De-Esser Plugins are NOT SEXY!

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 ต.ค. 2024
  • De-Essers are convenient, but the pro's know there's a better way to produce a smoother vocal sound that sits better in a mix. Follow Gregory Scott, who owns Kush Audio and designs their analog hardware and plugins with one goal: maximum sonic vibe. He's also a musician and audio engineer, all of which gives him a very distinct take on music and mixing.
    Check out www.thehouseofkush.com and slap some sweet Kush flavor on your productions now, because the world has enough boring mixes!

ความคิดเห็น • 491

  • @tundranocaps
    @tundranocaps 4 ปีที่แล้ว +340

    My problem with de-essing is that the more I listen to the esses, the more that all esses seem too much to me, and at that point I can't trust my ears any longer >.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว +361

      That's not just a de-ess problem, that's a "been micro-focusing on one thing for too long" problem. Don't fix it all at one time. Move onto something else for a while, listen to a reference, take a break and step outside and reset the brain... come back, do a bit-more de-essing, switch gears again when you know you've lost perspective.

    • @steediy3567
      @steediy3567 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      @@TheHouseofKushTV You are precious! Thank you for all of the information! You've helped me so much!

    • @hovc8302
      @hovc8302 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Take your time with it and also take breaks if you need. The cleaner your sibilance the better your mix will become going forward.

    • @LaraSchilling
      @LaraSchilling 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Just @ me next time, FFS! Haha.

    • @BeatsByEndless
      @BeatsByEndless 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      What he said

  • @Alesistx2023
    @Alesistx2023 4 ปีที่แล้ว +233

    Dude you’re the most well-spoken guy doing these types of tutorials. No hemming and hawing, and sans the self-trumpeting and just plain...noise that a lot of other people communicate with. Well done.

    • @christopherecatalano
      @christopherecatalano 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Like a good radio station, but actually informative and minus the ads and other bullshit😄

    • @soundsliketree
      @soundsliketree 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      You and Dan Worrall.

    • @hillie47
      @hillie47 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yeah, not a push towards a website, no "hit like and subscribe now and the bell for the notifications, it would really help me out!" nonsense. Just liked and subscribed because of that. And the great content. :)

    • @superficialnonsense4555
      @superficialnonsense4555 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Yeah out the gate I hit subscribe. He flows his words good and you can tell he knows 100% what he's talking bout. Reliable information!

  • @DonBonin
    @DonBonin 4 ปีที่แล้ว +339

    "No honey, it's not porn. This is work related. " She is not convinced, but wants to watch more kush videos. Just to be sure.

  • @zeusdeux
    @zeusdeux 3 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    My favorite bit about these videos, other than their ASMR-yness and educational content, is that staring at a DAW screen is at an absolute minimum and intentional thus forcing you to listen and pay attention!

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      Thanks for noticing! I learned on analog consoles and tape, I absolutely LOVE the daw and all that it makes possible but I find the visuals incredibly distracting when doing critical mix tasks.

    • @zeusdeux
      @zeusdeux 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@TheHouseofKushTV and i can’t thank you enough for not filling the screen with it and distracting from the actual content! Thanks a ton!

    • @pvalenti
      @pvalenti 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@TheHouseofKushTV Me too! Which is why you are now my favorite TH-cam mentor. Do you give lessons!?

  • @wmpx34
    @wmpx34 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    REAPER has spectral editing which allows you to take this a step further and reduce the gain of specific frequencies in each word and syllable

  • @slim1275
    @slim1275 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Crazy how all the videos I've watched so far are precisely related to what I am currently struggling with. Really appreciate the way these complicated topics are addressed. I hate when pro mixers spend an hour going step-by-step with how they mixed a particular song on a DAW I do not have. There are only a couple channels that I've found like this one. Thanks for taking the time to properly address the common problems with mixing. I've used a couple of your methods so far, and my mixes are already improving. Thank you.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Thanks! These struggles are, I think, universal for people who aren't directly mentored by a master. I figure if it was a major pain in my butt, others are likely suffering from the same woes!

  • @TruthSurge
    @TruthSurge 3 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    but b4 daws.... ? they could ONLY de-ess statically, yes? So if that was good enough for all the hits pre-DAW.... well, just wondering. Also, maybe more de-ess when softer vocals happen and less for louder vocals (in general). Great vids! I've been binge-watching these tonight.

