West Texas Paranormal

Quality EVPs: How to Properly Care for and Preserve Your Audio.

By  Kelli

            So, you had this “wicked awesome” EVP, and now you can no longer hear it. I cannot begin to tell you how often this happens. Audio quality sacrificed for file compression runs rampant not only in the paranormal field but in other industries as well – most specifically the music industry. Since no one wants do have to download 50 Megabyte’s for a song, we have found wonderful ways to shrink our file sizes at the expense of the quality.

            Unfortunately, for those of us investigating the paranormal, this means that occasionally our teammates (or ourselves) will present audio which has been compressed, because they just were not informed.

            There is a very simple way to avoid ruining your EVP files when you save them from your digital recorders to a computer hard drive: Save them as WAV files…or IFF or AIFF if you are a MAC user. Unless you’re saving more than 4 Gigabyte’s of WAV audio (which is approximately 6.6 hours), you have no reason to need to save your file as any other format (Though if you do need to save more than that, the W64/RF64 file is the way to go).

            Why don’t we want compressed audio? When an audio file is converted from WAV to MP3, for example, the file becomes much smaller. This is because in MP3 format, the parts of the track that are “inaudible” are deemed unnecessary and removed. As you have probably guessed, this could be potentially problematic with EVPs, since they are most often very quiet. What often happens is the EVP is heard initially but after the file is saved it disappears or is so distorted or altered it is no longer useable. Any other file type besides WAV will be at least slightly less quality.

           Short and sweet: Do yourself (and everyone else) a favor and save your audio as WAV files.

            What about transferring your audio from your recorder to a computer?  This does not have to be a complicated process. Many digital recorders now have USB cables, which make the process very simple and seamless. But what if your recorder does not have USB capabilities? Do you need a new one? Absolutely not. While the quality of your recorder will make a bit of a difference (and you want to opt for the highest quality you can afford, don’t be cheap if you can help it…personally, I think the Zoom recorders are pretty awesome), you can get results on any kind of audio recorder. Even the one you see on the infomercial to remind yourself to buy eggs…

            If you are still using a cassette or mini-cassette recorder, you probably realize that it is a little tougher for you to get quality EVPs unless you are using an external microphone. The sound of the tape spinning in the recorder does make it on to your tapes and can actually be the cause of several cases of audio matrixing. You really want to be careful with this.

            If you’re using a digital recorder that does not have a USB “hole,” that’s okay, too. You most likely will not need an external microphone to record your audio since you do not have to deal with tapes, but if you prefer one, that is up to you and your team.

            With both cassette and digital recorders without USB capabilities, you can still transfer your audio to your computer to share on the internet or with your team, or to burn to a CD. What you need is a “patch cable,” which is basically what looks like a cord with a “headphone prong” on both ends. You can find these anywhere electronics are sold, usually in the MP3 player or Stereo accessories section. They are about $8 at Wal-Mart ( http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=9721012 ).

            Plug one end of the cable into the headphone “hole” on your recorder, and the other end into the microphone “hole” on your computer. Then open whatever audio program that you use (I use Audacity because I’m on a budget and it’s free, but there are many others such as Sound Forge, Goldwave, and CoolEdit which are also good. If your recording is short enough, you could even use the Sound Recorder that comes on your PC and will record about 30 seconds). Once you have your software opened, hit the “record” button on your computer screen and the “play” button on your recorder. You should start seeing that your audio is transferring, though you will not hear it while it is doing this. You may want to do this a couple times to make sure you have your volume levels set properly, too. Do this by pressing “stop” on your recorder and your computer screen, making sure your speakers are on, and press “play” on your computer screen. If the sound is really distorted, turn the volume on your recorder down a bit. Play with this until you find what works best. This method does take awhile, since you have to transfer your audio in real-time, but the quality will be as good as it was when you listened through your headphones and as long as you save as a WAV file, you should not have any data loss.

            When you have saved all of your audio to your computer, it is definitely best to back it up. You can do this by saving it to a Flash or Jump drive, an External Hard Drive, burning it to a CD, or storing it on a file storing site online (I recommend http://www.4shared.com , which allows you to password protect your stuff so you can share it only with the people you want to share it with, and name your own domain).

            What about when you are in the field? How can you ensure that you are recording something that will be usable?

            First of all, be familiar with your personal recorder, or whatever recorder you have chosen to use belonging to your team. You don’t want to accidentally erase something (which I’ve done before) or mess it up in any way, so make sure you’ve read the instruction manual, experimented with the recorder, or had someone teach you how to use it first (team Tech Managers are great for this! Make them feel loved!)

            When you go to do your EVP session, there are some really simple ways to make sure you will not contaminate your audio. First and foremost, you want to make sure you set your recorder down if possible. If you are holding it in your hand, there is the possibility that the sounds of your hand on the recorder will be heard, and this can distort the ambient sounds or cover them up completely. You also want to make sure you are not breathing into the microphone.  When you set the recorder down, avoid setting it directly onto a hard surface. If you are placing it on a table, try and set it on a towel or something, which will help to eliminate echo and reverberation and overall sound distortion caused by a non-absorbent surface. Carrying a washcloth or bandanna with you for such an occasion is a good idea. If you do not have the luxury of placing something soft beneath your recorder, it is better to place it on wood than metal or plastic. Wood is porous and will absorb more sound.

