TAPS ARTICLE-
EVP EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES FOR CLEANING

Although there are many different audio programs available on the market that range from free on up to the thousands of dollars, finding one that is best suited to you and your groups needs can be a daunting task. I will try to do my best in removing some of the mystique involved in choosing the right audio program for cleaning your evps.

A couple of things to ask yourself in choosing which equipment to purchase is 1) what is my/groups budget? 2) what is the frequency at which I am going to be using this equipment? Is it for serious investigating? Hobby? Or just want to experiment? 3) Who is going to be using this equipment? Is it someone that has experience with that type of software/equipment? Is it an amateur ghost hunter? Or is it someone that is completely new to the digital world of recording?

Recorders
First let’s start with the recorder. Whether you go analog (which is tape based) or digital, like software programs, there are many to choose from. To decide which is best for you you must decide whether you want to go analog or digital. There are pros and cons of both formats. With analog you have a tape-based system, which is great for archiving. You can keep track of each investigation/session on each tape and for some people this is an easy way of keeping organized. The price for an analog recorder is much cheaper then a digital recorder. However you will be paying for the costs of the cassettes over time and if you do a lot of recording and investigation this can run into a lot of money. Also it is a little harder to get the audio into your favorite software program using analog. There is also the fact that cassettes eat up batteries more often then digital because now you have the factor of more moving parts, which means more battery power has to be used to move those parts. You will also need an external microphone for those that don’t have built-in mics. I will talk more about microphones a little later.

Which brings us to the digital recorder. Digital has so many benefits to it that it is usually the first choice of the evp investigator. With digital you get folders to store your audio in, tons of recording time and like analog you usually get an A and B “side”. High-end digital recorders sometimes come with USB (Universal Serial Bus) to enable easy download from the recorder to the computer. You also have longer battery life and more storage time. Tapes don’t wear out or stretch as they do on analog recorders because there is no tape and there are less moving parts. In short I would recommend a digital recorder for any one that is serious about evp investigation.

Microphone
External microphones have the benefit of not only being of higher quality then the built in sort but you are able to extend your recording range. For instance you can get a 50’ mic cable and keep the recorder in one room and isolate the mic in another room. This will lessen the chance of any interference from the recorder and the possible noise from being held in the hand of the investigator. You can then walk from room to room and only pick up the sounds in the room. This isn’t for everyone but it is an option. The choice of microphone is also a decision for you to make. The first thing you need to know is whether or not you need a dynamic or condenser microphone. The pros and cons of each are:

There are basically 5 common polar patterns to choose from: Omni-Directional (360-degree coverage), Bi-directional (Coverage from the front and rear of capsule), Cardioid (180-degree coverage. No sound from rear), Super Cardioid (160 degree coverage. Slight pick-up from the rear) and Lobar (140 degree coverage. Off axis sound is highly attenuated). Most investigators use Omni-directional for its ability to capture sound from all directions, although sometimes this is not the desired effect. Which one you choose is for you to decide.

Recording Software
Ok once you recorded your investigation you need software to clean it up. There are many different applications to choose from. A few of note are, from lower price to higher price, Audacity (free), Acoustica ($39.95), N-Track Studio ($49.95), Cakewalk ($149.00-$229.00) Cool Edit Pro (now Adobe Audition $299.00), Steinberg Nuendo ($1,300-$1,500). All of these offer the basic function of being able to import your audio file whether it is a .wav or .mp3 into the program. And that is about the only similarity. One of the things that you want to look for in purchasing recording software is does it have the ability to use plug-ins? Plug-ins are little applications that run within your host software that enable you to extend the usability of the program. Does it use VST plugins? Steinberg developed a software-processing engine in 1996 for their Cubase program called Virtual Studio Technology (VST). It allows the real-time processing of Audio and Midi plug-in effects, very much in the same way that a mixer would access outboard effects such as reverbs, delays, etc., but without all the expensive needed hardware. Some plug-ins are DirectX only. DirectX is a set of multimedia Application Programming Interfaces (API's) written by Microsoft. It is a collection of Dynamic Link Libraries (DLLs) that contain functions useful to a wide range of multimedia programmers, but are all almost entirely platform independent. One very useful DirectX plug in is called Sound Soap ($99) by a company called Bias-inc. This one piece of software has proven invaluable in cleaning evps. It removes hiss, hum, background noise and any other extraneous
sounds that shouldn’t be on the recording. It is very powerful and because of that you have to be careful not to over process the file. If you do you could get what we call “Matrixing”. This is the phenomena of hearing voices in audio that is over processed or a combination of other noises or seeing “ghosts” in pictures even though there isn’t anything there.

EQ (Equalization) is another tool that is invaluable in cleaning evps. You can almost always get a good clean with good EQ. By using EQ in the proper way you can remove frequencies that are causing noise or hiss etc. If your recording is a little “boomy” then remove some low end. To much hiss? Remove the highs a little. Of course it is much more involved then that but you get the picture.
WAVES X-Click, X-Noise, X-Crackle and X-Hum are another batch of plug-ins that are incredible. These are fantastic at cleaning up a variety of anomalies on recordings. There are many plugins out there and the best way to choose which is right for you and your groups’ need is to ask around. Go to forums, local music stores and chat rooms and ask people what their experiences are. Try recording forums mostly because these are the people that are using these software programs day in and day out.

Ok so you’ve got the recorder, the mic, and the software. Now what? First you need to find out where you will be investigating. When you go to an investigation try not to disrupt the occupants of the dwelling if there are any (ghosts don’t count). Be as uninstrusive as possible but make sure that you let them know that you need their cooperation. They need to be aware that evp investigation/recording is a very sensitive process and any outside noises can jeopardize the integrity of the recording. Make sure that you remove any keys or bracelets prior to recording. Because any sound that you make will be picked up by the recorder. You need to make sure that it is not you making the noise. One thing that I like to do is make a quick sketch of the room layout (i.e. where are the outlets on the walls? The lamps, the TV etc.) As I’m recording and asking questions I will make note on the tape where I am in the house. Now when I listen back to the recording I can reference the sketch and say “oh yeah there is an outlet there with a bad ground, that’s what that hum is”. It’s the little things that pay off in the long run. It’s better to take your time prior to the investigation then to pay for it later playing back hours of recording. Be cognizant of your surroundings. If there is a dog barking make note of it. If a plane flies overhead write it down, if a train goes by be sure to mention it on the tape if possible. Sometimes you just might want to leave the recorder in the room unattended. If so then be sure that no on else enters the room. If there are occupants in the location then I always place a small piece of paper between the door and the jam on the bottom out of sight. This way if someone enters the room and they aren’t supposed to I will know about it because the paper will be on the floor. This may sound sneaky but sometimes you have to do this to keep the investigation honest.

Ok so back to choosing the right equipment for your budget. Here are three scenarios and what you could buy with your budget:

Whew! With all said and done I hope this has helped you make an informed decision. There are many avenues of research for the evp investigator. Be sure to visit the TAPS Forum and you will find many answers to your questions there.

Good hunting!