hello,
i am using a couple of old drum machines in my setup, running into the A16 Ultra.
as you might imagine there is a bit of noise coming through the outputs of the machines. nothing that isn't expected of units that are this age, but i was wondering how to reduce the noise effectively within SFP.
i use the STM 2448 mixer in SFP 4.0.
is there a noise gate or something like that i could use? and if so, how?
or perhaps a plugin to run on the mix bus?
i am a bit inexperienced here, and would like to try and remove the noise before the final product, instead of going back in with a wave editor on the final product to remove the noise.
any help is greatly appreciated,
alex
eliminating noise
You should have the Creamware noise-gates in your effects/dynamics folder (stereo & mono versions)....just use them as inserts in your mixer, or between the source & mixer inputs.
Just set the threshold to the level that cuts out the noise without affecting the drum sounds.....Use a fast attack & release for drum sounds.
Obviously a gate will let the noise thru as well as your drum sound when a signal above the threshold is detected....whether that matters is another matter!
Read the manual for more in-depth info.
Good luck
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Plato on 2004-05-27 11:59 ]</font>
Just set the threshold to the level that cuts out the noise without affecting the drum sounds.....Use a fast attack & release for drum sounds.
Obviously a gate will let the noise thru as well as your drum sound when a signal above the threshold is detected....whether that matters is another matter!
Read the manual for more in-depth info.
Good luck
<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Plato on 2004-05-27 11:59 ]</font>
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blazesboylan
- Posts: 777
- Joined: Sat May 25, 2002 4:00 pm
- Location: The Great White North
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Hi AEP.
Expanders are generally much more natural noise removers. They don't have the same effect on "air" that gates do. If you're not looking for a "natural" sound, this is not a problem -- in fact, lots of people deliberately use gates to give drums more "punch" in a mix. But for certain applications -- especially cymbals and anything that rings out (guitars, pianos, etc) -- an expander is sometimes preferable, so that the sound doesn't suddenly disappear on you.
An expander (basically the opposite of a compressor) "stretches out" the signal beneath a certain threshold, at a ratio you specify. Loud signals are output at the same level, but soft signals are output even softer.
If you were to use a gate set to threshold of, say, -30 dB, then you would "hear" absolute silence between drum beats.
If you use an expander set with a threshold of -30 dB and a ratio of, say, 2 x, then you won't completely eliminate noise. But you won't completely eliminate the "air" either, or the weaker parts of the sample's output.
If a signal comes in at -31 dB, then the expander sends it out at -32 dB. -32 dB -> -34 dB, -33 -> -36, and so on. When you get to about -45 dB inputs you won't really hear anything at all (-60 dB output). But meanwhile the dropoff from the sample input to the dead air is more gradual, more natural sounding.
Anyway it depends on the feel you want to achieve, but I would probably start with:
kick -> gate
snare -> gate
tom -> gate
hi hat 'tick' -> gate
hi hat 'ring' -> expander
cymbal -> expander
Or
mix bus -> expander
Just my $0.02.
Celmo's DeNoiser does look interesting though, thanks Astroman! In fact the idea of using EQ (e.g. notch filter) to remove some of the noise before putting the signal through a gate (or expander) is a good one, too.
Cheers,
Johann
Expanders are generally much more natural noise removers. They don't have the same effect on "air" that gates do. If you're not looking for a "natural" sound, this is not a problem -- in fact, lots of people deliberately use gates to give drums more "punch" in a mix. But for certain applications -- especially cymbals and anything that rings out (guitars, pianos, etc) -- an expander is sometimes preferable, so that the sound doesn't suddenly disappear on you.
An expander (basically the opposite of a compressor) "stretches out" the signal beneath a certain threshold, at a ratio you specify. Loud signals are output at the same level, but soft signals are output even softer.
If you were to use a gate set to threshold of, say, -30 dB, then you would "hear" absolute silence between drum beats.
If you use an expander set with a threshold of -30 dB and a ratio of, say, 2 x, then you won't completely eliminate noise. But you won't completely eliminate the "air" either, or the weaker parts of the sample's output.
If a signal comes in at -31 dB, then the expander sends it out at -32 dB. -32 dB -> -34 dB, -33 -> -36, and so on. When you get to about -45 dB inputs you won't really hear anything at all (-60 dB output). But meanwhile the dropoff from the sample input to the dead air is more gradual, more natural sounding.
Anyway it depends on the feel you want to achieve, but I would probably start with:
kick -> gate
snare -> gate
tom -> gate
hi hat 'tick' -> gate
hi hat 'ring' -> expander
cymbal -> expander
Or
mix bus -> expander
Just my $0.02.
Celmo's DeNoiser does look interesting though, thanks Astroman! In fact the idea of using EQ (e.g. notch filter) to remove some of the noise before putting the signal through a gate (or expander) is a good one, too.
Cheers,
Johann
-
blazesboylan
- Posts: 777
- Joined: Sat May 25, 2002 4:00 pm
- Location: The Great White North
- Contact: