Does anybody here use UNCHIRP?

[Synth Master Jedi]

I see that this plugin by Zynaptiq is currently on sale.

It's not a new plugin, but I don't think that there's any other plugin around that does what this plugin does. Is anybody aware of any other plugin that does the same thing?

I normally wouldn't consider a plugin like this, due to it's normal high cost, but I downloaded the demo earlier and I'll be testing it out for a week or two and then I'll make up my mind. I do have a need for such a plugin, as I do sometimes work on some material that is poorly recorded and/or has artifacts and UNCHIRP seems to be pretty impressive.

I was just curious what any current users of this plugin or those that might have used it for a while have to say about it.

[MogwaiBoy]

I use the offline method for this kind of editing (iZotope RX) - but I'm absolutely sure Unchirp is quite advanced and quite powerful.

[Synth Master Jedi]

I use the offline method for this kind of editing (iZotope RX) - but I'm absolutely sure Unchirp is quite advanced and quite powerful.

I do have a few different restoration type plugins, like RX essential, the Acon restoration suite and a few from Waves I think, and I do use things like de-click and de-noise from time to time, but I don't think that any of them can do specifically what unchirp does, which is why I was interested in it.

You're right that it seems quite advanced and powerful. I do have the demo, so I guess I'll just use it for some days and I'll be able to make up my mind eventually.

I'll have to learn it properly, as I think it needs to be tweaked and adjusted correctly to get the desired results on the source material.

[MogwaiBoy]

I use the offline method for this kind of editing (iZotope RX) - but I'm absolutely sure Unchirp is quite advanced and quite powerful.

I do have a few different restoration type plugins, like RX essential, the Acon restoration suite and a few from Waves I think, and I do use things like de-click and de-noise from time to time, but I don't think that any of them can do specifically what unchirp does, which is why I was interested in it.

You're right that it seems quite advanced and powerful. I do have the demo, so I guess I'll just use it for some days and I'll be able to make up my mind eventually.

I'll have to learn it properly, as I think it needs to be tweaked and adjusted correctly to get the desired results on the source material.

I thought Unchirp was specifically for removing MP3 artifacts, or can it do all sorts of noise removal too?

[Krakatau]

I thought Unchirp was specifically for removing MP3 artifacts, or can it do all sorts of noise removal too?

It is...and in the contrary to simulates mp3 artifacts too, this as primary use !

[noiseboyuk]

Yes, I don't think anything else does what UNCHIRP does. I've demoed it and it's pretty good. I think they still have a demo?

[Synth Master Jedi]

I thought Unchirp was specifically for removing MP3 artifacts, or can it do all sorts of noise removal too?

I think that it's good for digital artifacts in general, not just mp3s.

Like for example, if the source file was denoised too heavily someplace else, then dechirp will be able to help with that.

It can also bring out transients, if the source file was compressed too heavily.

Sometimes digital files can have a sort of warbly, chirping effect and Unchirp is good for getting rid of that. That warbly, chirping sort of sound is not just present in Mp3s, but can be found on other types of audio also, if they've been subjected to certain digital processes.

Yesterday I was trying it on vocals which I had extracted from a stereo mix and it made them sound slightly better, because there are often artifacts when somebody does vocal or instrument extraction using programs such as RX or Acon Acoustica and a few others.

Basically, I think that it might be a useful tool to have in conjunction with other sorts of restoration tools if somebody encounters poor material that they have to work with.

[Synth Master Jedi]

Yes, I don't think anything else does what UNCHIRP does. I've demoed it and it's pretty good. I think they still have a demo?

Yes, there's a 14 day demo, which I am currently doing. I just started a day or two ago, so I have some time to explore it some more and make up my mind eventually.

[Krakatau]

I thought Unchirp was specifically for removing MP3 artifacts, or can it do all sorts of noise removal too?

I think that it's good for digital artifacts in general, not just mp3s.

Like for example, if the source file was denoised too heavily someplace else, then dechirp will be able to help with that.

It can also bring out transients, if the source file was compressed too heavily.

Sometimes digital files can have a sort of warbly, chirping effect and Unchirp is good for getting rid of that. That warbly, chirping sort of sound is not just present in Mp3s, but can be found on other types of audio also, if they've been subjected to certain digital processes.

