This essay is not an artistic work.
It is a guide for those struggling with Substack.

Ashmore is not abandoning Substack.

You may not want to read further if you are only interested in the ritual.

Substack changes, and these changes show painfully that we, its inhabitants, are not in control. In recent weeks, I have heard many of you considering leaving. Some are hesitating, worried about losing their circles.

There is a way in the middle, and in this essay I want to show you how to regain some of your control. These words are never complete, and I might update them over time or with thoughts found in the commentary.

Build your vault

Some creatives write in the Substack editor first, considering it a safe place for their work. It is not. Only one year ago, I read multiple times how a programming mistake destroyed their whole Substack.

We never know if this will repeat or what will change in the future. Therefore, you should not work or edit in the Substack editor. Similar problems might arise with Google Docs or Notes. I consider them safer than Substack, but I don’t trust anyone when it comes to my work.

I use an offline editor that lets me work on my hard disk. Many decades ago I used “Corel Write”, but they disappeared, and my files became almost inaccessible. Since then, I write in text-based formats.

My main editor is Obsidian. With it, I can also take notes or write when I travel.

It stores the files in Markdown, which can be read with any other editor too.

My vault is constantly copied to a secure location outside my computer.

Build your temple

Today, it is simpler to build or run a website than ever before. Some providers give you cheap webspace with publishing software, such as WordPress, preinstalled. If you are technically interested, you can even run your own Ghost website on your own server.

Since your writing was saved in the vault, you can use any provider you want. You could always restore it if the provider disappeared.

Except for one thing: your temple should have your own name on it. I bought the domain cultofashmore.com to point at my temple. Nobody other than me can change where it points.

If my provider disappears, I build up a new temple. This is not easily possible when I use cicadacult.substack.com (as I did).

Substack can be your Signal

Even if you don’t like this platform any longer, you could stay and keep in touch with the people you love. Your posts can be signals that only show an excerpt of your work and a link to the temple.

Those who are truly interested in your work may continue to your temple. The others may leave a “like” whether they have read it or not.

Don’t miss out

Most publishing platforms support RSS.
With an RSS reader, you can follow all your favourite creatives and be notified when new work appears.

I follow most Substacks, websites, etc. using NetNewsWire on Mac and iPhone.
On Windows and Android, you could use Inoreader. There are plenty of other options.

RSS is old technology. It still works.

Build paths, not platforms

Once, websites linked to one another.

There was no algorithm feeding you, almost no search engines or social media. I linked to pages of people whom I believed deserved to be visited.

With the rise of social media, we stopped building paths between our homes and started renting rooms inside the platforms.

Today, the algorithm introduces us to one another.
It decides who we see.

The algorithms make us adapt our work so we are found.

Perhaps we don’t need the algorithm to find our kinfolk.

We only need to agree on one small thing.
What if every website of an independent creator creates a page called:

/recommends

And starts recommending other independent websites they believe in?

We have already built a network.
A network which we can trust.

We don’t need influencers because every creator becomes a curator.If two creatives appreciate each other’s work, they simply link to one another.

Every recommendation links to:

• the homepage

• the /recommends page

If you like, add one sentence explaining why.
Nobody can own this network.

Nobody can own /recommends except you.

What about Ashmore?

I am not leaving Substack.
But I recently completed my temple.

In the future, I might use Substack only as a Signal. I have not taken this step yet, but I have considered it for a long time.

I will soon add my own /recommends page.
This essay is my invitation to build paths. With me, or anyone else.

If you have something to add, you may speak.

Aurelian Ashmore

†

Photo taken by mk. s. Manipulated by Ashmore under Unsplash license.

Corrections:

1. Added an RSS section

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Many writers I’ve met on Substack are excellent.
But too often, their words are delivered by AI-generated voices—
and the energy dies in translation.

It’s a loss.
Because the rhythm of your voice carries something no machine can imitate:
Presence. Pain. Memory.

After publishing The Ritual of Rot and bloodletting i I realized many writers want to narrate their work—but don’t know how to begin.

This section offers quiet tools.
No marketing. No promotion.
Just guidance, for those who choose to speak.

Start here:

• Knowing your voice type

• Using EQ

• Using Compression

• The Spectrum knows you use AI

I will update this over time.
But I will not announce these posts.
Those meant to find them will.

†

🜂 Leave an Offering

They sound perfect. Smooth. Clear. But something underneath isn’t breathing. Not in the way a body does.

I study voice not just through the ear, but through the eye. Through the spectrum. Each spectrum reveals the soul of a reading. It’s rot. It's a risk. Or its absence.

