Dynamic equalizer

[stubbsonic]

I'll keep saying' it: The Dynamic EQ and the De-esser don't work exactly the same, sometimes worth trying each on problem sources.

CONFIRMED! I remember you mentioning that in another thread and found it to be true.

Both the De-Esser and the Dynamic EQ are both excellent, but yes, they behave a little differently.

[mikehalloran]

What settings do you use for de-plosive?

I usually go with a 'seek and destroy' workflow.

• Use the EQ with a boost to find the 2 primary spaces for the plosives. They are usually around 100-150hz for the 'poof' and ~2k for the breathy part of most plosive syllables. Ideally I make the plosives as bad as possible with 2 bands as narrow as possible to still sound absolutely awful.
• Turn the EQ bands gain to 0
• Set the low-band threshold so it just barely (1db or less) operates on normal audio. Attack 1ms, Release 150ms, Ratio 5:1, Lookahead 5ms, min-gain ~-50db.
• Set the high-band threshold so it is operating frequently on sibilance. Attack 0.1ms, Release 40-60ms, Ratio 3:1, Lookahead 5ms, min-gain ~-50db. This band will also de-ess pretty well too.

Usually at this point the DynamicEQ is barely moving for normal spoken word, but any plosives will get hammered down ~-5db or more. Throw up the ratio for more hammering.

You can turn the lookahead off, but then you can get end up with some clicks sometimes.

I also find that for higher formant voices, I can substitute a pretty extreme low-shelf for the low peak band. This works much better in general, but it will get triggered too frequently on deeper voices or any one that (god help me) uses vocal fry.

I haven't tried Izotope's deplosive, but I'm pretty convinced that it is likely a better tool. For me though, 'good enough' is better than perfect because my handful of VO clients are often minutes from getting or not getting a contract.

Thanks for that.

Dynamic EQ on finger squeaks—I haven't always found the ideal setting for all but I certainly prefer it over a de-esser. Again, I have this track from Hell...

For those who are not using DP, Izotope's Ozone 7 and 7 Advanced have a very nice dynamic eq. Before 7, it was only in the Advanced version. Sweetwater and AudioDeluxe have some interesting deals going on right now on Ozone 7, 7A and bundles that include one or the other.