Darryl:

I saw SPOT demonstrate it at VASST, and I went and bought it on the strength of that. Looking back, do you wonder how you got by without it?

:)

Andy

P.S. Spot: my wife dislikes you because I spent MORE money on computer things. You think she'd be used to it by now, eh?

Would anyone care to compare NR 2 to the noise reduction capabilities in Cool Edit 2000 (now Adobe Audition)? I've used Cool Edit for a number of years now, and its done some great things for me. But I'm wondering if NR 2 might be better, enough to drop the coin.

I gather you can use NR 2 as a track-level effect? and automate it?

Thanks,

Greg

Audition doesn't even make the same racetrack, let alone the finish line.
I got to know Audition all over again when I tech edited Ron Dabbs book on Audition. I used CEP off and on in the past, and used Audition nearly daily while working on Ron's book.

Given I'm just getting into it . . . I've applied it at the event level, which gives me a new take on the audio, at the track level, and at a bus level (which is very new to me.) I'm still a little bowled over by what i've accepted as my norm in the past. Can't compare it to anything else 'cause I don't have first hand experience. But jeez, how sweet it is. Darryl

I hope you bought a SF/NS 2 bundle & not just NS2. The resaon I say that is because you can get the bundle for about the same cost as NS2 from Sony, or between the price of NS2 & SF from Sony (from a seperate retailer of course). Guitarvision.com (the online version of guitar center) has SF 7, CDA & NS2 for $350.

But, if you already own SF, then it's better to get the standalone (and i agree with everyone else: IT ROCKS! I've cleaned up reel to reel's from the 50's to put onto CD & removed VCR hum from TV shows going onto DVD with that thing!)

I think it wonderful, too. But, from a standpoint of someone who doesn't get to edit very often, and who gets to use NR even less often, it can be EXTREMELY difficult to learn how to use it over again every time. I sure wish it had a smaller RE-learning curve.

I read the manual on it & since I read it i found NR a piece of cake to use.

For those that don't wish to read the manual:

1) find a piece of just noise

2) click the auto capture preset while playing

3) then you hsould just need to adjust the gain. :) All the other settings should be mostly audomatic. Of course you can fine toon. Also, it's better th have 2-3 NR plugins in a chain then one that reduces a lot of gain.

There is often more to it that that simplistic view. Unfortunately.

And, yes, I have read the manual, several times.

Not really. I think the only complexity is the tip to limit reduction in a single pass, and to make multiple passes to fine tune the noise sample. That's really helped a lot for my application. I read the manual as well, is seems the manual could use an update - the GUI has changed, and some minor processes (or is it just me?). Darryl

Grobsie!

NR is TOTALLY Koooooolllll . . I've now achieved all types of removals with it. I even assisted a pro videographer in getting back 2 hours of Carousel ! And I got paid too! . . .the finished product was astounding . . . I've removed distant traffic noise from a Blackbird singing .. . too good!

SPOT has done a neat simple guide to NR . .

http://www.digitalpostproduction.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=25455

. . . have fun . . .


Grazie

Hey Grazie, recovered from your birthday yet? Thanks for the link! Darryl

Can anyone advise how to handle the rumble of a central heating unit which intrudes on dialog? It seems to have several frequencies, almost like white noise--I can only get about 30% of it out with NR2, and my sound recordist (on a DV film) suggested that I convert some of the noise to a low-level room tone and just make it part of the atmosphere. Is that my only option?

No.
Run NR in very small samples several times, choosing different audio points to sample from. 4-6 passes should kill it for the most part.

Is it any useful to cut out wind noise?

Thanx Spot as always. Sorry I missed the chance to meet you in NYC.

Does anyone have any idea as to the relative merits of NR2 versus Dartpro noise reduction software (which I have) Is it worth considering SoFo NR2, or are the two programs similar in capabilities? Spot?
Warren

Wind noise I'm just getting around to. I get frequent gust-roars up here. I think the trick will be to sample and remove small sequences over the spectrum of the roar. That and finding a gust-only segment to sample.

Grazies link to Spot's article is very helpful - thanks again Spot - can't wait to meet you one of these days - how about a VASST Aspen stop? Darryl

Wind is almost impossible to clean up invisibly/inaudibly.
So, my secret sauce for killing wind to a 'tolerable' level is"
1. Find a wind sample either from a sound library or wind recorded at the same time as the windy dialog section
2. Make a new track beneath the windy dialog track. Put your wind on it. Pan it nearly hard left.
3. Duplicate new wind track. Pan it nearly hard right. Shift it downstream by a few samples/half a frame or so.
4. Mute new wind tracks.
Apply MINIMAL noise reduction to the dialog track. Repeat a couple times using different samples. Make sure they are tiny samples
5. EQ this track in the upper mids, 800 Hz to 2.5KHz.
6. Convert dialog track to mono. Pan just slightly to left or right.
7. Unmute the widely panned wind tracks.
Check it out. Mix the 2 wind tracks so they don't drown out the dialog track, but rather float under it. The trick is....the human ear will sort out the dialog because it's in our nature to do so. Like being able to see a fish underwater without polarized lenses. Once our brain realizes what it is, we'll focus on it. The wind tracks cover the crappy dialog track, telling our ears to listen to the dialog and ignore the wind.

The wind tracks are constant volume and tone for the duration of the event? Darryl

More or less. Depends on what's there. The two wind tracks are offset from each other, so they're not exactly the same. Moving them apart more than a frame or two won't hurt and can help. Using a little automated EQ can't hurt either.

SPOT:

Your knowledge never ceases to amaze me!

I've got to edit my brother's wedding, one part of which is wind affected, so I'll give all these tips a go when I get around to it.

I originally bought NR for this, after VASST Sydney, but have since used it on a wide variety of things. Like I said above, I look back and wonder how I got on without it!

Andy

Wolfbass, it's not so much that I've got knowledge...it's that I've screwed so many things up that eventually someone else has shown me the light. :-)
Spend a few years recording in powwow arenas, bottoms of canyons, or gyms with monstrous AC systems, eventually you find a few recipies.