Izotope RX Restoration Guide V 1

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX
iZotope with Nat Johnson

Tools, tips and techniques.
2008 iZotope, Inc. All rights reserved. iZotope and iZotope RX are either registered trademarks or trademarks of iZotope, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. Other product or company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................4 IntendedAudienceforThisGuide .................................................................................. 4 WHAT IS AUDIO RESTORATION?......................................................................5 WhataretheGoalsofGoodAudioRestoration? ........................................................... 5 WHAT IS IZOTOPE RX? ......................................................................................7 GETTING SET UP TO RESTORE AUDIO ...........................................................8 Equipment....................................................................................................................... 8 Transferringmediatothecomputer ............................................................................ 10 Recordingfromanalogformats .................................................................................... 10 SUGGESTIONS FOR THE RESTORATION PROCESS....................................13 HOW TO IDENTIFY AUDIO PROBLEMS...........................................................14 UsingtheSpectrogramandWaveformDisplay............................................................ 14 HowtoSpotAudioProblems........................................................................................ 17 ChangingSpectrogramSettings.................................................................................... 21 BROADBAND NOISE REDUCTION...................................................................24 WhatisBroadbandNoise? ........................................................................................... 24 BasicTechniquesforusingRXsDenoiser..................................................................... 24 HUM AND TONAL NOISE ..................................................................................31 FindingandRemovingHum.......................................................................................... 31 UsingDenoiserforTonalNoiseRemoval ..................................................................... 35 REMOVING CLIPPING.......................................................................................36 HowdoesRXsDeclipperwork? ................................................................................... 36 RepairingClipping ......................................................................................................... 36 REMOVING CLICKS AND POPS .......................................................................39 UsingRXsDeclicker ...................................................................................................... 39 REMOVING INTERMITTENT NOISES AND GAPS ...........................................43 UsingRXSpectralRepair............................................................................................... 45 GENERAL RX TOOLS........................................................................................47 ComparingSettings....................................................................................................... 47 BatchProcessing ........................................................................................................... 48 EQandGain .................................................................................................................. 49 WorkingwithPresets.................................................................................................... 50 KeyboardShortcutsandassigningyourown................................................................ 51
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EXPORTING AND DELIVERING AUDIO ........................................................52 iZotopeMBIT+DitheringPanel(RXAdvancedonly).................................................. 54 iZotope64BitSRCPanel(RXAdvancedOnly)........................................................... 56 SUMMARY .........................................................................................................58 APPENDIX: REPAIRING THE INCLUDED AUDIO FILES.............................60 Example1:RemovingBroadbandNoisefromaConcertRecording ............................ 61 Example2:UsingDenoiserandEQonaShellacRecordingofSpokenWord .............. 63 Example3:RestoringanHistoricalSpeech:MakingVoiceMoreIntelligible .............. 64 Example4:CleaningupaPhoneInterviewwithSpectralRepair................................. 65 Example5:RemovingClicksandPopsfromaConcertonRecord ............................... 67 Example6:RemovingClippingfromaPhoneInterview .............................................. 69 Example7:RemovingGuitarStringSqueakswithSpectralRepair .............................. 71 Example8:FillingaGapinAudiowithSpectralRepair ................................................ 73
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INTRODUCTION
Today,audioandvideorecordingscanbemadebynearlyanyone.Fromthesimplecamcorder tosophisticatedstudiosandsoundstages,agrowingnumberofrecordingsareproduceddaily. Andasourworldbecomesincreasinglyandaudiblycongested,sotherateofruinedrecordings isrising!Humanerror,unexpectedelectricalormechanicalinterferenceandunwelcome intrusionsfromaircraft,cellphones,pets,peopleandMotherNatureregularlyimpacteventhe mostseasonedprofessional.Whetheryoureaprofessionalorjustgettingstarted,youhave probablyrunintodifficultaudiosituationslikethisandwishedyoucouldcorrectwhatseemed likeanimpossibledilemma. Thepurposeofthisguideistohelpyoudeveloppracticalandeffectivewaystoremovenoise andfixaudioproblemsusingiZotopeRX.Wehopethisguidewillhelpyouunderstandthe basics(andbeyond)ofaudiorestorationandhelpyoutoapplythemtoyourownprojects.
Intended Audience for This Guide

IfyoudontknowanythingaboutaudiorestorationanddonthaveiZotopeRX,westillhopethis guidewillhelpyou.FeelfreetodownloadthetrialversionofRXtofollowalongandtryout theseconceptsforyourself. IfyoudontunderstandaudiorestorationbutdohaveRX,youreinluck.RXgivesyouacomplete rangeofaudiorestorationtoolsandthisguideshowsyouhowtousethem. IfyouhaveRXandknowthebasicsofrestoringaudio,thisguidewillstillshowyoutricksor techniquesthatarepossibleinRX.Justsayyeah,Iknewthatwhenappropriatefortheother parts.
Try It For Yourself!

BesuretodownloadourRXRestorationGuideaudioexamplesandtryyourhandatrestoring them.AttheendofthisguideyoullfindanAppendixthatwillwalkyouthroughhowtodothe repairs.Itsagreatwaytoapplywhatyoulllearnfromreadingthisguide.
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WHAT IS AUDIO RESTORATION?

