Subject:Compression and NR for Voices

Posted by: Jesus Freak

Date:5/23/2007 12:27:30 PM

Hello all,
Here's my situation. I record lectures and classes at a college. I want to fine tune my NR and Compression. I have two questions.

1) Are the tools that come with SF 9.0 (Wave Hammer and NR 2) adequate for the job? Are there ones out there which are far superior?

2) What techiques/settings should I use for NR and Compression? What do other people use and/or are there articles out there you can point me to.

Thanks!

Jamey

Subject:RE: Compression and NR for Voices

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:5/23/2007 3:50:48 PM

SF Tools are just as good as any others, and yes, everything you could need is there.

Unfortunately NR and Compression tend to work against each other. What sort of noise are you hoping to reduce?

geoff

Subject:RE: Compression and NR for Voices

Reply by: jumbuk

Date:5/23/2007 4:21:19 PM

As Geoff says, compression brings up the noise level.

Here is what I do with really poor recordings:

(1) Use Sony NR to remove any constant background noise by sampling the noise during a "quiet" part of the recording (eg when no one is talking) and applying this across the whole recording.

(2) Apply a downwards expander followed by a compressor. I normally use the Waves C1 plugin, which has these combined with a good interface, but you can use two Sony graphic compressors with different settings. Use the downwards expander to eliminate any remaining noise during the quiet passages, then compress to even out the program material. The expander will keep the noise down enough for it not to be a problem when you compress. Can't remember, but the Sony compressor may have some presets for expanders as well as spoken word compression.

You may be able to do this with one Sony compressor by drawing in the right curve. I am not near my music PC to check right now.

Also, don't forget EQ can reduce low frequency rumbles or noise at specific frequencies.

Subject:RE: Compression and NR for Voices

Reply by: Jesus Freak

Date:5/24/2007 8:49:11 AM

The noise is generally room background noise (ac, ventilation system) so it is pretty steady,

Subject:RE: Compression and NR for Voices

Reply by: Jesus Freak

Date:5/24/2007 8:55:35 AM

jumbuk,
I have never done downward compression before. Could you give me a few pointers? Thanks

Jamey

Subject:RE: Compression and NR for Voices

Reply by: Jesus Freak

Date:5/24/2007 11:40:59 AM

jumbuk.
I just read some of your other posts. I tried the downward expansion using the soft noise gate. I found it much cleaner than the noise reduction plug in. With NR I cannot get rid of all the noise I want before I start getting pumpong noises. Is this normal, is it recording specific, or have I been misusing the NR plugin.

Jamey

Subject:RE: Compression and NR for Voices

Reply by: Geoff_Wood

Date:5/24/2007 4:17:29 PM

Probably a matter of experimenting with the controls to minimize the artifacts.

geoff

Subject:RE: Compression and NR for Voices

Reply by: Steven Myers

Date:5/24/2007 7:42:41 PM

Also, it's better to do multiple passes at low "reduce noise by" settings, instead of trying to do it all at once.

Subject:RE: Compression and NR for Voices

Reply by: jumbuk

Date:5/24/2007 8:01:51 PM

The noise gate is effectively a downward expander with infinite slope. Persoanlly, I find noise gates create distracting "holes" in the program, so i prefer the greater control of an expander.

NR should work well if you sample a bit of the background noise which is isolated and not mixed with any of your program. It only needs a fraction of a second. This is in the "footprint" tab of the NR plug-in. Are you using this to sample a footprint from your recording?