Removing 60Hz hum

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Just did a quick search and but can't find anything on this - is there any free software available to remove a 60Hz hum from a WAV file?

I have one guitar track that has far too much hum on it (single coils, high gain), but can't seem to EQ it out without making the track sound bad. I tried a notch filter at -24dB at 60Hz, but that barely makes a difference. I assume there are lots of harmonics there that all contribute.

Anyway, for just one track I don't really want to spend money, but would like to remove as much of the hum as possible without destroying the sound of the track.

Anyone know of anything out there?

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Not cheap and overkill (but a seriously excellent plugin) - Izotope RX :)

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I really wanted to avoid spending money if possible - I'd rather spend it on putting noiseless pickups in the guitar... :oops:

Just really want to fix this one track so $0 would be a good price for this software... :)

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Well, if you've processed the signal after the ground loop hum has been introduced you've probably created harmonics of 60Hz, so just cutting sharply at 60Hz isn't going to work. The best way to deal with ground loop hum is to get rid of it at the source. Noiseless pups, a ground isolator, di box with ground lift, etc.

Trying to kill the hum after your tracks have been recorded isn't going to do anything but decrease the clarity of the initial recording.

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That's pretty much what I've found so far with losing clarity. Just wondered if there was any software that could remove a very narrow band for each harmonic.

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Use an expander/noise gate. Nothing drastic, don't try to eliminate the noise, just reduce it. If the noise is still really annoying try using some noise reduction on the source file in Audacity, again don't overdo it.

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Hello & happy new year. What I would use is...

1. Wavelab
2. Rubberfilter (free VST) http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=183141
3. An Equalizer (Nomad Factory PEQ322-3)
4. Headphones

take care :)

ps. just find the 60hz band and filter-out accordingly. Then sweeten around band. Use headphones if you are like Monk the Detective.
Male voice (P.A. in garage): - critical noise levels in this area. Be sure to report all decibel surges in excess of 1.5 on the Murrer-Wiggins scale.

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robojam wrote:Just did a quick search and but can't find anything on this - is there any free software available to remove a 60Hz hum from a WAV file?

I have one guitar track that has far too much hum on it (single coils, high gain), but can't seem to EQ it out without making the track sound bad. I tried a notch filter at -24dB at 60Hz, but that barely makes a difference. I assume there are lots of harmonics there that all contribute.

Anyway, for just one track I don't really want to spend money, but would like to remove as much of the hum as possible without destroying the sound of the track.

Anyone know of anything out there?
Send it here. I've had the old sonic foundry noise reduction plug-in for years and actually know how to use the f**ker. All I need is a sample of said hum on its own and the track concerned.

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Hum is beautiful, leave it in. Anyway the only people who are going to notice it are only going to admire the size of your balls for leaving it in.

Well, that's my opinion.

Edit- oh yeah, if you're in the key of A (or D or E for that matter), 60 Hz hum functions as a harmonic drone anyway, in A-440)

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Cockos has a suite of free VST plugins available here:

http://reaper.fm/reaplugs/

the ReaFIR plugin is a very good replication of the old Sonic Foundry Noise Reduction plugin (when the ReaFIR is used in subrtract mode), and it's free and NOT DirectX.

This is best applied in multiple iterations, say offline in a stereo wave editor that supports VST (like waveosaur!).
to start, find a section of your take that has JUST the hum, and "sample it" with the plugin...then:

1. use ReaFIR at a very low reduction setting (just a few dB) and run your audio file through it.
2. Audition the results.
3. repeat steps 1 & 2 over-and-over until you start to notice the program material getting brittle (back off one iteration, and put that version in your mix), or until the hum is gone or acceptable.

As Justin pointed out, the 60Hz hum will have harmonics at every multiple of 60Hz (120Hz, 180Hz, etc...), so a simple EQing won't remove all of the hum.

I, too, would probably find the hum perfectly tolerable in the right material... :)

hth,

bud
rrrc.bandcamp.com||bandcamp.com/blatanville
"ALL YOUR CUBASE ARE BELONG TO REAPER" - 5.1 Posted: Thu Jul 31, 2008 3:17 pm
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donkey tugger wrote:Send it here. I've had the old sonic foundry noise reduction plug-in for years and actually know how to use the f**ker. All I need is a sample of said hum on its own and the track concerned.
Cheers! Let me upload it somewhere and I'll send you a PM.

(Probably tomorrow now).

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Aroused by JarJar wrote:Hum is beautiful, leave it in. Anyway the only people who are going to notice it are only going to admire the size of your balls for leaving it in.
:love:

-Kim.

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Kim (esoundz) wrote:
Aroused by JarJar wrote:Hum is beautiful, leave it in. Anyway the only people who are going to notice it are only going to admire the size of your balls for leaving it in.
:love:

-Kim.
What do you love Kim; Big balls or the hum? :lol: :hihi:

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Batucada wrote:
Kim (esoundz) wrote:
Aroused by JarJar wrote:Hum is beautiful, leave it in. Anyway the only people who are going to notice it are only going to admire the size of your balls for leaving it in.
:love:

-Kim.
What do you love Kim; Big balls or the hum? :lol: :hihi:
:P

I love the audacity of deliberately leaving normally-undesirable artefacts in the sound even when it's possible to remove them. ;-)

-Kim.

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Queens Of The Stone Age leave the hum fizz rumble and noisey clicky stuff, and the most important, the fuzz, in most of their guitar tracks.

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