    • @Sasha-pz1hy
      @Sasha-pz1hy 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      There were excellent masters who cut (literally) all vocal artifacts from the rec tapes

    • @pvalenti
      @pvalenti 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Dude if you want to bad enough I'm sure you can come up with a reason not to make a change for the better. That's your choice of course.

    • @citadelo5ricks
      @citadelo5ricks 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      They would have multiple people on the board riding faders, all the time.

  • @soundsliketree
    @soundsliketree 3 ปีที่แล้ว +14

    The most recent Melodyne is a great tool for this now.

  • @CreativeMindsAudio
    @CreativeMindsAudio 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I do something similar, before any processing I clip gain the entire vocal. This includes the sibilence. This way it goes into all processing equally. Most 'automation' is post processing so this trick really works as a stand alone too. Also the melodyne plugin has amazing sibilence identification and control similar this.

  • @QuabmasM
    @QuabmasM 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The best middle man balanced alternative to de-essing vs automating is dynamic EQing which at the very least can be used in conjunction with everything else to help "get her done" w/ few negative costs(especially if you automate the dynamic EQ on/off based on what you hear that you like vs dont like that its doing).

  • @henryhill92
    @henryhill92 4 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    I recently mixed a track with backing vocals doubling the chorus, and I found that the best way to de-ess them was to cut the sibilants out altogether and let the lead vocals' already-automated sibilance carry it. It was seamless, but without the backing vocals meaning 3x the harshness

    • @joelonsdale
      @joelonsdale 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yeah, I've done that too.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Same here, works awesome on a double. If I'm dealing with very big stacks that are panned all over the place, muting tends to sound weird and the disruption in the image feels weird, but pulling the sibilants waayyyy down works a treat. I'll do my automation shape but on a buss that all the bvox are fed to, oftentimes just for that one purpose (de-essing)!

    • @elwoodroadsmusic9639
      @elwoodroadsmusic9639 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Yep same for the breathes

    • @jack.a.driscoll
      @jack.a.driscoll 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      backing vocals you can get away with shelving the highs down a lot of the time too for this reason. Also if you're also in charge of the recording session, getting the backing vocals to be further back in the room can be really nice!

  • @AironExTv
    @AironExTv 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Thumbs up for these tips. After 20 years of mixing dialogue, all I can do is concur. It‘s the reason I keep buying new deessers because one method never does all the tricks. Using volume automation is often the best if I have the time so it‘s often a combination of all methods.

  • @keithrowe1007
    @keithrowe1007 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks. I do this too ... because I lack de-esser skills.
    Works great for acoustic guitar squeaks as well. A bell EQ filtre centered on about 2000(as I recall) and have that band just drop out for the squeak. Nobody will notice and the rest of the sound of the guitar stays intact, unlike using the fader.
    I find it also works well in a mix. Automate an EQ to duck the mids only when the vocal is going to give a little more space. I’ve never gotten it to work with side chain so I’m quite smitten with this method.

  • @BKRakesh
    @BKRakesh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Without showing any practical treatment you clear all practical issues... Hats off sir...

  • @nitroneonicman
    @nitroneonicman 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is fantastic advice, I think I'm actually going to do this for the track I'm working on.

  • @StellaShebaofficial
    @StellaShebaofficial 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

    Damn... I wanted to sleep but here I am, learning lots...

  • @jack.a.driscoll
    @jack.a.driscoll 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Have had some good results using Trackspacer and side-chaining it to other bright elements in the mix, the snare, hi-hats etc, so it ducks out of the way for those elements. A combination of this and light de-essing ont the vocal is great for the sessions which require a fast turnaround. If there's time in the mix session to automate manually is by far the best way!

  • @AlexReidStudios
    @AlexReidStudios 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    This gives me asmr. You are like the Bob Ross of music production.

  • @greensleeves32
    @greensleeves32 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Excellent advice. Dave Pensado taught me this years ago and I was taken aback at how obvious and simple it is. Time consuming, but the best approach overall. I use ProTools audio gain on the audio region, usually about 6db lower. Thanks UBK!

