Free Fl Studio De Esser
Last Updated on December 15, 2020.
In this tutorial we explore three methods for de-essing vocals in FL Studio using the tools supplied. Most good de-essers are simply band-limited compressors repackaged and labelled so they can be called a ‘de-esser’. So if you have a multi-band compressor, you have a de-esser. FL STUDIO 20.5 introduced FLEX free for all FL STUDIO. The free Spitfish de-esser VST plugin by Digital Fish Phones is an easy to use de-esser effect, aimed mainly at vocal tracks (mono or stereo). Just like the classic analog hardware de-essers, the Spitfish de-esser dynamically filters out harsh, annoying s-like sounds that would otherwise 'spit' in your face. IQ-Series DeEsser The HOFA IQ-Series DeEsser is the best tool for editing harsh sibilance in vocals or in an entire mix. The specialised and very natural sounding voice recognition makes the IQ-Series DeEsser easy to use and very intuitive. Open the Audacity file you want to de-ess. Select the entire track (or just a portion, if you want to de-ess only a portion of the file). Go to Effect digitalfishphones: SPITFISH; Click on the 'listen' button. This will make it so you only hear the S sounds you want to remove. Move the 'Sense' and 'Depth' knobs to about 50%, then click Preview.
De-esser plugins are essential not only for making any vocaltrack sound professional, but also to tame the harshness on almost any othertracks in your mix; like hi-hats, cymbals, and even in the mastering phase.
If you don’t know what a De-esser does then here’s a post I wrote that explains just that!
Now, in this article I will list both free and premium de-essers, as well as give you my top 3 choices right at the end, simply to make things a bit easier.
For quicker and easier navigation, you can always use the table of contents below to navigate to the desired section.
Best Premium De-Esser VST
1. FabFilter Pro DS ($179)
With its ‘Single Vocal’ detection algorithm, FabFilter Pro-DS can accurately identify sibilance in vocal recordings and attenuates it transparently.
Whenusing the ‘Allround’ mode, Pro-DS becomes a great tool for high-frequency limitingof any material, like drums or even full mixes. Try it out yourself!
FabFilter Pro-DS offerseverything you need to get the best result possible, presented in a simple andeasy-to-use interface.
Wide band or linear-phasesplit band processing, an optional look-ahead of up to 15 ms, adjustable stereolinking with optional mid-only or side-only processing, up to four timeslinear-phase oversampling… and more.
Features
- Adjustable Threshold, Range and detection HP andLP filtering settings
- Wide Band or linear-phase Split Band processing
- Optional look-ahead time up to 15 ms
- Freely adjustable stereo linking
- Optional mid-only or side-only processing
Find out more about Pro DS here.
2. Waves Sibilance ($49)
Sibilance is a transparent vocal de-esser that is capable ofremoving harsh vocal ‘s’ sounds faster than all the previous de-essers releasedby Waves.
Sibilance allows you to make the vocals brighter withoutadding any harshness to them.
It doesn’t apply gain reduction to narrow frequency bandsalone, but rather uses spectral filters to detect peaks in certain regions andthen applies the processing after having separated the vocals from thoseregions.
This allows Sibilance to only process the problematic areas,leaving the rest of the track’s content unaffected.
Just like with Pro DS by FabFilter, Sibilance is not justmeant to be used on vocals, but on any track where you need to deal withharshness.
Features
- Smooth, glitch-free removal of harsh ‘s’ soundslike never before
- Separates the sibilant parts of the vocalwithout changing the vocal’s original tone
- Easy-to-use threshold and sensitivity controls
- Innovative sibilance detector powered by Waves’Organic ReSynthesis technology
Find out more about Sibilance here.
3. XILS DeeS ($89)
DeeS can help you get clean and professional sounding vocalsin no time, as well as restore other vocal tracks and get rid of their flaws.
Removing the harshness and the sibilance should be extremelyeasy with DeeS, plus the plugin is easy to use since it’s very visual.
It splits the track into two independent channels; TheVocals, without any sibilance, and the sibilance on its own, each with its ownEQ.
The Detection module helps you to find the right Voicefrequency range to process to remove the sibilants, and specify the quality ofthe processing.
Find out more about DeeS here.
4. Standard De-Esser by ERA 4 ($59)
If you don’t want to have to deal with loads of knobs andcontrols, then this plugin might be the right one for you.
The ERA De-Esser is the only single-knob plugin that allowsyou to smooth out audio problems caused by excessive sibilance consonants.