A voice without decay, breath variation, or friction can be beautiful, but it is not alive. It doesn’t touch me. I’ve seen these voices. Some were so smooth I had to check twice. But the spectrum never lies.

What the spectrum tells

• 300-3,000 Hz: This is the soul of language. It carries identity, stress, and emotion.

• 100-250 Hz: Weight. Warmth. The throat and chest. But also mud.

• 4,000-8,000 Hz: Air. Realism. Breath texture. Most AI (and bad mics) miss this.

• Above 8000 Hz: Ghosts. If they’re missing, something is filtered. If they’re too clean, something is pretending.

How AI reads

Look at the following spectrum.

The spikes all rise to the same height. Breaths are clean and rhythmic. Nothing above 5k, that is the dark band of silence. No dirt. Nor not.

AI drop between 4-5kHz to avoid synthetic artifacts. It gives clarity without presence. Air but no wind.

Human readings

Here are a few others. All real voices. All flawed. And beautiful.

A perfect mic, full dynamic range, creak at the end. Voice as a performance.

A rough mic, but the reading punches through. Voice as defiance.

A metallic mic, spectrum all peaks and nothing below. Voice as grit.

A spectral riot, insanity made visible. Voice as exorcism:

You can’t fake wounds

You can’t fake breath.
You can’t simulate fear.

If you let AI read, you remove the reason why you wrote the piece.

I don’t care how clear it sounds.
I listen for the rot.
And the spectrum listens with me.

Read it yourself. Or you’ll never have me as a listener.

†

†

EQ sculpts the bone. But compression handles the blood. Your voice rises and falls—shifts like a storm. Compression keeps it intentional.

This is not about volume.

It’s about consistency, closeness, and force.

Why Compression Matters

Without compression:

• Loud moments spike

• Soft phrases disappear

• Breath, emotion, and whispers get lost

With gentle (!!) compression, your voice becomes centered. It pulls the listener in. Even the silence sounds deliberate.

Ashmore Ritual Compression Settings (Audacity)

Audacity includes a basic but effective compressor. Here’s how to find it—and use it for ritual voice:

1. Record your voice (one clean, consistent take)
2. Select the track
3. Go to: Effect → Compressor

Use these baseline settings:

Threshold: -18 dB
Noise Floor: -40 dB
Ratio: 4:1
Attack Time: 1.00 sec
Release Time: 10.00 sec
Make-up Gain: YES
Compress Based on Peaks: NO

What These Mean (Ashmore edition):

• Threshold = the level where compression begins (quiet = gentle)

• Ratio = how much loud parts are reined in (4:1 is balanced)

• Attack = how soon it clamps down (1 sec = let breath through)

• Release = how long it waits before letting go (10 sec = natural taper)

• Make-up Gain = raises quiet parts after compression

• Peaks = ignore them (we care about body, not bursts)

The Ritual Flow

1. Record raw
2. Apply EQ (cut mud, shape tone)
3. Compress next
4. A/B: listen before and after
5. Normalize (optional): `Effect → Normalize → to -1.0 dB`

This ensures you're not louder, but present. Every word felt.

Optional: Gentle Limiter

After compression, you can run:

`Effect → Limiter → Soft Limit (-1.0 dB)`

It ensures no final spikes remain—use sparingly.

Reminder: Compression is Ritual

Don’t crush the voice.
Feel the voice.
Use compression like thread through skin—slow, precise, necessary.
When done right, the audio is no longer important.

It's your voice.

†

🜂 Leave an Offering

†

EQ does not beautify your voice. It removes what doesn’t belong. Every voice makes sounds that aren’t heard—only felt.

Why EQ Matters

EQ (equalization) lets you:

• Strip the muck (mud, hum, hiss)

• Reveal the edge (presence, grit, breath)

• Shape the ritual (space, tone, weight)

Your voice type—bass, baritone, tenor, alto, soprano—defines where the soul lives.
EQ brings it forward. Don’t use presets.
Presets can’t know your voice.

→ If you don't know your voice type, please read "Knowing your voice type” first.

Voice Type → EQ Zones

Bass (80–180 Hz)
Cut between 60–80 Hz — that’s just low-end rumble, not proper tone.
Boost gently in the 180–240 Hz range to bring out the body.
Be careful above 300 Hz—that’s where muddiness creeps in.

Baritone (100–200 Hz)
Cut at 70–100 Hz to clear sub-boom.
Boost between 200–300 Hz to bring clarity and strength.
Above 400 Hz, it may start to sound boxy—tread lightly there.

Tenor (130–250 Hz)
Cut in the 80–120 Hz band to keep it clean.
Boost 250–350 Hz—this is your expressive center.
Watch anything over 500 Hz—it may turn nasal, especially in breath-heavy lines.