  • @pedrofialhodejesus-artist
    @pedrofialhodejesus-artist 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I've been mixing for a short while but this was one the first conclusions I made: de-essers are definitely not sexy. I've tried a bunch of different plugins and none of them gave the intended result so on my latest mix I only used manual de-essing technique, exactly how you explain here, and the result was spot on. This is a brilliant tip and very well explained. I wish I had seen this video earlier. It took me about 6 months to come to the conclusion that I don't like, and more importantly, I don't need de-essers. I thought it was my inexperience preventing me from getting the result.

  • @danvilledan9443
    @danvilledan9443 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I've been doing this method for a while, but never thought to leave in the transient... Going to try that!

  • @yanshcherbakov1859
    @yanshcherbakov1859 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I find it can get a bit tedious fixing sibilance with automation. What has been working great, is create another track with only the slices of the sibilant parts, flip the phase and play with the volume to adjust how much is being removed. At full volume, the sibilance is completely removed, whereas if you adjust the volume a bit to control how much of the sound is being removed... and then it gets easier to add automation over certain parts. Also works great smoothing out guitar solos. What do you think?

  • @SteveStockmalMusic
    @SteveStockmalMusic 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Hey man...
    I was just sitting here (with my dog on my lap) mixing/cleaning up a vocal, and realized I’m using your DS technique...
    and it’s awesome !!!
    I’ve never been particularly good with the DeEssers (they’re always too much or too little). But you were like “just grab the S’s and pull ‘em down a bit“ and I was like ‘oh hell yeah’ !!!
    So I wanted to take a moment and look this video up to comment how MUCH I appreciate your tutelage !!!!
    Steve
    🤘🤩🤘

  • @ForTheForsaken
    @ForTheForsaken 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I was actually doing it manually already. Nice to know I aint the only one

  • @johnnorland5177
    @johnnorland5177 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Explanation clear and efficient--thanks. BUT need demo, like before and after for five seconds of vocals

  • @Lawls
    @Lawls 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I've found the Waves De-Esser is quite good for my own vocals, but definitely going to give this technique a shot, see how it works for me

  • @terminalbliss
    @terminalbliss 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I have hated every de esser plugin I've tried as the artifacts it leaves on my own vocal never sounds good to me in the amount it takes to address the issue... using this technique has been a life saver. Thank you! Now I will have to try every de esser in very minor amounts after I've done this to see which sounds good if I need a little more than volume automation can handle without sounding weird.

  • @Nicolailund15
    @Nicolailund15 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Your intro fills me with excitement and you are so clear and keeps it to the topic. Im hooked and subscribed

  • @TNEMWZUP
    @TNEMWZUP 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I started doing the same a while ago and found it very effective. I still use De-esser but more as an kind of dynamic eq, and it works really good!

  • @jmluna86jl
    @jmluna86jl 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    one of my mixing instructors at college taught us this trick. Its also great for de-breathing!

  • @TomMcGovern
    @TomMcGovern 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    MY GUY, THIS IS MY NEW FAV TUTORIAL CHANNEL

  • @its.martus
    @its.martus 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This is so interesting - I’ve been doing this for years and I thought only I was doing this. I’ve always felt like this is the best sounding method unless it’s a really bad mic with really weird resonances no matter how soft the consonants are. (it’s happened before)

  • @MarlonMehr
    @MarlonMehr 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Love it, very helpful as always!
    On a side note, your plug-ins cured my "digititus" and I've been a fan ever since.

  • @mihail-bogdanyanov
    @mihail-bogdanyanov ปีที่แล้ว

    I was taught this trick at uni and it makes such a big difference.
    I tend to do this on the lead vocal and then use de-essers further down the line if any Sss need taming after the processing chain, as well as for reverb sends sometimes.
    If a track has too many BVs I would stick with De-Essers for them but still manually edit the lead vocal as its the center on the stage.

  • @Bollingersound
    @Bollingersound 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I’m glad to hear someone finally talk about this trick

  • @xaosnox
    @xaosnox 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    For the most part, I agree. However, Airwindows' DeBess does something that other de-essers don't, and I find it really gives a more natural sound than just automating. It alters the wave form so that the harshness of the sibilant is smoothed. It works great on cymbals, as well. You can control the depth of the smoothing, and get a very natural sound. Still, I wouldn't set-and-forget it, but if I had to pick one to set-and-forget, it would be DeBess for sure. Especially since it doesn't attenuate highs to achieve its effect. All the shimmer and goodness stays put, and the harshness goes.

