Reducing sibilance and slight background noise-hiss without affecting vocals

E

eco_bach

Well-known member
Hi
Hoping some audio gurus reading this might help.
Using Audition and have already applied some noise reduction and EQ and a bit of reverb.

Now I'm trying to eliminate some minor sibilance and slight residual background hiss.
However, when I tried isolating this frequency range using the multiband equalizer I also affect the vocals.

I don't want to run a 2nd noise reduction pass since its destructive(would need to render out the audio, reload and apply the noise reduction).
Anyone care to suggest an alternative?
 
Noise reduction is best performed in multiple passes with slight reduction each time, rather than once with the intent of removing all the noise.

As for sibilance, you need a de-esser, which is essentially a frequency-specific compressor.
 
Thanks
Would you apply all your NR passes in a single step first, OR apply one first, then another later on in your FX chain?
 
Noise reduction is a process. Get it done before you do anything else to the signal.
 
Wrong order. Fix problems first. Reverb etc. is after everything else.

Sibilance is probably best dealt with with a "deesser". Some are a lot better than others so YMWV. Basically it's a targeted ducker, that you tune to the sibilance freq. NR is generally not much use with sibilance.


eco_bach said:
Hi
Hoping some audio gurus reading this might help.
Using Audition and have already applied some noise reduction and EQ and a bit of reverb.

Now I'm trying to eliminate some minor sibilance and slight residual background hiss.
However, when I tried isolating this frequency range using the multiband equalizer I also affect the vocals.

I don't want to run a 2nd noise reduction pass since its destructive(would need to render out the audio, reload and apply the noise reduction).
Anyone care to suggest an alternative?
Click to expand...
 
That is always a tough nut. You have noise and hiss...Check out a deesser, as Noiz2 mentions. Another thing to look out for is garden variety reverb, if you have any kind of sibilance at all, the sort of reverb that is built in to a lot of Daws and gear will basically amplify and lengthen it, whereas a smooth reverb like the Lexicon 96, or even some of the better plugin room simulators, will have less ringing.
There are some very nice noise reduction programs, consider renting an hour or two of studio time with someone who has a Cedar system or Renovator. These will affect the hiss more than the esses.Barring that, there are some decent sampling plugins that will make a noise print of the hiss a lift a bit off. It could be that a notch filter in EQ may help with the esses as well, it depends on the acoustic. If you had the mike pointed straight at the talent, and you know the treble boost of the mic, you can use that as a starting point to flatten out the presence boost in the areas that amplify sibilance. No matter what, it will involve some trial and error. Depending on the material, you can sometimes trim some of the esses by taking some samples out of the middle of the s sound. Lastly, if you are using an array, make sure that the timing among the mics is correct, so that any delays that are introduced do not prolong the esses.
So, to add reverb without over essing the mix, use more reverb with a shorter tail, and experiment with the frequency damping of the tail as well. Longer reverb tails prolong the esses.
 
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