Failing To Hear The Results Of A De-esser

  • Thread starter Thread starter Doctor Varney
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Doctor Varney

Cave dwelling Luddite
I recently watched a video on YouTube where a guy was demonstrating how to use various de-essers. I listened intently, looking away from my monitor and even switching off the lights - but I couldn't hear one bit of difference. Is that a bad sign saying my ears are crap or can I not expect a video to relay that sort of detail? Even when I use the Spitfish plugin, I really can't hear much of a difference. Or are de-essers generally over-rated or something?
 
A de esser is like any tool in that it can be hard to hear when used subtly.

Also like any other tool you can set it to extreme settings and the effect becomes very obvious.
Sometimes I push effects to the extreme just to be really clear about what they're doing, then I pull it back.


I've noticed that 240/360 quality setting on youtube can really lack high end, so maybe there's something in that,
but if you aren't hearing it in your own sessions that's different.

Try using it on a different source maybe? You could test it out on a drum track and I'm sure you'd hear the hi hat and cymbals suffer.
 
I noticed you posted this in the Mastering section. You aren't using a de-esser on the master bus, are you? Or on a 2-channel mixdown? It's best to use it on the vocal track.
 
I hate to admit it (although I guess it's not really my fault...) but I use de-essers on projects far more than I care to... Sometimes it's the only tool for the job.

Now -- Why the OP isn't hearing it could be one (or a combination) of so many things... First and foremost the source, the monitoring chain, listening abilities, listening skills, etc., etc., etc.
 
Chili said:
I noticed you posted this in the Mastering section. You aren't using a de-esser on the master bus, are you? Or on a 2-channel mixdown? It's best to use it on the vocal track.
Click to expand...

No, only on the vocal track. I posted in the Mastering section because de-essing is one of the final steps in my project. That and a little compression is about all the mastering needed for the spoken word, I've found.
 
I suspect the highly compressed audio used by Youtube could be masking some of the de-esser effect.

For that matter, how are you listening to the Youtube videos? On proper studio monitors or just on standard computer speakers--that could make a difference too.

That said, the effect of a de-esser can be pretty subtle, depending on the original material.
 
I know--one word for two techniques is confusing. I went through a phase of trying to call file compression "bit rate reduction" but that caused more confusion than it was worth.

In this case, I was talking about file compression. My thought was that one of the main effects of MP3 (and similar) is removing detail from the top end. At a typical Youtube bit rate, there's no information above about 15k and I always find what top end there is to be a bit woolly and lacking detail. Since this is the area where most de-essers work, I can see the transfer to Youtube masking most of the changes.
 
Typically used on vocal multi tracks for maximum effect with minimal side effect...you need to ensure you have it set up correctly and that you can see gain reduction occurring in the range which is causing sibilance.. usually around 4.5khz -12kHz, though it depends of course. A useful amount would be 3-5dB gain reduction on the esses.

Try A/B ing it between bypass and on and listen to the esses calm.

cheers

SafeandSound Mastering
Album Mastering
 
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