  • @brenmac
    @brenmac 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I fully appreciate your energy and approach on topics you discuss

  • @YiggaP
    @YiggaP 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    oh man you're saving my life !! I'm working on my next song and I want my vocals to be seeeeeexy. And my de essers were killing it. I tried to automate too but I rewatch your video and the shape at -6db as a starting point to move around to see what it does... Powerful tip !! Love you ubk !!!

  • @zither715
    @zither715 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Dude love how you flip from suave AF to NERD on cue. Really need to just swallow my pride now break through my hate for editing automation. Thanks man!

  • @ontogeny6474
    @ontogeny6474 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Out of frustration, I've been considering optimizing the mid-range on vocals by switching over to a dynamic mic such as the SM7b. But your suggestion offers a much more eloquent solution. My condenser is suddenly looking sexy again.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Right on!! I adore LDC's but I will say, my go-to vocal mic for me and my lady is a ratty old EV-635a, an omni dynamic (!) I got on ebay for like $80. It just sits in a friggin' mix with so little effort, and I LOVE being able to sing to music playing thru the speakers in the room.
      I'm not saying to quit your condenser, I'm just saying you may want to experiment anyway. If nothing else it's always good to have different mics for different jobs, like backing vox, it's SO much easier to separate them from the lead if they were recorded with different mics!

  • @JrumBeats
    @JrumBeats 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    God bless brother. Thank you for these tips and wisdom. Definitely going to take my mixing up a notch, I would always love to get those bright vocals for the presence, but I always struggled with taming the high mids and highs... To be honest though, when you said the part about moving the automation forward a notch to keep the transient(s) then automate after that part... WOW! You are the fkn man!!!

  • @AbrahamCloud
    @AbrahamCloud 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Another excellent video !! I've been using this method for a while. Good to see some confirmation. Strangely I've been noticing a lot more sibilance on new popular Spotify tracks , like maybe tastes are changing a bit.

  • @bunkerhoneymoon2208
    @bunkerhoneymoon2208 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    new update of melodyne works incredibly well as a deesser actually

  • @IscariotHeartwork
    @IscariotHeartwork 7 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I have never seen someone on TH-cam talk about production while also having a personality. This is an exception.

  • @itwasdexter5074
    @itwasdexter5074 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    With a lot of music production videos I always take everything with a grain of salt but I feel as though I can trust your knowledge a lot more than most for some reason. Even if I don't comment, please know that I will be watching every upload :)

  • @Audiojunkk
    @Audiojunkk 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Excellent tip! Would manually adjust volume instead of compressing but never thought to do it for de-essing as well! Nice one!

  • @davejohnsonmusic
    @davejohnsonmusic 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Or a combination of both... Use light de-essing with a plugin and then go in with trim automation to find anything still sticking out too much.

  • @shorerocks
    @shorerocks 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Yep, that was one of the major learning curves for me - realising that, producing music, I need to take manual control over each single track. And with a digital track count +100, that takes a minute. But, in the end, that shifts my productions from "good" to "great". Hopefully :-).

  • @justinbeck8459
    @justinbeck8459 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    You can also just do this on the pre-mix with clip gain which will ultimately make it even more transparent. Suppose the automation route works as well though

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      Totally , but it's different to do something like this pre-inserts vs post-inserts (esp. compression & eq). Neither is better, just different.

  • @JosephPembroke
    @JosephPembroke 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I like doing both. Tad bit of de-essing, and quite a bit of moment to moment automation. But that top end always needs a slight reboost.

  • @juliogonzalez5587
    @juliogonzalez5587 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Yo man just got into mixing and your videos are the shit. Got a mixing board after listening to the basic frequency video. Changed everything drastically.

  • @Goomba_Smash
    @Goomba_Smash 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I've been getting decent results using Melodyne 5 for all of my de-essing and smoothing of plosives. It allows easy editing each S and plosive individually, and makes it easy to locate them

    • @beaukaramoy
      @beaukaramoy 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      i was also wondering what he would think of meldoyne

  • @davidwerntz8984
    @davidwerntz8984 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    The SA-2 Dialogue Processor from McDSP is a secret weapon in post production mixing. It's a multi-band de-esser designed by a legendary film mixer. Sounds amazing!

  • @Alienor-music
    @Alienor-music 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Oh! Was doing it that way since a while now because I wasn’t smart enough to use the De-Esser! Felt bad about it because I thought it was “unprofessional” 😂 Thanks!

  • @carlosdearquer3921
    @carlosdearquer3921 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    after some years editing tons of vocals and trying a lot of de-essers, to me this is definitely the best way, by far. i guess it might not be the case for all kinds of vocals and music, but it's probably worth to give it a try at least once or twice, and see if that works well for you

  • @hovc8302
    @hovc8302 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Hey Kush thanks for your support. Im so close to finishing a song. Its clean and nicely mixed. Im having issues to just lift the song up so sounds balanced to a mastered level. Id really appreciate your feedback. Do you even provide coaching courses because il be very interested in learning from you i like your concepts. Thanks. Stay safe.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว

      I don't, but I highly recommend 1on1mixing.com, Nathan will take you to the next level!

  • @insaneazza
    @insaneazza 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is going to help me so much. When I EQ around 4 or 5 k to reduce the harsh sibilance sounds. Theirs only so much that can do, I'm going to put this into practice.

  • @byjoelmichael3038
    @byjoelmichael3038 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    Couldn't agree more with writing in the volume automation on the esses. At 1st it is seemingly more time-consuming, but the accuracy is far superior and in time, it will save time rather than trying to tune the de-esser in for the entirety of a track. Cheers.

  • @seanemmettfullerton
    @seanemmettfullerton 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    Gregory Scott, you totally rock, mister mister! Folks, he's
    absolutely right! There's no dodging this. If we want a vocal
    to be up front and sexy, we must automate like a champ. More
    than any other track, that lead vocal is crying out for TLC... :)

  • @CharlesFerraro
    @CharlesFerraro 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Never thought about leaving a kind of sibilant transient in place. Did you get that idea from how a de-esser might take a moment to react to the incoming signal? Unless the de-esser has lookahead.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Yeah, it's just a way to emulate the attack of a compressor (and most de-essers are compressors).🕺🏻

    • @CharlesFerraro
      @CharlesFerraro 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@TheHouseofKushTV Yah maybe retaining a bit of the attack portion would make the sibilants sound a bit more natural. Editing is like makeup, you want to make it look like you're not wearing any.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Ha! Sometimes, you want to look like you're heavily made up, it can be just as sexy 😊

  • @danielmiller5521
    @danielmiller5521 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I'll do this 5 times tops in a mix. If there's a lot of issues, I'm using the r de-esser and a hardware compressor with fast attack.

  • @jimidharma
    @jimidharma 4 ปีที่แล้ว +164

    This guy is hilarious.

    • @martinirecords9471
      @martinirecords9471 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      He just look like a weed man 😅🤣 good point old school methods never die

    • @michaelkillebrew3114
      @michaelkillebrew3114 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Genius***

    • @COSE666
      @COSE666 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      Fun fact, he's actually a god from a different dimension. Just came to earth to bless us with some knowledge

  • @ParadiseSound
    @ParadiseSound 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    You can do something similar now in Melodyne 5 too. You can ramp down all the sibilants to a certain level then go back in and adjust each one individually.

  • @david_a_uno
    @david_a_uno 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    So righteously good that less that 1% of the viewers made like idiots to thumbs-down the harsh truth about harsh sibilance

  • @bbuteo
    @bbuteo 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    noicccce and i thought i was the only guy who had that secret...for me de-essing is a automation manual procedure, now i feel better knowing my Kush friend does it the same. cheers. like i said yesterday on you video about mixing the left and right channels independently, im very happy that i found your channel!!!

