Izotope Spectral Denoise

[Breanna Mangels]

HeyPodcast Editors! Ever wrestled with really bad audio filled with hums, buzzes, and hisses? Spectral Denoise in RX is the tool for you! In this post, we're diving into spectral denoise, a tool that is every podcast editor's go-to friend. From removing that annoying hum to applying noise suppression in the most effective way, we're here to guide you through it all.

Before diving into the noise, the first step is to get rid of the hum. Select a section, learn it, render it, and voila! The hum's gone. No need to worry about the adaptive mode here; learning and applying is the way to go.

To successfully denoise your audio, find a spot with noise only and no other sound. Avoid those tall orange spots or places with too much orange in the spectrogram. They're not good for grabbing a noise profile. Select a noise section, learn, set threshold and reduction controls, and let RX handle the rest.

Sometimes, the audio needs multiple passes. Learn the profile, apply settings, and then check the outcome. It's all about trial and error, but remember, don't go higher than 18-20 on either slider for a single pass. I don't like to go higher than about 14 for each pass if I'm doing two passes.

After learning the right settings, rendering out the entire file may be necessary. Adjust settings for the second pass, learn from the new sample, process it, and listen to how it sounds. Repeat as needed.

Sometimes, you may encounter a second example of really bad audio. Apply dehum, render, and work with spectral denoise again. Use a batch processor to save time. The key is to get a clean sample with no other sounds.

Spectral De-noise in RX provides podcast editors a tool to clean up and fine-tune audio like never before. Practice and patience are key, as is developing critical listening skills. Whether you're a newbie or a seasoned pro, these techniques will save you time and make your audio sound clean and professional.

Remember, our goal is to make any imperfections so imperceptible that the average listener won't even notice they're there. The more you experiment and learn, the faster you'll master this incredible tool.

Since apparently Vegas / iZotope could not strike a deal for these AWESOME plugin's to be included in newer releases of Vegas Pro, has anyone got any suggestions, (outside of changing platforms), that would equate or come close to what the iZotope plugin's for Vegas Pro could do?

AFAIK, no iZotope audio plug-in are included with Vegas. If you are referring to the Elements plug-ins that are included with Sound Forge (when purchased singularly), third-party plug-ins are not included in the Vegas/Sound Forge deal. Unfortunately this is not clearly stated by Magix. I do not know if iZotope still has there annual holiday deals going on.

Some great deals, including second-hand, can be had at KVR. FWIW, there were even some Ozone 9 Elements licenses being offered for free recently in the "Bargain Center: discussion, gossip, etc." forum.

No. I was referring to plug in's that I HEAR at one time could be installed in Vegas AFTER the purchase of or a suite that contained say RX7. I THINK almost 2 years ago that stripped there software of that compatability?

All my latest and recent version iZotope plugins appear as expected in Vegas Pro 19: RX9 plugins (7 and 8 as well), Ozone 8 and 9, Neutron 3 and Nectar 2. They don't automatically install in Vegas Pro (or Sound Forge Pro for that matter) - they have to be loaded in Vegas Pro via Options/Preferences/VST Effects (tab) by using one of the Alternate VST folders to drill down to the folder where the iZotope vst plugins are stored (usually C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg and/or C:\Program Files\Steinberg).

@Dexcon, Thanks for the reply. I was aware that limited plugin's use to work, (Vegas Pro), in older versions of RX and some features you had to use their software for. I'm interested in knowing what plugin's would work in Vegas Pro in the RX9 Standard or Advanced flavors. Currently, I am trying out there 7 day trial for their subscription service. I have a feeling that they are not including, in that monthly fee, plugin's that are probably in RX9 standard or Advanced, (should one buy one of these outright).

@Illusion Hey thanks for the screen shot. It helps. Do you know what plugin's will NOT install and must be used within there program, outside of Vegas? I will investigate @Dexcon's method that allows Vegas to see the plugin's. I am not sure if they will work since at present, I am using the free 7 day trial of their subscription, (monthly).

@crown2020, as @Dexcon said, those marked with an * show up in Vegas. One thing that I use very often in RX8 Standard is Spectral Repair which is not available as a plugin for obvious reasons, it needs the graphical interface to work. De-click plugin is probably the one I use the most in Vegas.

