Plugin which can filter out clicks and pops in bad audio ?

[auntybiotic]

Aloha,

Firstly apologies if this is in the wrong forum section....?

Does anyone know of a scope plugin which has a click / pop filter? I am working on a hip hop project for a guy in the uk who has sent me a sample full of noisy clicks and he refuses to send me a cleaner one......i have tried a few audio editors but nothing will touch it so far....
Thanks in anyone has any thoughts on this.
Mark

[garyb]

well, there's Osiris, but whatever you use, it will damage the original source.
that's the problem these days, folks who think they know what they are doing....

once a file has clicks in it, there's no way to remove them and have just the music you want unaffected, except with some multi-million dollar imaginary NSA/CIA software.

if it's hip-hop, perhaps the client is too stupid or ignorant or cool to care.

[fra77x]

For damaged audio, one procedure is to manually copy paste clean audio sections of the material over the damaged areas
probably inside an audio sequencer. Depending on the amount of the affected sections it would probably need a lot of work to make it right so we do that only if it pays off.

[jksuperstar]

The best experience I had with noise/clicks was with Syntrillium Cool Edit Pro...which is now Adobe Audition. I believe all the same tools for messaging these things is still included (this is more for noise than clicks...but it removed some of those as well).

Of course, that's the "best" experience I had. It still couldn't solve clicks/pops ideally. My technique evolved to use 32-bit audio, use a dynamic expander to push those "pops" way up & out of the way of everything else, and then run that through a compressor/limiter to round out the peaks...setting the threshold above the nominal signal, and then tuning the attack and release (was a real pain), but it worked. However, it only works well for 1/2 or 1 cycle waveforms (for instance: looking at a sine wave, if the top & bottom peaked out with flat tops, but there still was a transition between positive & negative peaks that crossed zero, it worked well enough on samples that were then blended into a mix. If the click/pop lasted for what seemed like multiple wave cycles, then too much information was clearly lost, and not recoverable without sounding a bit dead).

[auntybiotic]

Thanks all,
Gary, you are right, the guy thinks he is some kind of hip hop beat making genius but doesn't really have a clue about anything except ableton and his mpd ... I have actually just emailed him and told him i cannot polish turds so if he is serious about me doing anything, i need a clean sample. WIll play with Osiris anyway to see if it improves things, as a learning experience at the least.

fra77x, Thanks, yep i used to do this on my own projects in the past but it takes so much time i am reluctant to do this if the guy cannot be bothered to at least send a clean sample in the first place

jksuperstar, Thanks, will absolutely give that a try !! Hadn't though of that at all and again, a good thing to 'test'

Best regards to all,
Mark

UPDATE - Jeeez, Osiris is 598,- EUR...... gotta save up a few pennies for that one...cant see they do a trial either - massive shame as the demo files show it seems to be excellent..

[garyb]

yeah, Osiris is very good, but the Cool Edit Pro pop killer is very similar.

i agree with what other posters have suggested, but i think that it's probably not worth the effort if the initial attempt to fix the waveform doesn't work immediately.

if it's a loop, you might be able to piece together a working version...

[auntybiotic]

Thanks again, gonna give Adobe Audition a try..

[jksuperstar]

This guy likely can't send you a cleaner sample, since he didn't make it in the first place

[garyb]

jksuperstar- exactly....

[siriusbliss]

Samplitude has an audio cleaner function that works really well. Takes out pops, clicks, coughs, etc. - but depending on how MANY clicks you have, it could still take some manual labor. There's really no magic button.

G

[garyb]

yes, Samplitude has a good cleaner.

[Nestor]

I have cleaned a real lot of audio as a job, tones of files…, the best for me is: Izotope RX 3 (nevertheless I have worked only with version 2, but 3 is even better than 2), you can do a lot with it. It is a bit difficult to learn because it works in a pretty different way you would expect or are used to work with most other editors or audio software.

Here you have a neat description:
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/audio-repair/rx/

I recommend you the "advanced" version, but it is much more expensive. I personally think there is no need to get to Cedar or any other more expensive alternative, unless you are into very particular forensic fields that need these extra-features, which is not at all your case. With Izotope RX you will do a perfect job to this badly recorded file, and many others too… and it can also be a creative tool to create great samples, textures and cinematic effects too. I highly recommend it by experience! Go and get it, it is really pro soft!!!

Here you have a review as well:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb14/a ... pe-rx3.htm

[auntybiotic]

Thanks All, all valid points and great advice !
In the end i used adobe audition but will check out the others mentioned as anticipate receiving more dirty samples in the future

[Eanna]

FYI, just announced:
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/audio-repair/rx4/

[garyb]

there are definitely times that repair tools are a must, but it seems that people are trying to get good results by using plugins these days, instead of just doing the job properly in the first place. fixing with a plugin or a program will always yield an inferior result....

just sayin...

[Immanuel]

One of the best pop filters for vocals is teaching the singer proper microphone technique (if (s)he does not already have such). Ps and Bs tend to fly in certain directions. So a singer who adjusts his/her angle toward the microphone can do a lot to avoid such issues. This is a bit easier in a studio setting where the singer does not eat the microphone as much as in a live setting.

[Eanna]

You're right Gary, but a combination of inexperience and time-poor enthusiasts make mistakes and oftentimes are not in a position to re-record...
I should know, I'm one of them!

[garyb]

of course, Eanna, and a good performance trumps a good recording. but, learning and trying are part of the job, too.

[Nestor]

Probably my experience only, but for me, in general, voice is the most difficult instrument to treat all the way: recording, mixng, making it sound appropiate for such or such song and kind of music, etc., it is always a challenge. Everything else can be mannaged more and less, with some difficult moments sure, but voices, perhaps being so intimate and demanding, are to me the most difficult instruments of them all.

[Nestor]

FYI, just announced:
https://www.izotope.com/en/products/audio-repair/rx4/

Wow! As I said, I have been working with v.2, and it has been amazing... I worked over almost 1000 audio files, so I can tell... Version 3 was already much better, now 4... I have to check it out. Cheers.