  • @miguelmikemigs
    @miguelmikemigs 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    A thought just came to me. Were engineers riding the vocals down on sibilants during the pre-digital mixing era? Take some Nick Drake recordings for example. The vocals sound like they at least have a smidge of compression on there but the sibilants don't seem to jump out at me.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  3 ปีที่แล้ว

      They were often very hands-on with the preamp gain / input fader, if they had the chance to learn the part and get a feel for the vocalist. There wasn't always time for that, old records were made fast.
      But what you're hearing with Nick's vocals is several things. There's a lot of proximity effect/mud left intact, so the bottom is woolly which makes the top feel darker. There's no obvious HF eq so no added bite, and it's all hitting tape which in those days almost always softened and darkened the top with a lot of HF saturation and rolloff. It's a very intimate, charming sound, I'm definitely a fan 😊

    • @miguelmikemigs
      @miguelmikemigs 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@TheHouseofKushTV proximity effect! Gotta learn how to use that to my advantage too! Thanks man! Engineers riding faders for esses was blowing my mind. Haha

  • @barrettabney
    @barrettabney 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    He said... listhpy... And I fell out of my chair! He is so smooth and refined with his presentation. When he said that one word, it caught me completely off guard!
    EDIT: I am rewatching this video and IT GOT ME AGAIN!! 7 months later!!! LOL

  • @heidi-jane
    @heidi-jane 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    From Day 176 in quarantine: you are really saving me during this pandemic by helping me learn - thank you!

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      176... yikes. Well, I'm glad we've got something constructive to focus on, I'm not sure what I'd do without music at this point in human history :-)

    • @heidi-jane
      @heidi-jane 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheHouseofKushTV Oh my gosh, that's EXACTLY it - "at this point in human history" ...ha! That's very tactful of you to put it that way...Sooo well said!! : )

  • @terrywitzu7874
    @terrywitzu7874 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    De-esser is something I NEED. My vocals sound find on-stage, but something about recording emphasises the remenants of a childhood speach impediment where I would slur my S's. Not dramatically, but bad enough to put people off some of my vocal recordings. It was as bewildering to me as it was the listener. "I don't get it he's on key, lot's of range a unique voice".
    One day I caught it. S is probably the most popular consonant in used in lyrics. No matter what I try it seems I need a de-esser.
    Is the fact that I'm recording analog 4-track (w/ a terrific mixer, and plenty of toys that exceed the limitations percieved w/ 4-track) part of my problem? An outboard De-esser seems like the simplest and only solution, at this point. ANY ADVICE (aside from going didgital b/c that's just not gonna happen, my man:)?

  • @evanmatthiesen7478
    @evanmatthiesen7478 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    find myself doing this more and more. Still like using my multiband compressor for general de-essing though

  • @fx-mayhem1081
    @fx-mayhem1081 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks first of all for your video series! Secondly, what DAW are you using in your videos here?

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Logic, with the custom Kush theme. Apple broke the mixer in 10.4.5 so I'm stuck in 10.4.2, which is fine as I'm exploring Reaper and hoping it'll do everything I need.

    • @fx-mayhem1081
      @fx-mayhem1081 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheHouseofKushTV I hear you. I had to learn ProTools just so I could collaborate with my fiancé and help her with her productions. It was a transition from underground Jungle and Drum'n'Bass producer to working mostly in the pop world. Now 5 years later, I would consider myself a pro user but I am definitely not happy with everything. Reaper looks interesting but it requires a lot of customization so that somebody who is used to Pro Tools and not too technical to be able to work with the same comfort and speed. I own Logic as well as Studio One but there was always something that brought me back to Pro Tools. It is a big investment to learn a new DAW and switch your entire workflow and abandon your old projects but with the way Pro Tools is going (or not going), it might be inevitable. I also like Luna but it is not a complete software yet, imho. Anyway... Thanks for the fast reply! I just subscribed! Keep it up!

    • @CAVEDOLLtv
      @CAVEDOLLtv 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TheHouseofKushTV I'd be curious to hear what you felt was broken and whether its been fixed. Talk of switching to Reaper made me do a double take. haven't had time to learn all the new features 10.5.1 but in theory I feel it oughta become the one and only gold standard finally now Ableton got their shit owned, and I've seen the appeal of Pro Tools personally. Expensive and not designed with musicians in mind imo. Gues it was designed big studios with dedicated engineers in mind? idk. From Emagic's Logic version 4 til now, I've never been even slightly tempted to switch. Ableton was of mild interest but not now. Apple's been losing it in a lot ways lately, but LP and Final Cut Pro are my whole world and I thank the tech gods daily for them. Blessed be

  • @marcchurch1245
    @marcchurch1245 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    I've always prefered to automated sibilance, but never heard the suggestion to leave a bit of transient at the begining. Going to try that, thanks!

