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    Darn...that is far less useful than being able to see the exact frequency...I may have to stick to Au3.

     
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  • Melissa Retter
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    3. Melissa Retter,
    Jun 28, 2012 3:57 PM   in reply to ryclark
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    Ah, this actually gets at what I was trying to resolve in a question I posted. I tried what you suggested, but the grid lines will not show up in Au no matter what I set the opacity to, or if I try un-checking and then checking the box. Is this a glitch? Do I need to reinstall it?

     
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  • therealdobro
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    4. therealdobro,
    Jun 28, 2012 8:00 PM   in reply to Melissa Retter
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    It works on mine - I tried it to see how accurate a reading I could get on frequency.  Not particularly accurate for precise work, was my impression.

     
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  • _durin_
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    5. _durin_,
    Jun 28, 2012 8:36 PM   in reply to therealdobro
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    Depending on the spectral FFT size, you should get extremely accurate results.  The higher the value, the more frequency, but less time accurate, the results become.  You can set this in preferences or use the keyboard shortcut: on Mac, it's Shift+Cmd+UpArrow/DnArrow.  I think on Windows, it's Shift+Ctrl+Arrows.

     
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  • therealdobro
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    6. therealdobro,
    Jun 29, 2012 8:05 AM   in reply to _durin_
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    When I do the shift+ctrl+arrows thing, it increases or reduces the distance between the grid lines.  (I get the same result using Ctrl+mouse wheel when the pointer's hovering over the frequency scale on the right, but the advantage of your method is that Audition displays the Spectral Resolution value lower left.)  Using the grid lines, I can guestimate the frequency pretty accurately.  But in Audition 3, just hovering the pointer over any part of the spectral display generates a frequency value at the bottom of the screen, which changes instantly as you move the pointer to another part of the spectral display - with A3, there's no need to guestimate at all - the reading's precise to the hertz.  Correct?

     
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  • javerbach
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    7. javerbach,
    Jul 14, 2012 4:36 PM   in reply to therealdobro
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    I've tried the method recommended here for a while, and I must say I am extremely unimpressed.  Sure, you can get grid lines to be fairly accurate.  But by the time you've zoomed in to the spot to get the desired frequency (see another post recently by me about the problems with THAT), mentally converted the value into hertz instead of kilohertz to use in the fft filter or where, it's take 3-4x as long, minimum, than it did in Au3.  Why on earth did Adobe get rid of this feature?  Every other sound editing tool I've used has it.  It's as basic as the eraser on the end of a pencil...sure, you can get by without it, but it makes the whole tool so much more useful.  I edit hundreds upon hundreds of sounds, and anything that makes editing a sound take that much longer is a serious issue.  Regrettably I cannot justify a purchase of Au6 at this time, and since I've moved to a mac I can no longer use Au3.  So this will probably be the end of me using Adobe audition.

     
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  • therealdobro
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    8. therealdobro,
    Jul 15, 2012 10:44 PM   in reply to javerbach
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    I still find Au3 better in so many ways than CS 5.5 or CS6. When CS6, with its speed and Mac-frendiness, catches up to Au3, I'll be happy and smiley.  The thing that continues to amaze me is why the developers changed things (like the frequency under the pointer issue you've raised here) that were so good in Au3.  It's making me think that they changed things for no other reason than for the sake of change.  If that's what happened, then I personally volunteer to smack each and every one of them upside the brainbox with a chinook salmon.  Or coho.  It's all salmon.

     
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