Audacity 4 podcast presets are here, and if you upgraded Audacity in September you probably need them more than you think. Audacity 4.0 dropped macros, which is how every Audacity preset pack, ours included, used to install. So we rebuilt the Podcasters pack from the ground up for Audacity 4: six one-click presets that fix the problems podcasters actually have, installed the new way.
Why Your Old Presets Stopped Working In Audacity 4
Audacity 4.0 shipped in September 2026 with a completely new interface. What it did not ship with is the Macros manager. An Audacity team member confirmed on the official forum that macros are not in Audacity 4.0 and may come back in a future version.
That matters because a macro was the only way to save a full processing chain (EQ, compression, levelling) and run it in one click. Without it, a preset file built for Audacity 3 has nowhere to go.
The Audacity 4 version of the pack runs on Audacity's built-in Nyquist engine instead. No extra plugins, no third-party installs. Each preset becomes an effect of its own, sitting in the Effect menu next to Audacity's own tools.
The Six Audacity 4 Podcast Presets And What Each One Fixes
The pack is organized by job, not by microphone. Pick the problem you have and you have picked the preset.
Best EQ Male: Fuller Bass And Body
This is the original Best EQ sound from the Audacity 3 pack, the one most people bought the pack for. It adds weight and warmth to a voice that sounds thin on a laptop or a cheap USB mic.
Best EQ Female: The Same Chain, Lighter Tone
New in this version. In the old pack, one Best EQ preset did both jobs, and on lighter voices the extra bass could tip into boomy. Best EQ Female runs the same processing chain with less added bass, so the tone matches the voice from the first click. If your show has a male and a female host, buy both and treat each track separately.
Podcast Host Big Voice: Radio-Style Presence
For hosts who want to sound bold and forward, the way a presenter sounds on a good station. This is the one for solo shows, intros and anything that needs to cut through on phone speakers.
Podcast Host Natural Voice: Better, But Still You
Plenty of podcasters do not want the radio sound. Natural Voice cleans up and lifts the voice while keeping it subtle, which suits interview shows, storytelling and anything conversational.
Anonymous Voice: Protect A Guest's Identity
For sensitive topics where a contributor cannot be identified. It obscures the voice so the listener follows every word but cannot recognize who is speaking.
Zoom Recording: Rescue Remote Interviews
The guest who joined on laptop speakers is the one recording every podcaster dreads. This preset lifts clarity on thin, compressed remote audio. Be realistic about it: it improves what was captured, it cannot invent detail that was never recorded.
Which Preset Should You Start With?
- Solo show, you want to sound bigger: Podcast Host Big Voice.
- Interview show, you want to sound polished but natural: Podcast Host Natural Voice.
- Your voice sounds thin or tinny: Best EQ Male or Best EQ Female, matched to the voice.
- Remote guests on Zoom: Zoom Recording on the guest track.
- Sensitive topics: Anonymous Voice on the contributor's track.
Most shows end up using three or four of these across a season, which is why the complete Audacity 4 podcast presets package gives you all six for about half the price of buying them separately.
How To Install Presets In Audacity 4
You install each preset once, and it stays in Audacity from then on:
- Download and extract your ZIP after checkout. Keep each preset file with its .ny extension.
- Open Audacity 4 and choose Tools, then Nyquist plugin installer.
- Click Choose file, select your preset file and click Apply. Repeat for each preset you bought.
- Open Effect, then Plugin manager, click Rescan plugins and check the preset is enabled.
To use one, select the whole recording on one track, then choose Effect, EQ and filters and the preset. The full chain runs straight away with no settings to enter. A step-by-step guide comes with the download, and the presets work on Mac and Windows. We verified them in Audacity 4.0.0.
Three Rules For Getting The Best Results
One preset, once. Each preset is a complete chain. Stacking two on the same audio, or running one twice, doubles the processing and makes things worse. To compare presets, duplicate the original track and try one on each copy, or Undo before trying the next.
One voice per track. A preset tuned for a male host will not suit the female co-host on the same track. Record each person on their own track and you can give each the right treatment.
Start with a clean recording. A preset applies a professional chain to what you give it, consistently, in one click. It will not remove a reflective room or fix a mic that was a metre away. If your levels jump around between speakers, our producer guide to fixing volume levels in Audacity walks through it, and the Audacity podcast tutorial covers the full edit from settings to export.
Still On Audacity 3?
The Audacity 4 presets will not install in Audacity 3, because Audacity 3 uses macros instead. If you are on any version from 3.0 to 3.9, you need the original Audacity Presets For Podcasters, the macro version of this pack, which is still available. Not sure which version you have? In Audacity, go to Help, then About Audacity.
If you want to understand what the presets are doing under the hood, our guides to the Audacity compressor and the best Audacity settings for voice over break down the processing step by step.
Get The Audacity 4 Podcast Presets
Six presets, one click each, built for the way Audacity 4 works now. Buy the single preset that fixes your biggest problem, or get the full set and cover every episode type you make.
Get the Audacity 4 Presets For Podcasters
Making more than podcasts? The full audio presets collection covers voice overs, radio and creative effects too.
