Top: iZotope’s RX is an amazingly powerful software tool for removing all sorts of noise, as well
as repairing various problems within an audio fi le or track. Top Right: For
simple, straightahead
noise
reduction, BIAS
SoundSoap is
effective for
cleaning up basic
problems.For the past two installments
of Guitar Tracks, we’ve been
exploring ways to control and
remove unwanted noise from
our guitar recordings [“Silence is Golden,” November 2011
and “Hush Up,” December2011]. We’ve looked at ways
of managing the noise as your
tracks are going down, and also
removing it after the fact, when
the recording is finished.
This month, let’s wrap up by
looking at some very powerful
tools for removing noise from
tracks. These tools are amazing—they can take a track that
seems way too noisy to ever
use and turn it into a much
cleaner, nearly noise-free, workable
track. There are, of course,
limits. There may be some
audible artifacts from the noise-reduction
process, especially as
you push the software harder to
remove heavy amounts of noise.
There are several different
types of software noise-reduction
tools. Some work by using tuned
filters that can be applied to the
track to take out noises such
as 60-cycle hum. Others work
by taking a “fingerprint” of the
noise in the track. For the latter,
you need to find a place where
your guitar isn’t playing, but the
background noise is audible. The
software takes a look at the background
noise first, then creates
an algorithm that removes it.
Now, when you play your guitar
track through the software, it
looks at the audio, and removes
the portion it has a fingerprint
for—the noise. What’s left is the
audio it didn’t recognize from
the fingerprint, which is your
guitar playing. In other words,
the software compares what it
knows is noise against the track
you are feeding it. It removes the
noise portion, leaving you with
a clean audio track. This type of
noise reduction software is easy
to use with a little practice—you
quickly learn how far you can
push the noise removal before
you start to hear artifacts.
One of the more powerful
examples of this sort of noise-reduction
software is RX from
iZotope. RX runs on both Mac
and Windows, and can provide
pretty amazing results with
hiss and other noise. Plus, it
has tools for removing 60-cycle
hum, massaging clipped (distorted)
tracks so they sound better,
removing clicks from recordings
made from vinyl records, and
even “Spectral Repair,” which
can be used to fix other sorts of
noise problems. For example,
with a live recording, you could
use Spectral Repair to remove a
cough from an audience member
that occurred during your
delicate acoustic guitar intro.
Pretty crazy stuff, but it works
amazingly well. It can run as a
plug-in within your DAW or
you can use it as a standalone
program for cleaning up different
types of audio files.
If you don’t need that much
power, something like BIAS
SoundSoap will let you quickly
and easily dial down the level
of noise within your tracks. Just
move the sliders around until
you get the result you want. A
variety of other noise-reduction
programs also exist; some come
with DAW programs as plug-ins,
others are available separately.
Some work better than others,
so if possible, try before you buy.
(Many software manufacturers
offer free, trial versions of their
software for this purpose.)
Now, a bit of proselytizing:
I love high-tech tools and am
a big fan of RX, SoundSoap,
and other programs. The power
available in today’s computers
allows us to do pretty miraculous
things, and the art and
science of noise removal has
reached truly astounding capabilities.
Tracks that seem as if
they will never be listenable due
to heavy noise can be cleaned
up to a remarkable level and
with minimal collateral damage
to your precious guitar tone.
But—and here’s the preaching
part—the onus is still on us
to record great tracks to begin
with. Few would deny that cutting
a great, pure, clean track
provides better results than having
to process a poorly recorded
track into some semblance of
quality sound. And even if we’re
not talking “better,” it certainly
is easier to record a clean track
at the outset, so you don’t have
to worry about it later.
Here’s my advice: Make the
extra effort to record great-sounding
tracks from the
get-go. That way, you won’t
have any problems with noise—
whatever little bit of noise is
in the tracks will simply be a
natural part of the sound and
easily masked by the music. In
other words, get it right from
the source.
Now, having said that, the
rest of my advice is to do what
you need to do to get the tracks
you want. If you’re faced with
noisy tracks, don’t worry about
being a “purist” or a recording
snob who only works with
pristine tracks. When you
need to deal with a noisy mess,
break out the tools—whether
careful editing, volume automation,
hardware or software
noise gates, or the big software
guns—and clean it up. With
music production, the ends justify
the means!
Mitch Gallagher is
the former editor in chief of
EQ magazine. He’s written
more than 1000 articles
and six books on recording
and music technology, and
has released an instructional
DVD on mastering. His upcoming book is
entitled
Guitar Tone: Pursuing the Ultimate
Electric Guitar Sound. To learn more, visit
mitchgallagher.com.