T-De-Esser Pro By Techivation
We reviewed Techivation’s T-De-Esser last year, and now we’re looking at its big brother, “T-De-Esser Pro“, which is the complete or pro version of T-De-Esser free and plus. We’ll look at what this plugin offers, as well as its features, benefits, and drawbacks.
AFA Productions readers who use the promo code AFAPRO30 at checkout will receive a 30% discount from Techivation. After it has been used, the promo code will immediately expire. This promotion is available until the 15th of April 2022.
De-Esseing
Let’s start with a general discussion of De-Essing. The process of reducing harsh, loud, and unpleasant sibilants, such as Sh, S, Z, and similar characters, is known as de-essing. When we may not notice these issues while speaking, they are most noticeable at the recording stage. In most situations, the recording location, singer, microphone choice, and pre-amps may either help to reduce or even amplify the harshness of these characters. Basically, a cheap microphone, a cheap preamp, a bad recording environment, and a bad recording position will increase the harshness, and you will have difficulty mixing the vocal with the rest of the elements.
These harsh frequencies are appears from 1 kHz and above. We must control them to avoid any unwanted harshness, and De-Esser is an excellent tool for this. The de-essing method is similar to compression, except it concentrates on high frequencies. As a result, it’s somehow a high-frequency compressor.
On the market, there are many de-esser plugins and a few hardware options. Some are more successful than others, but even with using the finest options, you can make the audio sound strange if you exaggerate the processing. It is critical that you understand what you are doing. I personally like the de-esser plugin which is straightforward and natural sounding, and believe me not all de-essers sound natural. You, as a producer, should be extra careful about this, since it may cause listeners to skip your music just due to this issue.
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T-De-Esser Pro
T-De-Esser Pro, as previously stated, will include many more De-Essing processing adjustment options than the Plus and Free editions. The pro edition comes with lots of wonderful features that are both unique and simply amazing.
The T-De-Esser Pro focuses on the frequency spectrum, and claims to make the audio signal sounds smoother and perfectly clear. You may choose one of the provided frequency ranges or customize your own. Its design was created with the goal of repairing audio signals without generating artifacts while smoothing out high frequencies and achieving clear, clear outcomes after reducing harshness and sibilance.
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Now let's take a closer look at its features:
Processing Knob: The Processing knob controls how much level may run through the plugin before compression is activated. Reduce the processing speed until gain decrease occurs.
Intensity: Intensity or the ratio, When the signal reaches a threshold level, this parameter determines how much gain reduction the plugin applies.
Sharpness: This factor represents how the de-esser transitions an audio signal going through it between non-compressed and compressed stages. So, in comparison to a higher sharpness, a lower sharpness provides you with a smoother compression.
Attack and Release: Then there is the basic attack and release settings that may be found on most compressors.
Lookahead: The Lookahead feature enables the de-esser to look ahead or see the incoming signal before it is processed, allowing it to better handle transient data and smooth out the attack. The “Lookahead” feature increases latency, hence it’s not recommended for usage while tracking or recording.
Frequency Range Modes: In this area, we may pick between 4 de-essing processing modes: Hi-end will process the signal between the frequency ranges of 5 to 20 kHz, High will process between 5 to 10 kHz, Mid-hi will process between 2 to 4 kHz, and Low-hi will process between 1 to 4 kHz.
Custom Frequency Range: The custom frequency range option is also located below the lookahead. This function lets you select a custom frequency range at high frequencies for a more exact outcome. You have the option of selecting frequencies ranging from 1kHz to 20kHz.
Audition: This function allows you to easily listen to the frequency range of the De-Esser filter or only the De-influence Esser’s on your signal.
Quality: This is T-De-Esser Pro’s Oversampling feature, which reduces aliasing by running the internal process at a greater sample rate than the host, up to 16 times higher. Also, this feature increases latency, hence it’s not recommended for usage while tracking or recording.
Saturation: T-De-Esser Pro’s saturation feature gives a special texture to the sound, helping the de-esser in making a smoother sound in some cases. You may also use the Saturation Filter option to add saturation exclusively to a certain high-frequency band.
Hi-Cut: This is a way to lower some of the harsher frequencies in the sound and make it more pleasant to listen to. If the audio is too airy and harsh, the High-Cut option can simply smooth it out.
Mode: The Mid/side option in T-De-Esser Pro allows you to treat the center and side signals of a stereo track separately.
Link: As defined by the stereo Mode toggle, this option balances the depth of processing between the left and right or mid and side channels.
Mix: The Mix option controls how the two input and output signals are mixed together, which makes it perfect for parallel processing.
Input and Output: The input controls the incoming signal to the plugin and the output controls the output level.
A/B, Off/On, and Menu: On top of the plugin you have the A/B comparison option, Off/On the button to bypass and un-bypass the plugin. And from the menu, you can see many useful features, such as Undo, Redo, Presets, Save Preset As, Load Preset, Default Preset, GUI Scale, and more.
Final Thoughts
Now I will respond to the question, “How Powerful Is This Plugin?” To be honest, this is amongst the most powerful De-Esser plugins I’ve ever discovered. It’s extremely versatile and provides high-quality, natural-sounding results.
Saturation, Mid/Side, and Custom Frequency Rage are all wonderful. To my knowledge, the T-De-Esser Pro is the only De-Esser plugin that has the Saturation setting, which really helps in producing a richer and more solid result. The T-De-Esser Pro is a high-end plugin that produces excellent musical output. The pricing is really affordable when compared to the price of comparable high-end plugins on the market, plus you will receive lifetime upgrades for free, which is fantastic!
This plugin is useful for removing harshness from vocals, cymbals, drum overheads, guitars, and even mastering sessions. Sometimes I get a harsh mix to master that the mixer can’t repair, and in those cases, this plugin comes in handy to assist me to minimize the excessive brightness. T-De-Esser Pro has become my go-to de-esser option since I discovered it, and I use it frequently in my projects. I use this plugin not just as a de-esser on vocals, but also to increase sound quality and even in my sound design projects. So, of course, I strongly recommend that all producers and songwriters use this plugin. This plugin does everything you expect from a de-esser and more.
If you liked Techivation’s freeware T-De-Esser and T-De-Esser Plus plugins, the pro version is worth checking out. Techivation has a 14-day free trial, which you may begin by creating an account on their website.
Pros
- High Quality and natural-sounding plugin
- Customizable frequency rages
- Provides many awesome settings even more than you need
- Saturation option for a richer sound
- High-Cut feature
- Mid-Side option
- Lookahead option
- Oversampling feature supports up to 16 times.
- Adjustable GUI
Cons
- This is not a drawback, but I would prefer it to have the external side-chain option.
Download 'T-De-Esser Pro'
You can download the T-De-Esser Pro from their official website (linked below). And remember to use the code AFAPRO30 to get you a 30% discount, this code will be available until April 15th, 2022.
Download Here: ‘T-De-Esser Pro‘
System Requirements
MAC OSX Requirements
- Mac OS X 10.11 (OS X El Capitan) – macOS 11.6 (Big Sur) as 64bit VST, VST3, and AU, and 64-bit AAX, Intel, and Native M1
WINDOWS Requirements
- Windows 7 and up as 32 / 64-bit VST and VST3, and 64-bit AAX (PT11 and up).
