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ReaFIR Madness – The Hidden Noise Reduction Tool in Reaper

April 3, 2012 by Ken 13 Comments

Reaper audio recording software is awesome, and is what I recommend to everyone. I use it every day. And I also seem to learn something new about it every day. It has an incredible noise reduction tool built right in that I just discovered recently. The reason I didn’t know about it sooner is primarily due to the fact that reducing recorded noise is not its only or primary function. It just happens to do it REALLY well, and non-destructively (if that’s not a word already, I hereby create it). The tool is called ReaFIR. I know! Who’d have thought to look for noise reduction editing chops under a moniker like that?

Review of What Noise Reduction Does

First though, let’s do a quick review of what noise reduction does for us in the world of recording. There is almost always a bit of background noise in recorded audio. It is especially noticeable in recordings of just one thing, like a single voice. The noise usually comes from a combination of stuff happening in the space/room where the recording takes place, and the electronics of the microphone and other gear involved. Recordings sound much better if you can reduce the noise, and that is what noise reduction tools are designed to do.

But since the noise and the voice are both together in the same recording, it isn’t a perfect process. What noise reduction tools try to do is filter and removing as much noise as it can without also removing too much of the voice. In order to do this, the software has to know what noise looks like so it can separate it from the signal (voice). So you have to highlight a section of the recording where there is ONLY noise, and no voice, and feed that sample to the noise reduction tool. Once it has the noise profile, it can do its thing.

Enter ReaFIR

Reaper names its effect plugins by using “Rea” as a prefix (for Reaper), and then the name of the function after it. So ReaFIR means Reaper FIR. So what does FIR mean? It stands for Finite Impulse Response. If you would really like to geek out on what it really means, including all the scary math involved, you can read about it at the Finite Impulse Response Wikipedia page. But the simpler definition for ReaFIR itself from the Reaper manual is:
ReaFIR is a EQ and dynamics plug-in that includes an FFT spectrum analysis window. Amongst other things it can be used as a precision EQ, a gate, a fast attack/release precision compressor, a noise reduction tool.
Obviously it is that last thing we’re interested in. In the video above, I walk you through how to use ReaFIR to reduce the hiss noise that happened when I recorded a short voice over. BTW, this video is and excerpt from our new (to be released on May 1st, 2012) recording tutorial course, The Newbies Guide To Audio Recording Awesomeness – Part 2.

How Does It Work?

So see it in action in the video above. But here is is a written summary of how it works. Once you have recorded some audio onto a track, click the FX button in the track control panel. Then select VST: ReaFIR from the Cockos collection of FX plug-ins.
Next, go ahead and click the “OK” button and then close the ReaFIR window by clicking on the red X in the upper right corner.
Now just highlight/select a section of the voice-over audio that has no voice actually saying anything. In other words, pick a small area that was only noise. Then click on the Toggle Repeat button (down by the Play and Stop buttons). This is important because it will prevent any of the actual voice signal being played when sampling the noise for ReaFIR. With that area still highlighted, click on the FX button again to open the ReaFIR window.
In the Mode window of the ReaFIR tool, select Subtract, and put a tick into the Automatically build noise profile box. Now hit the Space bar on your keyboard (which will play the audio, which is just the noise at this point). You’ll hear it for a second and then it will be gone. That’s ReaFIR getting rid of the noise. Now hit the Space bar again to stop playback.
The next part is very important! Uncheck the box that says Automatically build noise profile. Otherwise ReaFIR will try to grab your voice and anything else on the track, and treat it as noise. Once you’ve done that, go ahead and close the ReaFIR window. Now all you have to do is click on the Toggle Repeat button again to turn it off, and listen to the entire track.
Voila! The noise is gone and only the voice remains. Pretty darned cool huh? And I think the result is better than a lot of tools dedicated to removing noise. I didn’t hear much, if any, of the weirdness that sometimes happens after noise reduction. The audio takes on a kind of swirly, under-water-y artifact sometimes. But I didn’t hear that in this example. However, there noise we got rid of was a low-level and consistent hiss type of noise. The louder the noise and the more varied the noise (if it contains lots of frequencies and intermittent clicks, pops, etc.), the more likely you are to have that swirly artifact left over after noise reduction.
So now you know about the secret noise reduction tool at your disposal if you use Reaper. Use it wisely.