  • @joshuadillon5348
    @joshuadillon5348 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Hi Gregory, i hope you have time ......just to clarify. you are automating the volume control on the track? and not automating the reduction within the de-esser its self with this technique. again your videos rock!!!

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Exactly! Although, automating params in the de-esser is every bit as valid and useful!

    • @joshuadillon5348
      @joshuadillon5348 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      ​@@TheHouseofKushTV Thankyou. I really appreciate that, have a great day. :-)

    • @AaronMcConkey
      @AaronMcConkey 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Came here for this question too. Thanks!

  • @noisyneil
    @noisyneil 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    totally agree about no de-esser being perfect. Soothe is about as close as I've got from plugins, but.... my personal favourite way of doing it is to chop all the esses out onto another track, consolidate them as one region, then use the 'open in audio editor' function to open the file in iZotope spectral repair. i hone in on where they're most resonant and piercing and gain those bands down by about 6-9db across the whole file with the horizontal selection tool. i save, return to Logic, and then if need be i can automate the volume of that dedicated channel, although it's usually unnecessary. aside from chopping the esses out, which i'm (hopefully) quick enough to do in one live play-through, the rest of the process takes about a minute. if any of the esses jump out as weird later in the mix, i've got the original audio still there in the main vocal track, which i can bring back in and simply automate, as you describe. esses eh.. can't live with 'em...

  • @bradleyduer
    @bradleyduer 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Just bought a subscription. Your vibe sold me.

  • @normanswindon518
    @normanswindon518 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I always have problems with de-essers killing my Vox, thanx!

  • @ES60Hz
    @ES60Hz ปีที่แล้ว

    Thanks for the video, Am I the only one that hear your whistles that comes from your s's? Did you leave it there on purpose?

  • @lisabethlawrence
    @lisabethlawrence 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    thank you for this! I feel the same about the de-essers and I actually used automation on my s's the other day and it sounded so much better! I don't think I will ever write a song with the word "just" in it again though. what an automation pain that was.

  • @HornetBojan
    @HornetBojan 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    This is the best method by far, I use it all the time, sometimes you have a specific ssss (extra strong) and I use an EQ, lowering higher frequencies, yet not necessarily lowering down the volume of the sibilance ... With this "surgical" method you keep "the power" and "the emotion" of the sibilance where is needed ... My problem is I mix outside of computer (in a synth workstation) then I transport the track (vocal) to computer software and do this without music, so I have to repeat the process 2, or three times to get it just right at the right places (when I hear the whole song), but it's worth it ...

  • @spazimdam
    @spazimdam 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Automation is king. Why not use the hell out of it, since all DAWs are capable of it? The human ear is much better suited to making these judgement calls than an algorithm. Love this series Gregory!

  • @amp3704
    @amp3704 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for this! I also decided to stop using de-essers, they are nog precise enough and take away to mush clarity of the lead vocal. So for me it works better when I manually soften all the harsh things that is goin on in the lead vocal.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Lately I've been digging the Weiss De-Esser to get me 80-90% of the way there, it's super precise and super smooth!

    • @amp3704
      @amp3704 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@TheHouseofKushTV thanks, I'll check it out

  • @themedders
    @themedders 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is great. Also, sometimes there is a "whistle" or a very frequency specific harshness in the sibilance and I find an EQ like ProQ 2 to be really helpful. I'll just make a narrow cut and render in place.

  • @petethias3285
    @petethias3285 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Hi Gregory,
    I just watched your De-esser video from May 15th 2020. At 1:11 you mention "grab the sibilant & pull it down." I'm on TwistedWave right now & I don't know where to locate the "sibilant." Can you please clear that up for me?
    Thanks in advance.
    Pete

  • @bloodyharprecords4910
    @bloodyharprecords4910 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is an amazing direct practical technique.
    Thanks so much.