Yesterday I was trying it on vocals which I had extracted from a stereo mix and it made them sound slightly better, because there are often artifacts when somebody does vocal or instrument extraction using programs such as RX or Acon Acoustica and a few others.

Basically, I think that it might be a useful tool to have in conjunction with other sorts of restoration tools if somebody encounters poor material that they have to work with.

interesting...thanks for sharing !

[Krakatau]

because there are often artifacts when somebody does vocal or instrument extraction using programs such as RX or Acon Acoustica and a few others.

...i assume it could works also with artifacts created by de-reverberation algorithms ?

[Synth Master Jedi]

...i assume it could works also with artifacts created by de-reverberation algorithms ?

Yes, I believe that it does.

I'm just quoting what I see on their site here:
UNCHIRP is a plug-in for removing the most obnoxious artifacts associated with lossy audio encoding and other FFT based processes, such as spectral de-noising.

[noiseboyuk]

Yeah, decided it was time to get a license for this. It is still unique to this day, and I can't recall it ever being cheaper. It doesn't make everything perfect, but it sure can help. (Also found I have some Audio Deluxe credits and Audiothing's Crusher is free this week with a purchase.)

[Synth Master Jedi]

Yeah, decided it was time to get a license for this. It is still unique to this day, and I can't recall it ever being cheaper. It doesn't make everything perfect, but it sure can help. (Also found I have some Audio Deluxe credits and Audiothing's Crusher is free this week with a purchase.)

I'm in no rush yet, there's still 11 days left until the sale ends, but yes, like you, I suspect that I'll be picking this up. I haven't been able to spend that much time with it yet, so I'm just going to use it for a bit more, before making my final decision.

Most plugins I buy are cheap and I don't even bother to demo most things, but even on sale, this counts as a not cheap plugin for me, so I want to spend a little time with it, to see how I get along with it.

If I do end up getting it, I'll probably get it at Audiodeluxe also, as that seems to be where the best deal is, since you get 10% back in audiodeluxe bucks and you can use any balance if you have credits there.

[kidslow]

I use the offline method for this kind of editing (iZotope RX) - but I'm absolutely sure Unchirp is quite advanced and quite powerful.

Which tools in RX do you use to achieve what UNCHIRP does? I'm not entirely convinced of the uniqueness vs how much of it is marketing, but I wouldn't know how to tame RX into making the fixes that UNCHIRP purports to make. I definitely have a sense of what they are when I hear them. I just came up with a good test case, because I found Waves Clarity Vx was easy to push into the realm where I'd like to unchirp.

To justify for me, would need to help me with dialogue more than music, or at least mostly on the vocal bus. I was not particularly impressed with the dialogue sample that Zynaptiq has on their website. It is the only one that doesn't label before/after on-screen, and I thought both versions were terrible. Granted they started with a crap sample, like a moon mission recording or something? The other music examples do a better demo job. Probably will have to run some material through it on my own and compare with RX. Seems like Soothe2 or a similar spectral dynamics processor would get there equally well with vocals & dialogue.

[noiseboyuk]

I use the offline method for this kind of editing (iZotope RX) - but I'm absolutely sure Unchirp is quite advanced and quite powerful.

Which tools in RX do you use to achieve what UNCHIRP does? I'm not entirely convinced of the uniqueness vs how much of it is marketing, but I wouldn't know how to tame RX into making the fixes that UNCHIRP purports to make.

I don't think there are any.

I just gave it a good workout. Someone came to me with 25 year old track that needed an instrumental version. First off, into Music Rebalance in RX. That was a mildy disappointing result - yes, the vocal was 98% gone, but in this case it sounded wibbly, lacked punch and various sibilances were still there.

So into UNCHIRP. I love the listen to I/O only mode, where you can really hear what it is doing. In my case, musical noise was the problem - it was all wibble. I turned that to 100%. Chirps didn't do anything, and the others tended to make things worse. But getting rid of that musical noise really helped, and I don't know how else I'd ever have done that. It wasn't magically perfect, but it was magically better.

I then put it through Kush's Clariphonic to restore a bit of high end and presence, Waves' Smack Attack to get some definition back that the Music Rebalance process lost and a bit of the L3-16 to tame things at the end. Finally back into RX to manually remove the remaining stray sibilances and clicks. The end result wouldn't be good enough for a commercial release in this case, but it's for a live show and I think it'll pass muster there.