Soundsoap 2 users?

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powerdog

Veteran
You ever find that Soundsoap isn't much help? I'm fast reaching the conclusion that some background noises are better left alone, regardless of the audio app.

I had to shoot a guy whose office is next to construction work, and he promised that they usually didn't make much noise. It was very noisy that day, we couldn't reshoot, and the machinery was at just about the same pitch as his voice.

So if I try to get rid of the noise in SS2, his voice sounds very hollow.
 
Sorry to revive such an old thread... but I just bought this program on a wim, and my conclusion so far is that it's a total and utter waste of money.

This is sound processing for idiots... what I'm finding is totally in line with the post above... Honestly I thought I'd pick this up just so I could say that I was familiar with it. A guy I know implied that he could fix some location sound issues "as easy as turning a dial"... and I knew what he was talking about, so I bought this... um... no.

If you have any rudimentary sound editing app you are better off in that... if you have AC noise that's bugging you, then apply a notch filter at 50 or 60 hz and play with the octave width. If you have to dial out other sounds but want to revive the voice... just play with the dynamics and again, in the eq boost some bands in the presence range of frequencies... If you tweak this stuff in the paragraphic mode of EQ then you can watch and listen as you slide the frequency around to boost as much voice definition as possible while you simultaneously squash some unwanted noise.

I am at a total loss as to the point of this program. Saying that it makes voices sound hollow is a really nice way to put it... it makes voices sound like we're getting alien transmissions... in direct proportion to however many "problems" you want to fix.

If you just tweak a little tape hiss, wow and flutter, or whatever... then it imparts just a little "alien voice"... if you need to fix a significant amount... then grandma sounds like she's gonna' take over the planet.

I'd give this app about 1 out of 5 stars. You can do a way better job in most other audio/video apps. I'm willing to bet that ordinary Vegas can better handle unwanted audio issues.

PS. THIS SHOULD BE IN THE AUDIO FORUM... BUT IT'S MY HOPE THAT DVXUSER MEMBERS WILL SEARCH AND FIND THIS THREAD BEFORE ANYBODY ELSE WASTES THEIR MONEY ON THIS JUNK.
 
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Well, to give the other side. Sound Soap2 is not the greatest thing since sliced bread but people expect miracles and that simply isn't possible.
Noise Reduction apps work on steady state noise. Some also have "hum" removing filters and pop and crackle removers. But none of them can remove a changing sound, especially if it's in the frequency range that effects things you want to keep. Visually it would be like removing all the yellow from a picture and expecting the greens to stay green. Even a Cedar system wont clean that up and it comes in ar around $30,000 (SS2 is under $80).

So is it worth it...??? maybe. I bought it and have used it with good results on music recordings to reduce the A/C noise in the theatre. It also works pretty well on softening digital distortion (using the crackle filter). Hum and buzz removal are not much use.
I also use BNR. It's pretty similar but offers more control. Izotope's RX is a better app and now comes with plugin versions but it's $300. If I could only have one, RX would be it (assuming I didn't have the $$$$ for Cedar). THere are also very good harmonic filters in the Roger Nichols EQ plugin that will handle hums and buzzes quite well.
With RX and BNR and the RN plugs, I don't use SS2 much, but it is still useful for light cleanup and it's very easy to use. I will sometimes go to it first to see i it will work.
THe noise reduction plugin in FCS is a better choice than SS2 so if you have FCS then I would not buy SS2. But all the better choices cost quite a bit more than SS2 and they all suffer from user missuse in much the same way (trying to fix un fixable stuff in one pass) so unless your ready to go to RX SS2 isn't a bad choice.

With all of them remember:
never remove more than around 5dB in one pass
ALWAYS ask your self "is it better, or just different" (it is VERY easy to overdo NR and ruin your track).
Multiple passes are normal
One tool almost never fixes the whole noise problem
One minute of prevention saves hours of cure, and sounds better.
Reducing "noise" is removing some of your sound, it may end up sounding "better" but it's an amputee.
 
I have Sound Soap 2 and I find it less then stellar often making things worse with a hollow feel to it. I think better time si pent in Pro Tools and really working the EQ.
 
Plug-ins like these (I have SS Pro and Digidesign DINR) use the same basic concept: they capture a sample of the noise that you've selected, phase reverse it, and play it against the original to cancel it. It's an admittedly oversimplified explanation, and they use other tricks and tools to accomplish the job, but that as I understand it is the fundamental underlying technology.

So, as Noiz2 said, they're really only useful for steady-state problems - hiss, buzz, hum, air conditioners, fans, motors, room tone, etc. They are all but useless for brief "event-based" noise unless the event is long and steady enough, in which case it's not exactly an "event" anyway.

Used properly, and for what they're intended, these plugs are capable of amazing results, far better than any other technique. I have saved many, many a recording using them; they're an indispensable part of my audio tool set. In the pre-digtal days there was nothing whatsoever like them to be found at any price.

While equalization can be useful for some situations, truly "event-noisy" dialog tracks almost always have no good solution short of ADR. That's the main reason why virtually every Hollywood movie does it on every non-soundstage shot (and often for everything).
 
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Ted, totally agree. There were/are however some analog boxes that I also have and used to use for noise. Behringer (I know, but the de-noisers actually were a good box) and Roland (SN-550) both can do wonders with tape hiss and some hums and some other noises problems. But they are not anywhere near as powerful or flexible as the software tools.

THe thing is noise reduction is a lot art and part science. It is sort of like being handed a stack of paint tubes and brushes and expecting to paint a great painting. If you don't master the science and art of NR your not going to get good results. I'm not great but I can get by but I know folks who can work magic with affordable tools.
 
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