De-esser for Mac?

[kathichild]

Is there a de-esser for Mac OS X 10.9? I use Spitfish on a PC, but it is not available for Intel-based Macs. Thanks!

[Gale Andrews]

Try the de-esser in http://mda.smartelectronix.com/ . Please give us feedback on how well it works.


Gale

[Trebor]

Try the de-esser in http://mda.smartelectronix.com/ . Please give us feedback on how well it works.

On Windows I found it is necessary to apply that mda de-esser repeatedly for it to have an effect comparable with SpitFish , so you may have to do the same on the Mac version, [ Keyboard short-cut to repeat the last effect used is "Command"+"R" ]

[Tim Lookingbill]

Applying the mda-de-esser defaults suppresses left channel detail that virtually eliminates or at least takes too much away from the stereo imaging. I applied it to the shrill and high pitched pyramiding trumpets section on Maynard Ferguson Awright,Awright I've been demoing over in my '70/'80's CD music remix thread.

I couldn't find a sweet spot setting with the provided three sliders that preserved the stereo imaging. It de-essed the trumpets quite nicely though.

A setting of 10,000hz cut off frequency/-6db resonance in AU LowPass filter did a better job and preserved the stereo imaging.

[kathichild]

Thanks for the help. I am a volunteer for an agency that records books for the visually impaired. When I use the mda de-esser, it reduces the volume . but doesn't have any impact on the sibilance. I will keep trying, but if anyone knows of another application, I'd like to try something else.

[Gale Andrews]

if anyone knows of another application

There are plenty of de-essers on Mac but as you chose Mac you will have to pay for most of those applications.

Otherwise try cutting the high frequencies as suggested. Audacity has Effect > Low Pass Filter... (under the divider) or you can use the Apple Low Pass or you can use Equalization .

If you need help, post a sample of a phrase you want to de-ess: http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 49&t=72887 .


Gale

[Tim Lookingbill]

Thanks for the help. I am a volunteer for an agency that records books for the visually impaired. When I use the mda de-esser, it reduces the volume . but doesn't have any impact on the sibilance. I will keep trying, but if anyone knows of another application, I'd like to try something else.

Another Audacity tool I find can suppress harsh, noisy "S" sounds is Noise Removal.

Close to the bottom of this thread... http://forum.audacityteam.org/viewtopic ... 46&t=80518
...shows NR settings and mp3 sample results that delivered total dead air silence to vocal recordings that had a lot of noise...

You'll have to tweak to get the best roll off between actual voice timbre and "S" sounds. Record or find a mid intensity "S" sound in the audio stream to establish a noise profile and tweak to get the best results.

[Tim Lookingbill]

Since you're not concerned with preserving stereo imaging I applied mda-De Esser settings (see screenshot) to my edits applied to the vocal sample from that other thread I linked. See if you get the same results.

mda-DeEsserSettings.png (15.43 KiB) Viewed 10102 times

[Trebor]

... if anyone knows of another application, I'd like to try something else.

I've just tried Paul-L's De-Esser , a Nyquist plugin , and it seems to work* ...

Paul-L's Nyquist De-Esser plugin.gif (10.86 KiB) Viewed 10098 times

Nyquist Plugins are Audacity-specific , not OS-specific , so should work in Audacity on a Mac , ( I think ).

[ * high "frequency band" settings can cause Audacity to hang ]

[steve]

Nyquist Plugins are Audacity-specific , not OS-specific , so should work in Audacity on a Mac , ( I think ).

Yes, Nyquist plug-ins are cross-platform.