From the package I bought some time ago, I also have these iZotope plugins. Although de-click is lightweight and can be abused at the event level, something like Neutron or Ozone should not be abused, best to use it at track or bus level. Trying to get Neutron on 20 different events will make Vegas sluggish.

@Dexcon, Since you own several of these RX series versions as well as other iZotop products, is there anything else I should be considering, other than the RX stuff, for audio restoration in post? I looked on there site. The main software they offer, for what I do, seems to be RX. All thoughts welcome.

It very much depends on what type of audio recordings you are using. If its just location sound, then RX may be all you need. If you're doing voice over, then Neutron 3 could be helpful because it has a wide range of adjustable presets for dialogue. And its AI mix assistant is excellent for bringing new life to poor music recordings (such on location via your camera's internal or add-on microphone)) and/or music recorded long ago. There's a 10 days trial, but like RX, you'd need to look at the comparison page to see which version is best for you -

If you're really into recording, mixing and mastering your own music, Ozone 9 could be useful - It also has a 10 days trial and, again, look at the comparison page to see the differences between the 3 versions.

Like @Illusion said above, using iZotope plugins can definitely make Vegas Pro sluggish. For some years now, I've taken the approach of exporting camera or other audio to a .wav file, importing that into RX and then working on the audio, say with Neutron's plugin, in RX, then exporting to .wav and drop that into Vegas Pro. Lot's of people don't particuarly like the turnaround approach but for me, it's fine. And .wav files are relatively small in size.

The above are stock images for the 'Audio Studio' app. Unless something has changed very recently and despite that, the third-party plug-ins are NOT included in the Vegas deal. I have discussed this previously with my contacts at Magix customer service and they agree it is confusing, but 'their' dept cannot change it. You can contact Magix directly for a definitive answer

Steinberg's SpectralLayers Pro is awesome. It is similar to RX Advanced, which has more 'auto' functions, but SLP costs less than half of the $1k RX Adv. SLP has somewhat of a learning curve for manually editing a Spectrograph, but once learned, you can fix issues that where previously impossible. Experience with Photoshop or other advanced photo editing apps can lessen the curve though. SLP does have many auto functions though,for instance the AI stem extract can create stem tracks from music and other previously 'mixed' material (aka, unbake the cake).

I am not easily impressed, but SLP blew me away. SLP is included with the Sound Forge Pro Suite version, which alone is worth the cost of a Sound Forge upgrade IMO. See the SF version comparison webpage.

btw, SpectralLayers was originally published by SCS (Sony) along with Sound Forge, Vegas and Acid. SpectralLayers developer is the same person and also the moderator of Steinberg's SpectralLayers users forum, so users may communicate directly.

I have a standalone license for SOUND FORGE Audio Studio 15 and it shows that iZotope Ozone 9 Elements is installed, but this isn't really useful for audio restoration - at least not like Izotope RX (Elements) would be.

@crown2020 Another option on KVR is make a WTB post (wanted to buy). Sometimes you can get offers over PM. I've found it to be a great way to find something specific that's not currently listed (and it looks like someone recently scored an RX 9 Standard offer this way).

@crown2020 Another option on KVR is make a WTB post (wanted to buy). Sometimes you can get offers over PM this way. I've found it to be a great way to find something specific that's not currently listed.

I want to thank everyone that has posted information to help myself and others locate good iZotope plugin's. Or stand alone products for that matter. I do audio restoration. I am pretty sure to use the spectral denoise and spectral repair tools I will need, at minimum, an RX STANDARD version. Not the bottom of the barrel "Elements". As far as I can tell, "RX Elements" contains only a "Spectrogram View". Nothing to actually do Spectral denoise or repair.

Again, thanks to those who have offered me options. I like options. @rraud, I will check out "Steinberg's SpectralLayers Pro". I will have to say, the trial of RX Spectral Denoise by iZotope is pretty darn good at removing noise. Granted, it's noise over vocals only. No music. I have no reason to believe, at this point anyways, that it will let me down should music be thrown into a mix of noise.

So guys, since I have cleaned up the noise and I am left with audio vocals only from the 50's or 60's, any ideas how I could make the vocals sound better? Perhaps a bit more polished? What iZotope product would be recommended for this?

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