As you probably know by now harsh sibilance can be very annoying in vocal recordings and even more frustrating in the mix.
There are manual ways to get over this issue, for example, you can use sidechaining to knock off the harsh part whenever it comes up, but that's really time-consuming, and would require lots of moving parts. This is where ERA 4 De-Esser comes in, it is a one-knob audio effect plug-in that offers precision-grade de-essing and automatic audio repair functionality without compromising audio quality.
ERA De-Esser helps iron out audio problems caused by excessive sibilance consonants such as 's', 't', 'sh', and the like.
The reason why it is one of the most used de-esser plugins is due to the fact that it is simple, and can improve the audio quality when de-essing with just a single knob.
The new De-Esser offers an improved UX with features such as
- a “Diff” button,
- a new elegant UI, and
- a real-time processing display that allows you to visually monitor the plosive reduction in real time.
The Diff button allows you to listen to what is being de-essed from your recording during processing.
ERA De-Esser is not only useful for music production, but can also be used for podcasting, vlogging, post-production engineering, and anything you might think of as long as saving time is your utmost priority.
Let's Get to Know Its Features in Detail...
ERA 4 De-Esser - Processing Knob & Modes
The processing knob is the main, and magic control of this plugin, if you just want to get the job done, just dial in the amount of processing you want and boom! This works most of the time for me, well, I steer clear of rough materials, so, you want to make sure your audio isn’t too faulty.
It controls the amount of processing applied to the audio signal, and you also have different modes under the processing control knob such as Narrow, Normal, and Broad, this helps you focus on a specific part of the signal's frequency spectrum. Another powerful feature I like about this module is the intense button, this will increase the processing intensity. It works independently of the three modes.
Helpful Tip:
- Using the different modes allows you to focus the plug-ins detection and processing on the problematic regions.
- When you have found a setting that works for you, you can use the Intense button to get some extra processing.
The Processing indicator
The processing indicator is a visual cue to De-Esser and will help you understand when and how much process is happening. The number of active leds depends on the: a) amount of processing and b) input level.
Real-time Processing View
The processing view at the bottom of the plug-in window shows you where the sibilance exists (with light green) on the incoming signal's waveform (with black). The more processing you apply on the signal, the more sibilance regions will be detected, hence more sibilance regions will be shown on the waveform.
DIFF button (Listen to the "ess")
The Diff button is an interesting one, it is located under the Output meter, the function of this button is to let you listen to the "ess" that De-Esser is removing during processing. In other words, you'll hear the difference between the input and the output signals, awesome!
Cool stuff you could do while the Diff button is enabled is to adjust the main processing until you listen to a bit of the voice being removed along with the unwanted "ess". This is a real gem
Key Features
- Single knob operation
- Simple and streamlined user interface
- Automatic sibilance reduction
- Precision-grade audio repair functionality
- Uncompromised sound quality
- Minimal CPU usage
- Low latency
- Resizable UI
System Requirements
- a modern architecture CPU.
- a minimum of 2GB RAM memory.
- at least 50MB of free space on your hard disk.
- a minimum screen resolution of 800x600 pixels.
- De-Esser supports the following sample rates: 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, and 96 kHz.
De-Esser is available as a mono or stereo audio effect plug-in in the following formats:
macOS 10.10 or later
- AU (32/64-bit)
- VST (32/64-bit)
- AAX Native (64-bit)
Windows 7 (with SP1) or later
- VST (32/64-bit)
- AAX Native (64-bit)