Simple Noise Reduction

[emmpet8]

I know a lot of members prefer the raw files, but particularly with outdoor recordings, I think a bit of noise reduction can help. I like to keep it simple though, so here's how I do it. For the sake of this demo sndprv allowed me to use a short section of his brilliant recording UKCarSex161. The original is over 25 minutes, but I just used 1 minute.

I use Adobe Audition and always work in Spectral view. Here's what the short selection looked like;

CS 01.JPG

Just click to enlarge.

For those who have never seen it before. Frequencies are shown on the right and volume is indicated by the brightness, so you can clearly see where the voice is and the frequency range of it. I've attached the audio, so you can here the original.

[emmpet8]

I always start by deleting the lowest and highest frequencies that are outside most adults hearing range. For the purpose of this selection I just deleted above and below the highest and lowest voice frequencies. In this selection it doesn't make much difference, but when conditions are windy it can help a lot. I usually delete below 240Hz and above 4.5k, but not in this case. Here's what it looked like.

CS 02.JPG

[emmpet8]

In this version I used the DeNoise preset Light. As this reduces the volume slightly I then added 5db.

CS 03.JPG

[emmpet8]

In this version I used the DeNoise preset Default. As this reduces the volume slightly I then added 5db.

CS 04.JPG

[emmpet8]

I'm not claiming to be an expert, or saying this is the best way to reduce noise, but I have been asked how I do it, so here's my way.

The process only takes a couple of minutes at most. Denoise does have a sophisticated display that you can use to adjust setting, but I never have yet. In most cases I just use the Default preset.

Any suggestions or comments would be welcome, but most of all, does it help at all?

[wisper]

I'm not claiming to be an expert, or saying this is the best way to reduce noise, but I have been asked how I do it, so here's my way.

The process only takes a couple of minutes at most. Denoise does have a sophisticated display that you can use to adjust setting, but I never have yet. In most cases I just use the Default preset.

Any suggestions or comments would be welcome, but most of all, does it help at all?

I have adobe audition now and this helps. I've never used the spectral mode before in any program cause I really didn't understand it or even take the time to learn. Your explanation of it is simple enough.

I appreciate you taking the time to post this.