Reasons To Own a Shure SM-57 Microphone

March 29, 2012 by Ken Leave a Comment

Ah yes, the venerable and ubiquitous Shure SM57. These are veterans of the stage and studio and have always, it seems to me, been a mic you could get for just around a hundred bucks. But these days everyone will say that recording is all about condenser mics, not dynamic mics (the SM57 is a dynamic mic). Well, that isn’t really true. Dynamic mics have their place. But still, some folks will turn their noses up when the SM57 comes into the conversation.
However, there are still really good reasons for having one or two of these at your disposal. Here is an article that spells out three of those reasons:
http://therecordingrevolution.com/2012/03/19/3-reasons-to-own-a-shure-sm-57-microphone/

The New Shure Open-Back Headphones

March 26, 2012 by Ken Leave a Comment

Shure, the company known primarily for their excellent microphones, made a pretty big splash in 2010 when they released some studio headphones (the SRH440 and SRH840). But these were closed-back headphones, which are a type needed by folks when recording in the studio, mainly so that the sound coming into their headphones doesn’t get picked up by the mics, as happens with open-back cans. The closed-back kind can also help isolate the listener from outside noise. But the open-back design has a big advantage in that it allows sound to move around in the air and allows the driver to move with less restriction, creating a better and usually more accurate playback.
The new Shure SRH 1440 is the open-back kind. They are also “circumaural,” which means that they go on over and around your ears as opposed to the kind that sort of smash your ears into the side of your head. This makes them much more comfortable. Anyone who has spent a few hours with the other kind on their noggins can attest to how sore your ears can get. And pain is just not conducive to long hours in the studio. Bottom line – these things are really comfy.

So what makes these so special?

They are deadly accurate, which means you can hear everything, even if it isn’t something that should be heard. This is a good thing for headphones in the studio. You don’t want to be lulled into a false sense of security by headphones that make audio sound better than it really is because the first time you hear your mixes somewhere else, like in the car, or on a CD player, it might sound really awful. What you need is the truth. And accurate headphones like the SRH1440 can give you that.
The reason this is such a big deal, especially now, is that so many of us record and mix in less-than-ideal rooms, usually spare bedrooms. We do the best we can to mix our audio accurately but poor listening rooms will always impart something to the sound that makes us react by cutting or boosting the wrong frequencies, or panning incorrectly. It might then sound good in that room, but as soon as that room is no longer imparting it’s two cents to the sound, like when we play it on a friend’s stereo, we usually find the mix doesn’t sound good anymore. The mix is not “portable.”
Then there is the age-old advice that we should never mix exclusively with headphones because they lie to us, or they lie MORE than the monitor speakers in our bad rooms. The logic behind that is that it is more natural to hear audio through the air.
So if we take it as given that we don’t have ideal spaces to listen critically, and loudspeakers, even though they play through the air, will still be too affected by room dynamics, we are really only left with headphones as the next best choice. And because the SRH1440 headphones are so accurate and allow the sound to move in the air due to their open-back design, we can go a long way toward overcoming bad rooms and maybe bad speakers to create great mixes by using headphones like these.
The SRH1440s cost $399, which may sound like a lot, but consider this. A decent pair of monitor speakers will start out at about $400 or $500 per speaker. And then you still probably have a bad listening room to put them in. So compared to $800-$1,000 to get better mixes, the cost of these headphones is an excellent investment in your audio.
Happy mixing!

Digital Performer 8 Will Work on Windows

March 21, 2012 by Ken Leave a Comment

Mark of the Unicorn (MOTU) Digital Performer, one of the top audio recording workstation software programs in the industry, has traditionally only been available for the Mac. But the next incarnation, Digital Performer 8, will be available for Windows also, both 32 and 64-bit versions. This is fabulous news for PC owners who have wanted to get in on the MOTU magic.
DP 8 was announced at the NAMM trade show (the National Association of Music Merchants) in Januar, 2012. The release date was said to be “Spring.” Well the blue bonnets are in full bloom here in Texas and as of today (March 21st), it is not available to the general public yet. Sigh. Well, it’s available now! Click Here to find out more or buy your own copy!

Features

There are tons of new features in DP8, including a new thing called Punch Guard, which records 4 seconds of audio both before and after you hit the record button. This is designed to make you punch-ins fit in without cutting off any of the audio either of the already-recorded stuff, or of the thing you’re punching in.
In addition, there are 15 new plug-ins including guitar amp models, pedals, multi-band EQ, a kick-drum enhancer, and lots more. And of course, it still has the awesome editing, notation, and music-for-film tools that have set DP apart from other DAWs.
Keep your channel tuned to this space for updates on when Digital Performer 8 will be available. DP8 is here now, and for $499 it can be yours. Click Here to get it. If you already have an earlier version, look for special upgrade pricing.
Yay for multi-platform audio recording software!
Ken