It features a real-time processing display that allows youto visually monitor plosive reduction in real time.
Once you have found a setting that works for your particularsibilance issue, you can then use the “Intense” button to get some extraprocessing.
Note: If you want to have more control over what’s happening, then I’d recommend that you check out the Pro Version of this plugin.
Features
- Single knob operation
- Simple and streamlined user interface
- Automatic sibilance reduction
- Precision-grade audio repair functionality
- Uncompromised sound quality
Find out more about Standard De-Esser here.
5. Oxford SuprEsser ($244)
The Oxford SuprEsser is both a very highly-featuredprofessional De-Esser and a Dynamic EQ.
There is a simple mode for quick fixes, but also an advancedmode for increased functionality and fine-tuning.
he combination of an intuitive FFT display and three listenmodes enables you to easily see and hear exactly where the problem frequenciesare, allowing you to quickly reduce or remove of the offending audio.
Since the SuprEsser can operate at all frequencies,‘plosives’ and other annoyances can also be removed.
Additional features include Automatic Level Tracking, LinearPhase Filtering and a Wet/Dry blend control for final balancing.
Features
- Highly featured professional De-Esser
- Linear Phase Dynamic EQ
- Transparently controls aggressive frequencies
- Automatic Level Tracking follows energy levels(no need to automate threshold)
- Large intuitive graphic display makes findingfrequencies very easy
Find out more about SuprEsser here.
6. Weiss Deess by Softube ($199)
I really like Softube; I use one of their Saturationplugins quite often, especially because it’s so simple to use, and theirWeiss Deess is also an amazing plugin.
Whether you’re trying to reduce vocal sibilance, thesharpness in a hi-hat or cymbals, or simply reduce some harshness in themastering phase, a good De-esser can come quite in handy.
Weiss Deess has two independent bands and a variety offilter shapes and excellent band-width control, allowing you to home in onprecisely what you need to deal with, without collateral damage.
Additionally, it’s a very visual plugin, which can be veryuseful since you can actually see what is happening to the signal.
Features
- Two bands of de-essing. This is the onlyde-esser you’ll need.
- Stunning and intuitive visualisations make thisde-esser a breeze to use.
- Clean tweak-and-go faceplate, with immenselydetailed controls hidden in side-menu.
- Ultra-professional tool, but without thedaunting, complex look.
Find out more about Weiss Deess here.
7. Oeksound Soothe2 ($199)
soothe2 is a dynamic resonance suppressor, which means that it identifies problematic resonances in real-time and applies matching reduction automatically.
It applies these reductions where needed, without affecting nearby frequencies; Basically, it attempts to smooth out the sound without affecting nearby frequencies, and therefore keeping the original tone.
Soothe2 puts emphasis on the visual aspect a lot more than most other plugins, since the controls section is very small, while the majority of the window belongs to the waveform display.
This can definitely be very useful to people who still can’t hear the subtle processing that is being applied, since they can actually see it.
Find out more about Soothe2 here.
Free De-Esser VST Plugins
8. Tonmann DeEsser
Tonmann DeEsser is a basic high frequency dynamic processor VST plugin, called a DeEsser because it’s mainly designed to get rid of “stinging” sibilants that may occur on vocals after compression or adding a high boost. Fl studio keyboard download.
The plugin has been carefully designed to suppress any artificial or alienated sound that may arise under awkward situations with some other DeEssers.
Features
- True independent stereo operation, but also runsin mono mode
- Wideband and lowpass reduction modes selectable
- Fully adjustable center frequency and bandwidthof the detection range
- Adjustable detection threshold to retain the“crisp” sound character of a vocal
- Look ahead feature for sibilants with short andsharp attacks
Find out more about the Tonmann DeEsser here.
9. SpitFish DeEsser
SPITFISH is a dead-easy to use de-esser, aimed mainlyat mono or stereo vocal tracks.
Just like classic analog de-essers, this unit dynamicallyfilters out harsh, annoying s-like sounds that would otherwise ‘spit’ in yourface.
Note: Probably won’t work on the latest Mac OS.
Find out more about the Spitfish here.
10. Modern De-Esser
Modern De-Esser is a freeware de-esser VST plugin byAntress. It features frequency control in the 3000 to 9999 Hz range and outputlevel control (-15 to +15 dB).
The gain reduction can be adjusted with threshold, ratio,width, and release controls.
