Noise Reduction via EQ

[mark4man]

Crew,

Has anybody come across any settings in Cambridge or EX-1 which are beneficial to noise reduction? I have a vocal track with a hollow, buzzy type of rattle; & I'm having a hard time isolating the problem frequency.

Or I guess a better question would be...what would be a drop dead accurate method for isolating a specific problem frequency in any signal, using any of the UAD-1 EQ plugs? i.e., is the high volume sweep (aggravate & eliminate) the only trick...or am I missing something?

Also...while we're on the subject...are there any good software tools out there which will do this for me (which aren't overly expensive)?

[or any good white papers/informationals from mix engineers explaining how they do this]?

Thanks,

mark4man

 

[secretworld]

could try the voxengo redunoise demo. I havn´t tried it.

 

[tkingen]

Have you swept the frequencies to find the problem area? Chances are good the rattle shares frequencies with the vocal so the probably best you can do is to minimize it as much as possible.

 

[mark4man]

tkingen...

Not tryin' to be a smart-ass here, but...did you read the post?

That's exactly what I'm trying to do (& inquiring as to an optimum method.) Any suggestions?


secretworld...

Did that...trying to figure out how it works in WaveLab.

Thanks both,

mark4man

 

[tkingen]

Mark,

I didn't realize that you meant frequency sweep when you mentioned high volume sweep.
Wonder if some of the better audio restoration software might have something useful to your application? I don't know much about them.

 

[Hexagon]

There are no easy ways to get rid of noise if the noise is within the frequency range of the voice/instrument your tryin' to 'salvage'.

If the noise is narrowband, as in ground hum, you can try with using a notch filter. (EQ with very narrow Q and pull it down as much as needed.) If there are upper/lower harmonies you need more notches.

If the noise has a broader band or resonate with the voice/instrument you have a much tougher situation.
Voxengo Redunoise is quite good, especially if you can get a good noiseprint to work from, but it's not a miracle cure by any means.

To recommend a specific way to approach your problem is hard without hearing what the problem is, but if you want more info on the subject try to Google 'Audio restoration'. It should keep you busy for some time.

Sophisticated noise reduction tools are expensive and takes quite a bit of experience to get good results.

Take a look at the Algorithmix site and check out the prosumer Sound Laundry (Multimedia Products) and the Pro reNOVAtor (Pro Audio section).
It should give you a hint of what's possible at what cost.

All the best.
Hex

 

[mark4man]

Thanks guys...

Good input.

I think I may have found the culprit, tho. I had devised a brightness boost curve in Cambridge; which also had a notch at 308Hz to remove a problem fr. on another tune. Listening very close (to the current vocal) in the headphones, I pulled the notch out; & 80% of the buzz went away. Then I'm looking at the curve itself...& it starts out @ 20Hz @ -6dB & sweeps up to 0dB @ 200Hz & continues up on a gradual, sweeping wide Q plane 'till it hits + 6.9dB @ 4.75kHz; & then sweeps back down to 0dB & out @ 20kHz...& I'm thinking...wait a minute...what am I doing?

So I open up a simple high-shelf (\"Treble Boost\")...& now the vocal sounds halfway fantastic. It's has a little more bottom than desired for right now...but the monster I created by trying to get cute with EQ is gone.

Then I opened up EX-1 for compression...what a great plug that is...

...but I think that's a topic for another thread...to be cont'd:

Thanks again,

mark4man