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[studiowolff]

Hi all,
I’m working on a podcast project. I’ve recorded the vocal in a nice, quiet recording studio with my Auio Technica AT4033 mic + plopfilter.
Even with a deesser i still here a lot of ssss’s
What ever I try, i won’t get it right. Or it’s getting to dull. Boosted every freqentie to check and made a cutting on that spot…but still can’t manage it.
Who can be my teacher, please.
You can hear it at: https://soundcloud.com/studiowolff/love-quest-oxytocin-sample/s-snTz7

Regards,
Jeroen

[blinddrew]

I have about 5 different de-esser plug-ins and i've never been happy with the results of any of them* so inevitably I end up going through the track and automating down the 's' sounds. It seems like it would take longer but not when you compare it to the amount of faffing I end up doing with the de-essers and still not being happy at the end of it.


* This is almost certainly a user problem not a software one...

[Mike Senior]

Try Toneboosters Sibalance, using its side-chain EQ to focus on the worst-sounding frequencies, and then automate its threshold per instance if necessary.

[studiowolff]

Try Toneboosters Sibalance, using its side-chain EQ to focus on the worst-sounding frequencies, and then automate its threshold per instance if necessary.

Thanks Mike!, Iwill give it a try!

[studiowolff]

It seems like it would take longer but not when you compare it to the amount of faffing I end up doing with the de-essers and still not being happy at the end of it.
* This is almost certainly a user problem not a software one...

You're probably right...i also will give this also try. Just automate the volume on those parts? Like in this article? https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/techniques-vocal-de-essing

[Hugh Robjohns]

It's always better to fix the problem at source rather than to faff about throwing ever-more complicated signal processing at it. You can hear sibilance when you're recording, so do something about it there and then!

Sibilance is almost always due to inappropriate mic placement (bearing in mind that some people do have naturally sibilant voices). The mic was probably much too close and directly in front of (or below) the mouth.

So, try moving the microphone up, away from directly in front of the mouth/nose. Move it up to around forehead height and move it slightly further away -- start at a foot or so away, looking down towards the mouth.

Sibilance can also be emphasised by a mic with an extended and/or hyped high-end response, so don't use a peaky capacitor mic; use a dark-sounding ribbon or switch to a ribbon or a moving-coil dynamic.

...And go easy on any compression because that often makes sibilance worse too.

H

[Tim Gillett]

You can hear it at: https://soundcloud.com/studiowolff/love-quest-oxytocin-sample/s-snTz7

Is this the unprocessed file? It sounds as if it might already have been de essed.
Just the unprocessed file would help as more can be judged from it.

People confuse subjectively excessive sibilance from a voice, with sibilance distortion, which often sounds like a lower frequency splattering, and is an equipment distortion issue.

I hear what sounds like some sibilance distortion at first. If that's in the original file, no amount of standard de essing will fix it.

The sibilance distortion is often of a lower frequency than the wanted sibilance itself. The interesting thing about human sibilants is that when we say them, we stop making any other sounds. The letter Z is the only exception. So sometimes carefully applying a high pass filter to the distorted sibilants removes much of the distortion without removing anything else. I tried this on two of the sibilants in your file:

"it's produced when you feel safe."

with, to my ears, much improvement.

I used a HPF at about 5.7kHz . Q = 1.75. You might like to try this as a starting point.

Cheers Tim

[blinddrew]

It seems like it would take longer but not when you compare it to the amount of faffing I end up doing with the de-essers and still not being happy at the end of it.
* This is almost certainly a user problem not a software one...

You're probably right...i also will give this also try. Just automate the volume on those parts? Like in this article? https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/techniques-vocal-de-essing

Sorry I missed your reply earlier, but yes, just like that.

[Dynamic Mike]

Duplicate the track. Cut out & mute the ess's in the main track, and mute everything apart from the ess's in the duplicate. Then just balance the volume until it sounds normal. It's quicker than automating & you can also be fairly brutal with a de-esser on the duplicate without affecting speech on the main track. (Or should that be 'effecting' the speech?)