Plug-Ins

– Hum & Buzz Removal & Brickwall Filtering

Combining hum removal, buzz removal, brickwall filtering, and spectrum analysis into one easy to use plug-in, MR Hum is the perfect tool to clean up recordings with any sort of hum or nasty buzz.

The hum removal section works by applying a set of notch filters spaced at multiples of the fundamental hum frequency, usually 60 Hz or 50 Hz. You select the fundamental frequency, the number of harmonics you want to eliminate (up to 10), and the width of the notches (the default works fine). There are presets for the usual cases of 60 Hz hum and 50 Hz hum. You can also select any fundamental frequency continuously from 20 to 200 Hz. Sometimes it’s necessary to use a slightly different frequency in cases where the hum has been recorded on analog tape and played back on a different machine, which will cause the hum frequency to change.

The high resolution spectrum display makes it easy to see the hum frequency and the number of harmonics that are required. The spectrum display can run before processing, to see the input signal spectrum, or after processing, to see the output signal spectrum. The monitor feature allows you to hear the signal being removed, offering another way to set the parameters.

MR Hum contains a separate processor for buzz. Buzz is a periodic signal with frequency harmonics through the entire audible spectrum, which would require hundreds of notch filters to eliminate. The buzz algorithm uses a different approach which is far more efficient. Often buzz is a nasty case of hum, and hence is at 50 or 60 Hz, but sometime buzz is caused by a motor or some other kind of interference, hence the buzz processor allows any frequency from 20 to 200 Hz.
Finally MR Hum also provides brickwall filters to eliminate low or high frequency interference.

– Noise Reduction Plug-in

MR Click combines click and crackle filtering for cleanup of phonograph recordings or other impulsive contamination. MR Click has separate processors for clicks and crackles because of the different nature of the contaminants. We use the term “click” to mean a large disturbance, such as caused by a phonograph scratch or a splice in a digital signal. The click processor automatically detects clicks and reconstructs the audio signal in the neighborhood of the click to eliminate it. We use the term “crackle” to mean the high frequency scratchiness you get from dust or wear in the grooves of a phonograph. The crackle processor automatically detects crackle and eliminates it by smoothing the signal in the neighborhood of the crackle event. The crackle processor also contains an onset detector that will inhibit de-crackling the onset of events like snare hits or cymbal crashes.
MR Click has a scrolling time display that shows all the click and crackle events detected, so you can easily adjust the detection thresholds. There is also a monitor feature to hear the removed clicks and crackles.

– Voice and Speech Post Production Tool

Dialog 2 combines in one plug-in all the processing needed to clean up, adjust, and sweeten recordings of the spoken voice. It is perfect for voice-over, film/tv recordings on location or sound stage, and broadcast.
Dialog 2 includes brickwall filters, de-hum, and de-buzz processing, broadband noise reduction, de-ploding, de-essing, 10-band equalization, compression, and limiting. Separate presets for each section allow you to get results fast.
The brickwall filters have variable rolloff slopes and can be used to cutoff low or high frequency ranges. The de-hum processor uses notch filters to eliminate 10 harmonics of either 50 Hz or 60 Hz hum. The de-buzz processor squelches nasty line frequency buzzes. The de-noise processor is the stellar-sounding MR Noise algorithm with a simplified interface. De-plode and de-ess are custom processors; use de-plode to tame plosive sounds and use de-ess to adjust the amount of sibiliants. The EQ section is the powerful and easy to use TrackPlug equalizer, with 10 bands of equalization, 11 different filter types to choose from, and a variety of presets. The compressor is the TrackPlug Vintage compressor, with presets tailored to voice processing.