Best ambient sound denoise apps / workflow?

[John Fishback]

Crumplepop Denoise works well. I’ve just started using Waves Clarity Vx Pro, which runs in real-time and does an amazing job separating voice from almost any noise. It uses neural networks to identify the voice, and then removes everything else.

Their standard version which currently sells for $29.95 (or, thereabouts) uses the exact same engine as Pro. Pro has additional features. Beside removing noise from voice, you can remove voice from noise. While not perfect, it can remove music under voice or vocals. In Pro, you can apply the reduction differently in four frequency bands. Checkout Waves’ site for many videos that go into how Clarity can be used.

Until now, I’ve used iZotope’s RX9 Advanced, more specifically, Dialog Isolate, which pretty much operates the same way as Clarity Vx, but it’s not a real-time plugin.

[Ty Ford]

John Fishback is an excellent resource for this sort of stuff and I really value his opinions. My experience with noise reduction is that it’s sometimes better to do two or more lighter passes than to try to get the audio clean all in one shot.

In addition, (mostly from an experimental perspective) I’d be curious as to how well CEDAR software might work. I reviewed the DNS 2 hardware some years back and it was jaw-droppingly good. https://cedar-audio.com/products/products.shtml

I see they have moved from hard ware to software. I’ll have to reach out to them and acquaint myself with the new software.

Regards,

Ty Ford

Cow Audio Forum Leader

[Jon Oshima]

Thank you John. Sometimes I hate the internet, but at this moment I’m loving it for connecting me so easily to someone as experienced and thoughtful as you!

[Jon Oshima]

Thank you Ty! Between you and John I now have my work cut out for me. I like the “sound” of multiple passes….

[Chris Wright]

order of effects does matter too. for example: here’s a wind removal process

if you run dialogue isolate with a very low setting like 1.5 separate and -6db reduction. then do voice denoise, adaptive -6, then all that’s left is a nice voice with no noise except the wind, then the de-wind works 10x better. Now you’re left with clear dialogue with zero distortion.

[Jon Oshima]

From their website, Cedar looks like it has the answers to my question “what is the best post-production ambient noise reduction technology?”. Of course talk (or a website) is cheap. But I bet their software isn’t! If you hear of a company that uses their tech and will do work on an “outside” project please let me know. I might be able to afford that.

[Jon Oshima]

Thanks – that’s interesting Chris. I’m curious what technology you use for the processes you mention (isolation, voice denoise, de-wind). I’m not an audio pro – I came over here with a question from the Final Cut forum!

[Chris Wright]

i was mentioning izotope. but keep in mind that their version 9 is much better than version 8, so is pretty much on par with cedar,; which some agree with. They also have a weblink that discusses the order of effects from a software developer point of view, which mostly agrees with my tests.

[Ty Ford]

And let’s be sure to say that, if recorded in the field properly, you don’t need any software or hardware help in production or post production. I’m having a discussion on another forum with someone who’s very into creating a hardware solution for noisy tracks recorded in a studio. Fix the studio once and you won’t have to deal with those problems. I think he’s looking for a fix that doesn’t require him to pay attention to audio when he’s shooting. That’s NEVER a good idea.

[Jon Oshima]

Thanks Chris – Izotope is new to me. Sounds really good!