  • @stevehansen4755
    @stevehansen4755 4 ปีที่แล้ว

    This is really great, unless you have a client over your shoulder watching the clock wondering what is taking so long. I can't see this being a 5 minute exercize on a vocal heavy song with lots of plosives and sibilance. But for my higher-end projects, will def consider the manual approach.
    Another way (and possibly quicker) would be to lower the wave form rather than draw volume moves.

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Totally! Clip gain, or a separate track... there are many ways to skin the cat.
      I will say, setting aside de-essing: having a client looking over your shoulder while you mix, that sounds counterproductive in every possible way and uncomfortable for all concerned. I won't presume to give unsolicited advice, and I may be misunderstanding your situation, but I will share this: every single successful, working professional mixer I know (and because I make hardware and plugins I know dozens of pro's working at every level) does about 85-90% of their mixing with the client anywhere BUT in the room. Anything else is a recipe for stress, crazymaking, boredom on the client's part and an overly restrictive creative space on the mixer's part.
      I just don't know how it's possible to get anything meaningful done, whether simple de-essing or exploring crazy automated moves --- with a client present and, even worse, 'watching the clock.' 😟 If that's a regular environment for you, you have my sympathies man!

  • @KevinWayne
    @KevinWayne 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Using the Automation lane is pretty cumbersome IMHO. The same thing can be accomplished by using a splitter & Adjust media item volume/fades. Other than that a Gate plugin also works kinda nice

  • @joost3783
    @joost3783 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks for the vid! Greg have you checked out the sibilance split feature in Melodyne 5? What do you think about it did you try it? I think it might be able to kind of "replace" the manual automation a little

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Haven't tried it, I'm grooving with the Weiss De-Esser + automation touchups. I'm precious with my time, any time I'm tempted to futz with more software I'd much rather work on a song or take some photos. I spend enough time on screens as it is! :-P

  • @Madrush1
    @Madrush1 ปีที่แล้ว

    Should i use a de-esser even when you don't hear any sibilance in the vocals? Sometimes i'm getting confused

  • @prodbyducktape8967
    @prodbyducktape8967 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    man i watched a couple of your vids and got straight to work, you really giving out all the gems in a fun way i appreciate this keep em coming i subbed and hit the bell!!

  • @itsnostress
    @itsnostress 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    you safe my life. keep helping us out, preach, and preesh!!!!!

  • @UncleWalter1
    @UncleWalter1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Amen. I don't really use them so much on vocals because of that. Guitars on the other hand. All the time.

  • @emmanuelbortolin
    @emmanuelbortolin 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Gregory ¨Owen Wilson on wedding crashers¨ Scott rocks. Keep going man

  • @DarrellSt.Blaine
    @DarrellSt.Blaine 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Totally agree. On a lead vocal. On a 45 minute podcast I’m all about a good de-esser plug-in. :)

    • @TheHouseofKushTV
      @TheHouseofKushTV  4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Amen! 'Horses for courses,' as applied to dsp!

  • @bengrimshaw4811
    @bengrimshaw4811 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Another amazing video. Looks like I'm watching them all tomorrow and making notes. Love your delivery and content, thanks so much 👍

  • @ryanboyce3365
    @ryanboyce3365 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    I don’t mind doing it by hand. It’s a little tedious but you get total control and daws make automation so easy. It’s kind of relaxing and gives me time with the lyrics of a song which helps other areas of the mix in my opinion. Anyway who cares what I think:) Great tip as always! Great content great channel.

  • @sebastiandiaz29
    @sebastiandiaz29 3 ปีที่แล้ว

    Love hearing someone who really knows pro audio making these videos

  • @MonsieurVersatile
    @MonsieurVersatile 11 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Best de-essing vid on YT and trust me I've watched a gazillion. THANKYOU!

  • @petpeeve4657
    @petpeeve4657 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    This is some OG ass content 😂😂😂

  • @AzureSky_Music
    @AzureSky_Music 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    how do you do the little quick key thing to create the automation nodes @ 1:24 you highlight the section and then blammo! you got your nodes. I assume there is an additional hot key I don't know. I'm still learning a lot of these little time saving functionalities on Logic. At least it looks like you're using Logic...

  • @Schmiddelwutz2000
    @Schmiddelwutz2000 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I've been doing this forever since I didn't know what a deesser is! 😂