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10 Powerful Adobe Audition Tips Every User Should Know!

Mike Russell
adobe audition tips - 10 Powerful Adobe Audition Tips Every User Should Know!

Adobe Audition is a powerful tool for editing podcasts, mixing sound for videos, and cleaning up audio clips. The challenge is that mastering the software takes more than just knowing where the buttons are — you need to know how to use them efficiently. In this blog post, I share my top 10 powerful Adobe Audition tips to boost your productivity and editing efficiency.

Tip 1: Use Keyboard Shortcuts

Using keyboard shortcuts can make a huge difference in your editing process. This will drastically reduce the time you spend navigating menus.

Some of the common keyboard shortcuts include:

The good thing about keyboard shortcuts on Adobe Audition is that you can customize them. To do this, go to Edit > Keyboard Shortcuts. Make sure to set up shortcuts that match your editing habits for maximum efficiency.

One of my most used keyboard shortcuts in Adobe Audition is the J, K, and L keys. These keys are used for quick playback navigation and speed adjustment. The J key shuffles playback backward, while the L key shuffles playback forward. Pressing the K key stops playback.

Another good news is that you can customize the speed at which the playback shuttles by adjusting the JKL Shuttle Speed in Adobe Audition’s preferences. To do this, go to Settings > Playback and Recording and choose the speed you prefer.

There are so many keyboard shortcuts and it can be hard to memorize everything. But if you customize it to match your editing workflow and keep using the shortcuts, slowly, everything will be ingrained in your memory.

Tip 2: Master Ripple Delete

One of the most underrated Adobe Audition tips is learning how to use Ripple Delete effectively. It’s a tiny feature that can make a huge impact on your editing speed especially when you’re working with podcasts or interviews.

Ripple Delete automatically removes a selected clip or section of audio and closes the gap left behind. Thus, there’s no need to manually drag the remaining clips over.

To use Ripple Delete, select the segment you want to remove and then press Alt/Option + Delete.

It’s a simple tip that saves you from a lot of key presses and mouse movements.

Tip 3: Use Spectral View

The third tip on our list is the use of Spectral Display. The spectral view shows your audio as a spectrogram instead of a waveform. This view can be useful to easily spot audio problems such as noise, sibilance, and more.

To activate the Spectral Display on Adobe Audition, simply press Shift + D on your keyboard.

It can take some training to get used to working on spectral view but once you master it, it can help you a lot in your editing process. Spectral view allows you to visualize the audio you are working on, which sometimes cannot be identified in the waveform view. In addition, with the tools available on the spectral view, you can edit specific audio frequencies.

Tip 4: Reduce Noise

My fourth Adobe Audition tip is to make use of the original noise reduction tool. There has been a lot of tools introduced lately that can remove audio noise but the original tool inside Audition can still do the job well.

To use this tool, highlight the noise segment on your waveform then go to Effects > Noise Reduction/Restoration > Capture Noise Print.

Next, highlight the whole track and go to Effects > Noise Reduction/Restoration > Noise Reduction.

Finally, on the new tab, remove the noise by manipulating the frequency graph.

Watch me remove some background noise using the same strategy on this YouTube video.

Tip 5: Process Multiple Files

There might be some instances where you need to work on similar files. It could be 10, 20, or 100 files that you need to apply the same edits to. Well, doing it manually can be exhausting. Fortunately, Adobe Audition can do Batch Processing.

To access the Batch Process feature, enable it first by going to Window > Batch Process.

Then grab all the files you’ll work with and drag them to the Batch Process tab.

Now, you can choose what you want to do with all the files by choosing any action from the Favorite tab.

You can add presets to the list of favorites by recording it. To do this, go to Favorites > Start Recording. Then everything you apply to the current track will be recorded. To save, go to Favorites > Stop Recording Favorite and then add a name.

You can also export all files to be in the same format in one run. Just press Export Settings below the Batch Process tab and then choose the format type on the Export Settings window.

Press OK to finalize exporting.

Here is a video clip showing you the whole process.

Tip 6: Match Volume Levels

You’ll probably work with projects that have audio levels that are all over the place. It will be daunting to manually fix it. However, with Adobe Audition’s advanced loudness algorithm, we can easily make the levels consistent.

To do this, highlight everything on your timeline > Double click > Match Clip Loudness.

Finally, set your desired loudness on the Match Clip Loudness tab.

This is one of the crucial yet easy-to-do Adobe Audition tips for ensuring your audio sounds smooth and polished across all platforms.

Tip 7: Utilize Presets

Using presets doesn’t only save you time but also enhances your workflow. One of the smartest Adobe Audition tips is to build and save effect chains as presets, especially if you are working on recurring content like a podcast series.

To save an effects chain as a preset, just click on the Save Preset icon on the upper right side of the Effect Rack tab.

Then, add a name to the preset.

Now, if you want to apply your saved preset to a different track, just select it from the presets menu.

Tip 8: Use Mixer View

The Mixer View is a powerful tool for mixing and mastering your audio projects. If you’re only editing in the waveform or multitrack timeline views, you’re missing out on one of the most intuitive Adobe Audition features. It is perfect for balancing sound visually and interactively.

To access the Mixer View, go to Window > Mixer.

If it’s your first time accessing the Mixer View, it might be overwhelming because of the different controls. It might need some time to get used to it but it will be worth it learning.

In the mixer view, you adjust volume faders in real-time across multiple tracks, pan audio left or right to create spatial dimension, and so much more. With that, I 

Tip 9: Apply Magic Brush

This is where Adobe Audition gets magical. The Spot Healing Brush Tool, often referred to as the Magic Brush, is used within the Spectral Frequency Display to remove specific noises that you can see but not easily hear or isolate in the waveform mode.

To use this tool, you’ll need to turn the Spectral View on. Then identify where the noise is on your spectrogram. Next, enable the Spot Healing Brush tool by clicking its icon on the top side of the window or by pressing B on your keyboard.

Finally, remove the noise by painting it over.

The Magic Brush in Adobe Audition is like Photoshop for audio. It’s easy to use and works wonders.

Tip 10: Keep Track of Projects

The final Adobe Audition tip on our list is to make use of markers to keep track of your projects. Editing isn’t just about enhancing sounds — it’s also about staying organized. Disorganized sessions can slow you down and make you prone to errors.

Markers are locations that you define in a waveform. When used effectively, it can help you navigate within a waveform to easily perform edits. Moreover, markers come in two types — a point and a range.

To add a marker at a specific position, press M during playback or editing. You can delete, add a name, and change the marker type by double-clicking the marker and selecting the action from the menu.

Finally, you can access and manage all markers via the Markers Panel.

Markers are one of the overlooked features of Adobe Audition. It is indeed a simple tool but can be very helpful when used effectively.

Final Thoughts

Mastering Adobe Audition is all about understanding its powerful features and knowing how to use them to your advantage. The more you explore and apply these features, the more confident and creative you’ll become with your audio projects. So, keep experimenting, customize your workflow, and don’t be afraid to try the more advanced tools.

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