Renaissance DeEsser User Guide
Introduction What is a DeEsser? A de-esser is an audio processor designed to attenuate high frequency ess sounds. These sibilant sounds often create high-energy peaks at certain frequencies. Most such sounds (for example, S or Th or Sh sounds) are created in the front of the mouth by the tongue and teeth, and can result in a shrill, whistling sound that causes unwanted distortion or extreme presence in the higher frequencies.
Adaptive threshold dynamically adjusts the threshold to the input signal, as opposed to typical “absolute value” threshold processors. This yields more natural-sounding results. Attenuation Range Control adapts to the input signal in order to provide a more unified de-essing effect. Enhanced Visual Feedback lets you accurately see what you hear.
INTERFACE VIEWS You can view the Renaissance DeEsser interface in any of three styles. Select a style with the Skins drop-down menu, on the left side of the WaveSystem Toolbar, at the top of the interface. Light View 4 Dark View Legacy View • All three skins have the same controls. When you change skins, the values don’t change. • The skin of the current instance sets the default view, so new instances will open with that skin.
Quick Start and Basic Adjustments. The DeEsser should be placed in the signal flow before the EQ and the primary vocal compressor. Quick Start The easiest and fastest way to get started is to select a preset from the Load menu in the WaveSystem Toolbar. Choose the factory preset that best describes your need, then use the following steps to fine tune the processing. 1. Find the problematic frequency. To do this easily, click the Side Chain Listen button. This way, you will hear only the sidechain signal.
Basic Adjustments The Renaissance DeEsser controls are designed to help you choose the frequencies that will trigger gain reduction and define how the gain reduction will behave. FREQUENCY CHOICES: • The ess sound in “sweet” carries most of its energy around the 6 kHz mark (male voice). In “sugar,” most energy lies around the 4 kHz mark (also male voice). • For general-purpose de-essing, start with a frequency slightly below 4 kHz and use the high pass filter type of sidechain.
Controls and Displays Wideband mode shown DeEsser graph Sidechain—active crossover filter (green) Passive range of crossover (red) Frequency-dependent attenuation (yellow) Gain attenuation range (purple shading) Frequency adjust and value display Filter type select Compression mode—wide or split Sidechain listen Threshold set/gain reduction display Output meter and clip indicator De-essing with Renaissance DeEsser involves two steps: • Defining the frequency and gain of the sound you want to control (Fre
The Renaissance DeEsser Graph Split mode shown The Graph provides an instant visual representation of the plugin settings as well as real-time display of the de-ess process. It displays frequencies on the X axis and gain on the Y axis. The graph describes the following process-related traces: • • • • The green line illustrates the frequency range of the sidechain. Signal falling within this range will be subject to gain reduction as defined with the Mode, Threshold, and Range controls.
Controls SIDECHAIN DEFINITION CONTROLS FREQUENCY Sets the frequency of the sidechain signal used to trigger gain reduction. The Frequency setting defines the roll-off start point for a high-pass filter or the center frequency of the band-pass filter. Sidechain Frequency: 2 kHz to 16 kHz Default Value: 5506 kHz SIDECHAIN FILTER TYPE The Sidechain Filter Type selector specifies whether a High Pass or Band Pass (bell) filter will be used in sidechain filtering.
GAIN REDUCTION CONTROLS COMPRESSION MODE Sets how gain reduction will be applied to the signal. In Split mode, only the frequencies at and around the sidechain frequency setting are subject to gain reduction. In Wideband mode, gain attenuation will be applied to the entire signal, rather than to the specific sideband frequency. Range: Toggle between Wideband and Split Default: Split THRESHOLD Threshold sets the reference point in the energy of the sidechain.
OUTPUT METERS The Renaissance DeEsser shows output peak metering with a red clip indicator. Since the de-esser can only attenuate, the chances of clipping are very low. If clipping occurs, it probably originates in the source. In rare cases when the input signal is already pushing close to full scale, the active crossover may cause a sample to overflow. Under the meters are the numeric peak hold indicators. These show the peak output level. Click anywhere in the output meters area to reset them.
