Removing Hiss from Guitar Amp

[Simsy]

Hi

I was working in a studio about 6 months ago and they had a plugin that you played the first second of an audio file before the guitar started playing so it could analyse the hiss and then it was able to remove the hiss completely from the audio.

I am working on a film that I have recorded 3 guitars, some cues have no other instruments, some have strings but the hiss is a bit of a problem. I was wondering if anybody knows what that plugin was or have one that does something similar?

Thanks.

[Shooshie]

There are several, these days. The one I use is Waves' Z-Noise. It can not only remember the hiss that you play for it, but it can track the hiss (or other noise) as it modulates over time.

The plugin can be expensive, but usually goes on sale during December or thereabouts. (sorry if you just missed it) I paid full price, with no regrets. It's one of my most commonly used plugins. I put it on everything that has noise in it. There's some art to using it, but that's true for any noise-reducing software. You have to find the sweet spot that removes the most noise with the least signal removed from the audio footprint.

Some reasons I use Waves noise reducing plugins as opposed to the others out there are:

1) they are reliable
2) they are going to be there through the foreseeable future
3) Waves always updates their products and makes sure they work with each OS release
4) they all work as advertised, just about as well as any noise reduction can work
5) they are actually LESS expensive than some of the so-called 'legendary' noise reducing software.
6) if it removes the noise, it removes the noise. The legendary stuff can't remove the noise plus work some kind of magic that makes you like it better. It either removes it or it doesn't. Waves plugins remove the noise. There may be some fierce cases of noise where some other plugin is the way to go. I've got the Izotope RXii audio repair app for special cases, but so far I've never had to use it for that, because the Waves plugin fixes it in real time.

That said, Izotope's RX is... well, legendary. I don't think you could go wrong with either one.

Shooshie

[Simsy]

Great, thanks. I will look at both and see which one I can afford!

[Phil O]

Another one to look into is SoundSoap.

[mikehalloran]

Izotope RX is the go-to tool for many of us. RX4 is on sale from many resellers through January 5. It has other tools as well. You can download a demo. I consider it an essential part of my rig.

SoundSoap 4 is a one trick pony but should work well. It's available through the App Store for $99. No demo available.

I don't know the Waves product.

[Simsy]

Currently Waves is $500 which is too expensive at the moment. I will see if I can pick up RX cheap from a reseller as you suggest.

[mikehalloran]

Here's where you can find a list of the tools in RX 4. Besides Denoise, the Declip tool can also be a lifesaver in certain situations. Although noise removal works to get rid of hum, Dehum does it in a more precise manner leaving the bottom end relatively unchanged.

Although I have the Advanced version, I'll be the first to admit that most users don't need those tools.

https://www.izotope.com/en/products/aud ... #rxconnect

[Tobor]

I've had great success with Z Noise as well, particularly lately with clarinet key clicks and lip smacks in vocals. The 'learn' feature captures the offending noise, and then as Shooshie says you play with it to find the sweet spot with sensitivity and amount of reduction. Works great.

Waves has had a lot of sales of late, you might check Audiodeluxe regularly. I believe that Z Noise is included in a couple of the upper tier bundles, some of which have been on sale as well. Could be you could score Z Noise and a whole lot of other great plugs at a fab price.

[Shooshie]

Yeah, Audiodeluxe.com is the place I was trying to think of that always has good sales. A little tricky to navigate, download, and authorize, IIRC, but well worth it.

Shoosh

[James Steele]

Currently Waves is $500 which is too expensive at the moment. I will see if I can pick up RX cheap from a reseller as you suggest.

FYI... Waves is having a sale on Z Noise for $129 Saturday, 5/9/15.

http://www.waves.com/plugins/z-noise

If you have an account setup at AudioDeluxe, you can get it for $110.95 after you add it to your cart.

http://audiodeluxe.com/products/waves-z-noise

[Simsy]

Thanks James for the tip. I went and bought the iZotope bundle, great stuff, works really well!!

Just on recording guitars, got the HEIL PR30 mic, sounds amazing!

[James Steele]

Thanks James for the tip. I went and bought the iZotope bundle, great stuff, works really well!!

Just on recording guitars, got the HEIL PR30 mic, sounds amazing!

Cool. I posted the above BEFORE going on and reading some reviews and it looks like the iZotope is supposed to be better. The application I'd probably be wanting something like this eventually is for having a third party alternative to the noise reduction built into Final Cut Pro X. I'm sure the plugs with a "learn" feature must be better than the default tools built in to FCPX.

[stubbsonic]

Just for the record, I've used the Noise Reduction in Audacity (freeware) and it works pretty well for things that have decent signal to noise difference. It takes a noise profile in one step and lets you adjust a couple settings until you get the result you want. Probably nowhere near as good as the ones mentioned above, but in a pinch, it's not too bad.

[Shooshie]

Currently Waves is $500 which is too expensive at the moment. I will see if I can pick up RX cheap from a reseller as you suggest.

FYI... Waves is having a sale on Z Noise for $129 Saturday, 5/9/15.

http://www.waves.com/plugins/z-noise

If you have an account setup at AudioDeluxe, you can get it for $110.95 after you add it to your cart.

http://audiodeluxe.com/products/waves-z-noise

AS a long time user of Z-Noise (and many other noise reduction plugins), I must say that's a bargain! It's a great noise reducer. It's my go-to NR plugin.

Shooshie