The Modern De-Esser VST is part of the free Antress ModernPlugins package.
Find out more about Modern De-Esser here.
11. Lisp by Sleepy-Time DSP
Whether you use a traditional de-esser, sidechainedcompressor, dynamic EQ, or even edit your tracks manually, cleaning upsibilance problems in your vocals can get pretty tedious.
Lisp is new type of de-esser that aims to speed-up thisprocess with its automatic sibilance detection algorithm.
Internally tuned to the human vocal range, Lisp can automatically detect andlower annoying “ss”, “teh”, and “ch” sounds inyour audio by tracking both the amplitude and pitch of its input in real-time.Just set the reduction amount and let Lisp do the rest!
Find out more about Lisp here.
12. Dead Duck De-esser
This isn’t just a de-esser, but actually a full 25 originalVST audio plugins bundle that also includes a De-Esser.
This bundle includes all the essential mixing tools such asEQ, compression and limiting to creative sound shaping tools such as delays,modulation effects and reverb.
Not only are all of them free, but they also sound and workimpressively well.
So, make sure to get your hands on this bundle asap!
Learn more about the Dead Duck Bundle here.
Top 3 Choices
- Lisp (Free)
- Standard De-Esser ($59) and super easy to use because of the one-knob control.
- Weiss Deess by Softube ($199) Most versatile overall.
Free De Esser Plugin
Conclusion
In most cases I don’t really think that premium VSTs arethat much better than the free ones, but as far as de-essers are concerned, ifyou truly want to get professional results then I’d stick to a premium one.
Still, it’s much better to use free ones than nothing atall!
I hope this information was useful!
Have a wonderful day!
This page will introduce how to decrease the ess sounds in a file by using Spitfish and by using the Low Pass Filter. If you find your file to be really essy (with strong S sounds), you can try using these tools.
Using Spitfish
Download & Install the Spitfish Add-on
The latest version of Fish Fillets (which contains Spitfish) can be found here.
To install:
Free Fl Studio De Esser Plugin Download
- Unzip the Zip file.
- Copy the SPITFISH.dll file into your 'Plug-Ins' folder, located in the Program Files > Audacity folder. (Mac OS X users: place the files in the directory '~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/')
- Start Audacity.
- Go to Edit->Preferences->Effects. Make sure the VST box is checked, and check the box, 'Rescan VST effects next time Audacity is started'.
- Close and restart Audacity.
Using Spitfish
- Open the Audacity file you want to de-ess.
- Select the entire track (or just a portion, if you want to de-ess only a portion of the file).
- Go to Effect > digitalfishphones: SPITFISH
De Esser Fl Studio
- Click on the 'listen' button. This will make it so you only hear the S sounds you want to remove.
- Move the 'Sense' and 'Depth' knobs to about 50%, then click Preview. Adjust the knobs as desired until you only hear S sounds and no others.
- The 'sense' knob seems to control what is removed, and the 'depth' knob seems to control how much of it is removed.
- When satisfied with the levels, click the 'listen' button again to turn it off, and click Preview to listen to the preview of the de-essed track.
- If you like what you hear, click on OK. If not, go back into 'listen' mode and continue to play with the levels until you're satisfied, THEN click OK.
That's it! Take a listen to the modified track. If you don't like it, you can do a Control-Z (or Edit/Undo) to restore the track to how it was before.
It may take some practice to figure out the best levels of 'sense' and 'depth' for your particular track.
Free De Esser Plugin Fl Studio
Using the Low Pass Filter
The Low Pass Filter has the advantage of being pre-installed in Audacity, but it doesn't have the same level of control as Spitfish does and requires some individual experimentation.
- Open the Audacity file you want to de-ess.
- Select the entire track (or just a portion, if you want to de-ess only a portion of the file).
- Go to Effect > Low Pass Filter (it's usually way down towards the bottom of the list).
- Rolloff controls how aggressively the sound will be removed. Default is 6 dB; it'll decrease each octave below your specified frequency 6 dB more than the previous one. Start with 6, but move to 12 if you find you need more filtering.
- Leave the Filter quality number alone.
- Cutoff Frequency controls when to start filtering. Try starting with 5000 dB and adjust higher or lower as needed. The lower the number, the more of your normal voice it will filter out; the higher the number, the less it will filter.
- Click OK. If you're satisfied, then great! If not, you can Edit/Undo or Control-Z to undo your changes. Then try other settings until you're satisfied.