Best de-esser plug-in??

[PopularDemand]

De-essing is one area where methods change all the time. Once a project is received for mix I would usually draw down the "Sss's", etc. I've seen colleagues do all of their compression, eq, bussing, etc and then draw down the "Sss's", etc.

For times when I use a de-esser I always change up. Pro Audio DSM is innovative but takes a bit of getting used to so I don't use it much. Waves Ren De-esser is a favorite for the split/bandpass modes. I still like the original Waves De-esser. McDSP DE555 is nice. I love the way Sonnox Supressor shows you exactly what frequencies are poking out visually but, like DSM, it's so much going on with the plug-in I have to sit still and get into it. If I'm real lazy I'll throw on Supresser and look at the poke out frequency and then switch to Ren De-esser and set it in split/bandpass.
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I put De-esser last in the chain.....this month I do.

[frenzy]

Originally Posted by soundonground

Best sibilance thread EVER! lol Having lots of problems with an very good female vocalist regarding sibilance. Some new ideas to try out now now.
Any tips for when plosives like 'put' and 'huh' are worse than the esses?

When possible always try to fix the problems at the source. Try different microphones and a good pop-screen. Most of all move the singer away from the microphone - the singer should at least be able to do a hang-loose with her thumb and pinky finger in-between her mouth and microphone - and position the microphone slightly above the singer and angle it downward to the mouth. Some singers produced very strong plosives and I always tell them to sing P:s a little more like B:s which usually helps out. Or simply make them swallow the P:s a little bit.

When I receive vocals with lots of plosives I used to low-cut them and then edit down the strongest plosives. Nowadays I use the Sonnox SuprEssor as a dynamic filter from 20 to 120Hz backing plosives 20-30dB but letting all the thickness and girth of the vocals through untouched.
In your case I would probably edit down the plosives by and and maybe filter just the plosives with a pretty steep low-cut filter.
A fast compressor might fix some of the plosives but at the same time might affect the rest of the vocal sound.

But, always try to fix the vocal sound when recording.

I hope this helps.


Cheers
Fred

My Studio

[janjaal]

plugin? waves ren deesser>> u can't get great result with it? change either mic, singer or just give up...
i got uad p desser, spitfish, massey (which is good as well), sonnox etc..
but ren deesser is something in the next level
i have empirical labs derresser and it's the best desser on the planet, and what comes very close to is waves ren deesser...
i could strongly say that EL derreser and ren desser behave the same way.

[Hyder boy]

Originally Posted by phillysoulman

end of the playback chain and never on input

I know manuals suck for the most part, but the ren de-esser clearly states put it first.

[Dark River]

Voxengo Voxformer on extreme setting has saved me in severe sibilance situations that nothing else would do the trick on, without to much corruption. I bought it just for the de-esser, but found it very useful for it's other features when I started using it.

[vintagelove]

voxformer can work well in bad situations

[Tc3po]

Originally Posted by diapause

Chris Potter's technique doesn't involve a de-esser at all

He just reduces the volume of the offending parts (often just syllables).

I've used the same technique for years and it's brilliant, no artifacts, you just listen to the track, mark the worst sibilants and then cut the gain, somewhere between -3db to -9db on most and problem solved. Another way is to put a de-esser in but set it very low so it only has a slight effect and then take only the very loud sibilants down manually with the gain envelope. That way you get very few artifacts as well.

Cheers

[Johanz]

fabfilter just released an interesting one

[David Castell]

Originally Posted by e-are

I like the uad precision de esser. You can set the filter more to go in and get the right amount of width.

[daez]

I de-ess a few ways, beside automation which has been covered I use the el derresser for 500 series, or the new spl de-esser plugs. I usually just use a comp with a bit more grit such as the cla3a plug which saturates those frequencies in a way that they aren't annoying, turns that pierce into nice sizzle. Overall I find that I rarely need to de-ess nowadays and my earlier "need" to was more from not tracking as well as I could.

[Byron Pierce]

Pro Tools De-esser, Waves De-esser, Massey, Automation, Manual Gain, great recording technique ..all these option for simple "s". This single letter has so much energy I make want to write a book about it (probably should include sh, ts, and few more...I will give it away for free no worries

[Stackx]

A lot of times I find when de-essing seems hard it's because it's more than sibilance that's the problem. A lot of lowend equipment will give you harsh frequencies at around 5.5k, 8k, and 10k. All at the same time so while your de-essing the shit out of 5.5k you feel like you killed the vocal and the sibilance is still slightly there. Get a dynamic eq or use a slight de-esser on all those offending frequencies and problem solved.

[SFB]

Originally Posted by diapause

Chris Potter, who mixes for Nicleback, Sarah McLachlan, ad Elvis Costello, simply isolates sibilance regions and reduces their gain. Then there are NO side effects on the rest of the track.

This is the best method. And sibilance actually has a unique appearance which makes it really easy to isolate them in the waveform. Obviously takes longer than just using a de-esser plugin but it's worth it if you have the time.

[Infamous .45]

BOOM! De-esser.

[imaginaryday]

best? this one: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/new-p...-de-esser.html

[Cabrone]

Very often these days I find myself just using Waves C1 and often deessing the whole high end(7khz+).. I'm recording with a very bright/sharp sounding mic though, seems to do the job well.

Originally Posted by imaginaryday

best? this one: http://www.gearslutz.com/board/new-p...-de-esser.html

Nice, not heard of this, Fabfilter you know it's going to be good!

[Monsieur E]

all of the above. but getting it right from the start helps: mic placement and also very understated, what the singer has eaten/ drank before the session is REALLY IMPORTANT. Just try with someone who just had some sweets and coke and get the worst mouth noises and ssses. Teach the singers about their own instruments and that what they put in it can ruin the recordings.

[littlesicily]

Originally Posted by SFB

This is the best method. And sibilance actually has a unique appearance which makes it really easy to isolate them in the waveform. Obviously takes longer than just using a de-esser plugin but it's worth it if you have the time.

That's how I do it too. Or if I'm in a hurry, I duplicate the track, apply the audio suite deesser to the copy, then copy/paste (using key commands) just the deessed sibilances into the original track. Batch cross fade 5ms and done.

[jb4play]

ProAudioDSP DSM imo

[raffael77]

I use Pro DS from FabFilter.

[Brian R]

Originally Posted by raffael77

I use Pro DS from FabFilter.

Its my de-esser of choice as well. I love it.

[nino213]

Originally Posted by Stackx

A lot of times I find when de-essing seems hard it's because it's more than sibilance that's the problem. A lot of lowend equipment will give you harsh frequencies at around 5.5k, 8k, and 10k. All at the same time so while your de-essing the shit out of 5.5k you feel like you killed the vocal and the sibilance is still slightly there. Get a dynamic eq or use a slight de-esser on all those offending frequencies and problem solved.

+1 waves C4 does this well.
BUT!

I am a huge fan of fabfilter and if I had the money and was looking for a de-easer, theirs would be it. Amazing.


Edit: since I'm on my phone I failed to realize I resurrected this thread from the half dead..

[EDF]

I try to stay away from Desssers, but I do some very selective EQing dropping and etc. It works for most acts I track.

[Moraha]

Fab Filter's Pro DS is amazing. I'm demoing it now and will for sure pick it up. No other de-esser that I've tried has come close to it.

[M.Brew]

Originally Posted by Moraha

Fab Filter's Pro DS is amazing. I'm demoing it now and will for sure pick it up. No other de-esser that I've tried has come close to it.

I really like the Fabfilter DS as well. Anyone compared it to the Empical Labs Derresser?