Review of The CEntrance MicPort Pro Audio Interface

March 2, 2012 by Ken Leave a Comment

Today I’m going to review this awesome portable audio interface called the CEntrance MicPort Pro. But first, a little explanation of what an audio interface is.
[Update in 2019: The MicPort Pro seems to have been discontinued. Similar interfaces currently available include the Blue Icicle, the Senal XU-1648, and the Shure X2U. You can still find the MicPort Pro on eBay and a few other retailers. CEntrance Mixerface R4 is the company’s newest mobile interface].
In order to set up a computer recording studio, you will need some sort of interface between your microphone and your computer. The simplest and cheapest way is to plug a dynamic microphone (for a review of the difference between dynamic and condenser mics, see our post here: What Are The Different Types of Microphones?) directly into the sound card of your computer. But you’ll never get professional quality audio from that kind of set-up.
Usually I teach that the next best set up from the mic-directly-into-sound-card situation is to get a USB mic and plug it into (you guessed it) the USB port of your computer. If you want clean, clear, accurate and rich sounding audio though, your USB mic is going to have to be something a bit better than the ones on head-sets that cost $25 bucks. You don’t have to spend THAT much more though. You can get into pro audio with larger USB mics starting around $50.
But even then, I find that a USB mic doesn’t always give the best audio. My recommendation is to move to a set-up that is the foundation for the best possible audio quality, a condenser microphone going into an interface unit (containing a mic preamplifier and analog-to-digital converter), which connects to the computer. These interface units usually look like boxes of some sort and connect to the computer via USB (the most common), PCIe, or Firewire. This set-up is not all that mobile, the interface boxes being, as they are, difficult to stuff into a laptop bag or even your pocket.
Enter the CEntrance MicPort Pro, which is a high-quality microphone preamplifier (or mic preamp as the cool kids say) that you literally CAN put in your pocket. This gives you an incredible ability to be mobile and be able to record on the go.
But rather than being just another version of a “USB-to-XLR adapter” such as the Blue Icicle or MXL MicMate, I think of the MicPort Pro more as audio interface that happens to connect to the computer via USB, just like it’s larger cousins such as the Avid Fast Track and its ilk. The thing that makes it different is primarily the zero-latency monitoring headphone connector. With plain USB-to-XLR adapters, you still have to monitor via the headphone jack on a computer, which will add a delay to what is being recorded and what you are hearing, which is called latency. That is not an issue with the MicPort due to the headphone input along with its volume control.
Other things that make the MicPort stand out are the preamp gain knob and the phantom power (driven by USB power) for your condenser mics. The 24/96 (24 bit recording and up to 96 KHz sampling rate) analog-to-digital (typically written as A/D) converter allow for high quality recording.

So How Did It Work?

Setting it up was an absolute breeze. I plugged the XLR cable from my mic into the MicPort, then plugged the included low-noise USB cable from the MicPort into a USB port on my Windows 7 machine, though it is compatible with Mac OS X 10.4 and above, and Linux. Windows detected it and installed the proper CEntrance MicPort Pro drivers automatically in seconds–true plug-and-play.
I had Reaper open already and didn’t even have to close it down before the MicPort was available as an audio device in Options. I was ready to rock in less than a minute.
My standard set-up is to use a Rode NT2-A microphone, going through an E-MU interface similar to the Focusrite Scarlett Solo. Here is a sample of a voice recording with that set-up:

Next I simply unplugged my Rode mic from the E-MU and plugged it into the MicPort, then plugged my Sennheiser HD-280 Pro Headphones into the MicPort and turned up the headphone volume. Then I changed the audio device in Reaper to MicPort and set out to record the same passage. The first thing I noticed was that even with the MicPort’s gain control know all the way down, the input level was way too hot. I think the Rode was too much car at the normal output setting. Fortunately, the Rode has 2 pad switches (-5 dB and -10 dB) to lower its output. I switched to the -10 pad and things were much better. I still only had to turn the MicPort’s gain knob to about 25% to get the right level. I then proceeded to record. Here is what the MicPort recording sounded like:

Now tell the truth, if you did not know which was which, would you have been able to tell the difference? Actually, when previewing this page, I thought I had accidentally put the same audio file in twice! I had to listen to each recording like 10 times before I found a place where I read them differently enough (where I say “the thing that makes it different”). I swear I am not making that up! There was no mistake. Pretty awesome right?
Each recording received the same treatment I give all my voice recordings, noise reduction and a little p-pop elimination, both done in Adobe Audition. One thing I noticed while doing this was that the MicPort recording had more low-level noise across the EQ spectrum. It wasn’t a lot more noise than than the Focusrite Scralett recording, but it was present at more frequencies (low, mid and high). But since the noise was very low level, the noise-reduction took care of it with no audible artifacts, so in the end it really doesn’t matter much at all.
If I had to suggest any improvements it would be to make the MicPort self-powered instead of relying on USB power. It would have to be made a bit larger to fit a battery, yes. But it would allow you to use it with other devices that don’t have enough USB power to drive phantom power requirements, such as the iPad.

To Sum Up

This thing pretty much rocks! I didn’t find the quality of the MicPort to be much different from that of the E-MU, which costs quite a bit more. And of course the MicPort is amazingly portable (not much bigger than a lipstick), which the E-MU is decidedly not. This thing could easily be your primary home recording audio interface, especially if you mostly do voice over recording. And the portability of it just adds to the awesome and makes it a no-brainer if you ever have to do any recording while traveling. Check it out here: CEntrance MicPort Pro.