Dear Anyone.

So I've found a bit of sound I like, in the middle of a long bit of sound I don't want. I put the whole chunk into Audacity and cut out the part I want. And put it on test loop and when it hits the end of the bit of sound it clicks, very audibly, before it restarts.

I've tried fade in/fade out, still got a click. Tried highlighting to just BEFORE the end of the section, still get a click. Everything I've tried so far leaves me with a click. I know Audacity's got a zero crossings finder - that is what's supposed to find t he silent bit to loop with isn't it, tell me if I'm wrong, I'm the dumbass NOOB around here! - but that hasn't done anything for me thus far. I'm highlighting the little bit of audio, choosing zero crossings finder, still got a click.

How do I make a click-free loop? Please, go easy on techie terms in the answer as I know nuddin', as the question will probably prove! And will your answer work every time I hear a bit of sound I want to loop?

Yours ignorantly

Chris.

 

If you zoom in, you should be able to see the click. It would only be a few miliseconds long. Just delete it, or, give it to me and I'll have a look.

 

As well as ensuring the sample starts and ends on a zero crossing, you'll also want to make sure that the loop forms a contiguous wave.
For instance, if the waveform at the start of the sample is going from zero into positive (up,) the end of the sample should be going negative into the zero crossing. Basically, the positive, negative cycle needs to be completed or you'll get a nasty click.
I hope that makes sense and helps!

 

This is the answer. And a very small fade in/out can help too. Like 3 milliseconds or less. The fade is to deal with the DAW playing 2 different regions in a row. The microscope editing is what will solve the real bulk of any noise you will hear. When cut correctly, you usually will not even need the fades.

You might want to try doing these with that snap to zero crossing setting turned off. That is a convenience feature, and it will usually be accurate. But that can depend on the resolution and be somewhat of an approximation. If you zoom all the way in, you can be sure that you are cutting exactly where you want.

 

Last edited: Dec 5, 2023