How to clean up noisy audio?

[Dave Turnidge]

In a word: iZotope RX 7 Audio Editor.

[Kyle Le]

Thank you, but I am looking for something within Sony Vegas. The RX program is out of my budget.

[Wayne Waag]

Dave is right. Izotope RX is the best.

Within Vegas, open Audio Fx to see if it has a Noise Reduction Fx. The dialog will look something like this.

If you don’t have such an Fx, you could try the freeware Audacity which does have a noise reduction filter included (which I have not used) that supposedly works OK. The idea behind both is to capture a “noiseprint” of the noise you would like to remove. Once captured, you can reduce the noise by a selected amount in db. Good luck.

wwaag

[Wayne Waag]

Just received an email from Izotope that Izotope Elements can be purchased for $29. Might be worth your time investigating. https://www.izotope.com/en/shop/deals.html?utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=SU_SE_BR_UU_US_RX&utm_content=RX-Elements_EM&utm_term=izotope%20rx%20elements|e|g|c||450889086441&gclid=CjwKCAjwmf_4BRABEiwAGhDfSdRkA95ttGG7c1NNc0nzZsJE7zJYg19Dtmt7ZibsuBHz-ZyQRSZbThoCIroQAvD_BwE

wwaag

[Francois Pénzes]

Hi Kyle

Sometimes, low tech is the better solution. The ideal situation is not to have the noise (or way much less of it) from the get go. By the looks of it, you seem to be shooting quite often in areas with noisy backgrounds. This is what as worked for me for the past 35 years. ( way before all the fancy software ) I made myself a couple of 1 footers Y cables XLR M-F with pins 2 and 3 reversed at one end. (Adapters do exist but I don’t like having them in my kit just in case I end up using them by mistake on something else.)

The next step is to have at least two matching microphones. Not just the same make and model but matched as close as possible in frequency response. If you have access to a signal analyzer, you get bonus points. If not, take a hour of your time and test them out in the field. What happens is that the same signal is picked up by both microphones but the one farthest from your talent will be out of phase with the other, thus cancelling the un-wanted sounds. This works wonders when your talent is in a room with ventilation or near road traffic. Make sure both of them are pointing in the same direction. Don’t get to close to your talent with the second mic or you will cancel him out also. After a while, you get to know the sweet spots depending on the venue.

That being said, Wayne’s observation about Izotope Elements is spot on. At that price, you can’t go wrong. And remember, the less work you have to do in post, the better.

Cheers !

PC Win 10 Pro 64-bit 16gb
Ryzen 9 3900X 12 Core 4.60GHz
Radeon RX 5700 XT
Cameras: Canon XF305 + Canon XH-A1 and a bunch of others
Vegas Pro 16, User since Vegas 3.0

\’\’When the cutting stops, the editing begins…\’\’

[John Rofrano]

I agree with the others that iZotope RX is the best solution. I haven’t used the Elements version but it’s worth a try but understand that street noise is not constant like an air conditioner and any noise that is not constant is hard to remove from the signal.

The Sony Noise Reduction Fx does a good job on constant noise but will do nothing for traffic or other street noise. RX is your best bet for noise like this.

As my good friend Douglas Spotted Eagle once said,

“A $50 mic close up will sound better than a $500 mic far away.”

Maybe it’s time to get a lavaliere mic. Using a shotgun mic in a noisy environment is not the best choice. A good cardioid lavaliere (not omni) might give better results.

~jr

http://www.johnrofrano.com
http://www.vasstsoftware.com