What is your de-essing strategy?
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- KVRist
- 99 posts since 27 Feb, 2026
one distinction worth making: the "piercing S" cryophonik describes and "harsh sibilance that sits there even between the S sounds" are different problems that need different tools.
a proper transient sibilance (the actual S consonant) responds well to a classic de-esser: detect the 6-10kHz region, compress it when it fires. Pro-DS, Eiosis, Soothe 2, Airwindows DeEss are all valid tools depending on how much control you need.
the second problem, which bmanic is describing in detail, is more like a sustained resonant harshness: the recording environment, the microphone's proximity peak, or the vocalist's natural formants create frequencies that are consistently hot and ring out unpleasantly. this doesn't always fire a de-esser because it's not just riding the S consonants. treating it as a dynamic EQ problem with a broad frequency picture rather than a triggered threshold works better. the double-track + polarity flip technique bmanic described is a clever way to isolate exactly what you're removing, which is the right instinct.
a proper transient sibilance (the actual S consonant) responds well to a classic de-esser: detect the 6-10kHz region, compress it when it fires. Pro-DS, Eiosis, Soothe 2, Airwindows DeEss are all valid tools depending on how much control you need.
the second problem, which bmanic is describing in detail, is more like a sustained resonant harshness: the recording environment, the microphone's proximity peak, or the vocalist's natural formants create frequencies that are consistently hot and ring out unpleasantly. this doesn't always fire a de-esser because it's not just riding the S consonants. treating it as a dynamic EQ problem with a broad frequency picture rather than a triggered threshold works better. the double-track + polarity flip technique bmanic described is a clever way to isolate exactly what you're removing, which is the right instinct.
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- KVRer
- 2 posts since 9 Apr, 2026 from Texas
1 - try to clean up the raw vocal first. remove artifacts and soften them thru volume / dB
2 - apply transient fixes as needed
3 - add amplification (NEVE Preamp for example)
4 - decide where it sits in your mix, EQ based on that
5 - correct amplification as needed
6 - DeEss as needed
7 - add effects
8 - apply final EQ as needed / adjust parameters previously as needed
2 - apply transient fixes as needed
3 - add amplification (NEVE Preamp for example)
4 - decide where it sits in your mix, EQ based on that
5 - correct amplification as needed
6 - DeEss as needed
7 - add effects
8 - apply final EQ as needed / adjust parameters previously as needed