Wave Arts

– 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.

– 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.

– Great Sounding Noise Reduction Processor

MR Noise is a broadband noise reduction processor. It distinguishes itself by being both great sounding and incredibly easy to use. Like most noise reduction systems, MR noise works in the frequency domain, and requires that the noise spectrum be learned before noise reduction can commence. If your track starts with a bit of silence then MR Noise will work right out of the box, since by default MR Noise has the Learn parameter enabled, then when you hit play, MR Noise will learn the noise profile and start noise reduction. The default parameters work extremely well for most cases. One of our reviewers thought something was wrong because they opened up MR Noise and the noise vanished – and they didn’t have to do anything.

When designing MR Noise, we spent considerable effort researching and experimenting with existing noise reduction algorithms. MR Noise combines the best of these with some new innovations, especially our Auto Dynamics mode. This mode automatically adjusts the attack and release times of the noise reduction processor based upon the amount of transients in the input signal. This minimizes artifacts in the noise reduction processing while maintaining sharp transients that would normally be smeared by other methods.
The user interface makes it a snap to see and hear what is going on. The frequency response display shows the spectrum of the input signal, noise floor, and output signal so you can see at a glance what frequencies are being reduced. A monitor feature allows you to hear the noise that is being removed (with separate volume control). For most cases you simply have to select a preset and hit play, MR Noise will learn the floor and start reduction. Then you can simply adjust the Amount control to set the amount of reduction. For super fine tweaking, the noise floor and all the reduction parameters can be edited as a function of frequency by dragging control points on the frequency response display.