            If you are outside, be aware of wind and outside noises. If it is too windy, none of your recordings will be any good. If there are a lot of dogs barking, it is going to be hard to hear anything paranormal.

            Also, make sure that you “tag” your recordings. You want to be diligent about this, but not obnoxious. While you’re doing your EVP sessions, first identify yourselves and your location, for example, something as simple as “This is Kelli and Debra in the playroom at the XYZ house” so that you or anyone who listens to your audio know what sort of sounds should be there and who’s voices will not be paranormal. You will also want to identify any non-paranormal sounds you may hear during the recording, such as coughs, doors slamming, dogs barking, voices in another room, etc. When you hear these things, very clearly say something along the lines of “someone coughed in the next room” or “a dog just barked” so that anyone listening to your recordings will know what that sound was and that it was not paranormal. If you fail to “tag”, you may not remember or recognize some of these sounds later, and may accidentally consider them paranormal. You probably will not have to do this with every single sound. If it is a dog barking, you may only need to identify it once and then everyone will know that sound is the sound of a dog barking every other time that it happens.

            When doing EVP sessions, be sure that you are not whispering unless there is an explicit reason that you should be. Whispering is not going to make the ghosts talk to you. It will just make it hard to understand what is being said when you listen to your recordings. Speaking clearly at a normal tone of voice for your environment is fine and actually preferred by most. You may also want to have some sort of steady background noise. There is some debate over whether this is good for investigations or not and is a decision that should be made by you and your team according to your preferences. If you do prefer a sound in the background, a white noise generator, running water, fan, or TV static would be good, consistent choices that would be available to you.

            This should go without being said, but you also want to make sure no one was “messing with you” via your audio recorder. If you leave it unattended, make sure it is in view of someone else or a camera, or that the only entrance and exit to the location is being monitored. Not only will this enable you to see what non-paranormal sounds (like footsteps, doors, people talking, etc) may have happened while you were away, but if someone decides to pull a prank on you (one of your team members may be notorious for doing this in good fun, or the building owners could be wanting to trick you for their own personal gain), you’ll have evidence to support that it is actually not paranormal. The last thing any of us wants is to take the “really cool piece of evidence we caught” to someone only to have it be fake.

            These methods are not the definitive, end-all-be-all of paranormal audio technique. When you decide on what approach to take or how to save your files and present them to the world, that is up to you or your team based on your specific needs. In any case, the most important thing is to remember that you want to provide the world with an undeniable piece of evidence that is of the best possible quality. These are just a few ways which you can achieve that.   

This article was written by Kelli of WTPIS (West Texas Paranormal Investigation Specialists) in Lubbock, Texas. Do not copy or re-post it without permission.

 TYPES  of  ORBS  

by Robby D. Duncan

Its amazing how often a Natural Environment Orb is labeled a Spirit Orb! Most new investigators will make this mistake at first while they are training and learning the methods and techniques that will make them better professionals. However, there are simply too many seasoned veterans in the field that far too often try to pass off a Dust Orb as Supernatural... rather than just Natural. Here we have posted some photos that will, hopefully, help in the training of our newer investigators! This can also be helpful to any curious people who want to be better educated on the subject.

Our investigators should study these pictures as one way to get a better idea of the different types of Orbs and what they look like. Note the solidity of some and the transparence of others, The color and brightness, The aura that some orbs emit.... etc, etc. Each pic is labeled with its type of orb.

 Dust Orbs are the most commonly seen orbs around... especially in West Texas! Unfortunately, our beloved home makes capturing Orb evidence quite frustrating.... then again we love a challenge... Right!! We get Dust Orbs almost every time we are on a case and that is to be expected always! These can be very impressive looking and they make it easy to wanna jump to conclusions, but in fact they are simply.... nothing. Pollen Orbs are very very similar to Dust Orbs, only they can be recognized by their "lemon shape". So, if you get a picture that looks like a Dust Orb with this shape to it...it is probably just Pollen. This, of course, only happens certain times of the year. Moisture or Humidity Orbs are also only seen at certain times.... such as when the humidity level is high or the weather is wet, but can also be found in other kinds of situations that involve a humid area. These orbs are recognized by their tendency to be colorful, yet transparent! They usually have what looks like a thin layer of rainbow-like color around the edge. Now, the best way to recognize a Spirit Orb is to search for a more "solid" look to the orb and a consistent color over the general area of the orb. Alot of orbs will appear to be very bright or brighter than others, but don't let that fool you! If a Dust Orb is close enough to the lense of the camera.... the flash will illuminate it and make it look like a Spirit Orb! Always look for those little tell-tell signs to accurately label any orb. Sometimes, as in the last photo above, Spirit Orbs can literally be emitting Energy outwards from the actual orb! This is most likely a sure thing in recognizing such an orb.  

Robby D. Duncan ,  WTPIS Director - April 2008                                                             

 ALL PHOTOS IN THIS ARTICLE BELONG TO  http://www.ghostweb.com