Alto (180–300 Hz)
Cut 100–150 Hz to avoid a muddy low-end.
Boost 350–500 Hz to open your voice.
Too much above 600 Hz can make it sound harsh or brittle.

Soprano (250–400 Hz)
Trim 120–180 Hz—you won’t need that range.
Boost 500–800 Hz to bring presence.
Above 1 kHz, be gentle—too much and your voice pierces rather than floats.

Universal Ritual Moves

• High-pass filter: Cut everything below 60–80 Hz (inaudible anyway, makes your sound muddy).

• Presence boost: Subtle lift at 2–4 kHz

• De-ess (for harsh S-sounds): Tame sibilance at 5–8 kHz

Note: There are dedicated de-esser plugins, but EQ alone can improve sibilance if you know where your voice lives.

Ritual EQ Philosophy

• Don’t boost first.
  Carve before you feed. Strip before you shape.

• One move at a time.
  EQ is bloodletting. Go too far and the soul leaks out.

• Every room is a ghost.
  If your space is boxy, fix the room, not just the track.

Tools of the Craft

• Audacity: free, rough, enough

• Logic Pro: powerful (Apple), paid (replaces Audacity)

• ReaEQ: free visual EQ plugins: https://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/

• TDR Nova: surgical, dynamic. Price around 60€. https://www.tokyodawn.net/tdr-nova-ge/

• Airwindows: no GUI, all grit: https://www.airwindows.com.
  NOT recommended for casual readers or beginners.

Ashmore approved (advanced):
Acon Suite (~200€): https://acondigital.com/products/mix-and-mastering-suite.
Ashmore’s preferred paid suite—fantastic plugins for writers moving beyond narration.

Not using: iZotope.

iZotope Velvet: https://www.izotope.com/ helps some. Ashmore tested iZotope’s offerings but chose Acon. iZotope felt expensive for the few tools he actually used.

Windows Writers: Start here

• Use Audacity

• Install VST plugins like ReaEQ (linked above).

• It’s all you need to begin carving.

Final Ritual

1. Record your voice raw.
2. Duplicate the track.
3. EQ one. Leave the other untouched.
4. A/B (compare) them—switch between them. Listen.

Ask:

• Does this version sound truer?

• Does it cut deeper?

• Or did I bury the soul in polish?

Trust the chill in your spine, not the plugin curve.
Some of my “bad decisions” sounded better.

†

Going deeper? Read this:

Finding your voice type

†

You are not a soprano.
You are not a baritone.
You are something older.
But we name you anyway—so the ritual may begin.

†

There are two ways to find what your voice carries.
Choose one. Or walk both paths.

Method One: Sing the Root - Feel

You’ll need:

• A quiet room

• A tone generator (e.g. szynalski.com)

• Your voice. Even if broken. Like mine.

If your voice is deep, begin with C3 (130 Hz).
If it’s higher, try C4 (261 Hz).

Let the tone ring.
Sing into it.
Not to match it flawlessly. Feel where your voice wants to land.

Don’t push. Don’t perform.
Speak into the note. Let it bleed into speech.
Then go downward, note by note, until your voice falters.
Go upward the same way.

You've hit your edge when your voice cracks, trembles, or strains.
Note your **lowest and highest** comfortable tones.

Method Two: Witness the Spectrum (Audacity)

Record yourself speaking or singing from your lowest to highest register.
Download and open Audacity. It is a free audio editor.

Import your recording, then select the voice track. Then go to `Analyze → Plot Spectrum`.

Hover over the curve.

• Lowest bump = your base

• Highest bump = your limit

• Tallest peak = your center

Write these down. They are your voiceprint.

Final Step: Know Your Place

By Note

| Voice Type | Typical Range |
|------------|---------------|
| Bass       | E2 – E4       |
| Baritone   | A2 – A4       |
| Tenor      | C3 – C5       |
| Alto       | F3 – F5       |
| Mezzo      | A3 – A5       |
| Soprano    | C4 – C6       |

By Frequency

| Voice Type | Core Range     |
|------------|----------------|
| Bass       | ~80–180 Hz     |
| Baritone   | ~100–200 Hz    |
| Tenor      | ~130–250 Hz    |
| Alto       | ~180–300 Hz    |
| Mezzo      | ~200–350 Hz    |
| Soprano.   | ~250–400 Hz    |

Ashmore’s voice is bass. Sometimes I level into baritone.
You may be a baritone. An alto-mezzo. A ghost between forms.
Don’t chase the label. Find your center.

Your echo chamber. The place where your voice burns clean.

Once you know that you’ll know what to carve with EQ.

You can read all about it here:

†