Audiorestorationistheprocessofremovingnoiseandotherimperfectionsfromsound recordings.Audiorestorationcanaddressproblemsincluding: ambientbackgroundnoise,includingfans,airconditionersandheatingsystems electricallygeneratedinterferencelikebuzzfromfluorescentlights humfrombadgroundconnectionsorinducedfrompowersources backgroundhissfromreeltoreeltape,audioandvideocassettes surfaceticksandpopsfromvinyl,shellac78orotherphonographrecordings audiencenoiseincludingcoughs,pagersandcellphones overloaddistortion(orclipping)
Whenyouhearthewordrestoration,youmightbeinclinedtothinkofdustyvaultsfilledwith agingmastertapesandrecords.Ofcourse,audiorestorationincludestakingoldrecordingsand revivingthem,butitishardlylimitedtoantiquity.EverytimeyouswitchonaUSBrecorder, camcorder,digitalcamera,voicerecorder,orcellphoneyoumayencounteravarietyof unexpectedandunwelcomeaudioguests. Forexample,werecentlyreadareviewofaconcertpianistwhosedebutatCarnegieHallwas marredbytheringingofacellphone.Thereviewerassumedthat,thisandotherintrusionswill nodoubtbemagicallyerasedwhenthisconcertisissuedonCD.Whilethereisnomagic buttonforremovingcellphonenoise(yet),thelatestgenerationofaudiorestorationtoolslike RXcanbejustasusefulforcleaningup21stcenturyproblemsastheyareforrestoringthe earliestphonographrecordings.
What are the Goals of Good Audio Restoration?

Thegoalofgoodaudiorestorationistorenderthebestpossiblesoundwiththeleastaudible humanintrusion.Inessence,yourinterventionintheoriginalrecordingshouldbetransparent andnotintroducenewartifactsthatdistractthelistener.Itsusefultorememberthatno recordingistrulyperfect.Whatwehearinplayback,nomatterhowwellrecordedoriginally, representsonlyafacsimileoftheactualaudioevent. Intheearly1980s,whencompactdiscplayersbecamereadilyavailableandaffordable, commercialtapevaultsturnedintogoldmines.Butstrangely,duringtheearlydaysofCD restoration,wholearmiesofpuristsbecameoutragedwhentherecordcompaniessoughtto changethecharacterofcertain,reverencedrecordings(nomatterhowold)fromtheiroriginal, boxyqualityanddull,woolyambience.Today,wehavefresherearsthatseemtobemore
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objective.Whateveryourtastesandevenastimeschange,thebasicintentionofrestoration shouldremainthesame:renderthebestpossiblesoundwiththeleastobviousinterference.
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WHAT IS IZOTOPE RX?

iZotopeRXisdesignedtobethedefinitiveaudiorestorationapplication.RXfeaturesinnovative newprocessingtechnologyforremovingnoiseandrepairingaudio.Inaddition,itsunique workflowfeaturesaredesignedtohelpyougetthebestresultswhenworkingonchallenging projects.
What can RX do?

Removehumwithoutsacrificinglowendfrequencies Reduceambienthisswithoutcompromisingupperpartials Eliminatepopsandclicksleavingnoaudibleartifacts Remedydistortionandevengapsintheaudiorecording Repairaudibleclippingwithperfectprecision Replacedamagedpartswithinaudiblepatches Visualizeyourrepairsbeforeandafterprocessingwithourrevolutionaryspectrogram utility Recordandrecallanunlimitednumberofprecisepresetswithineachmodule Useavarietyofapplicationmodulesinanyorderinvirtuallyunlimitedcombinations
Where can I use RX?

RXisidealforaudiorestorationandarchiving,recordingandmastering,broadcastingand podcasting,videoproduction,forensics,andanyapplicationthatdemandsflawlessaudio.In addition,RXfeaturesthemostadvancedspectrogramavailable,plusawidearrayofconvenient workflowfeaturesdesignedtomaketheprocessofaudiorestorationeasierwithsuperior results.
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GETTING SET UP TO RESTORE AUDIO

Equipment
EditingorMixingSoftware InadditiontoiZotopeRX,werecommendanaudioeditororDAW(SonySoundForge,Adobe Audition,DigidesignProTools,CakewalkSONAR,SteinbergCubase,MOTUDigitalPerformer, etc.).RXdoesofferbasiceditingandafineparametricEQ,butprogramslikethesewillgiveyou thetoolsyouneedtorecord,applyfades,assembleanddeliveryourprojects. ComputerRequirements Tomakeyourrestorationexperiencemorerewarding(andfarlessfrustrating)youllwantafast computerwithlotsofmemoryandampleharddrivestorage.Noneedtobreakthebank! Hardwarecostsarecontinuallydroppingandtoday,youcanpurchaseaverydecentdesktop computerwithalargemonitorandprofessionalsoundcardforlessthanagoodlaptop. SoundCard/AudioInterface Youcanusethesoundcardthatcamewithyourcomputertomonitoraudiowhendoing restorationwork,butwerecommendgettingahigherqualitysoundcardoraudiointerface designedforprofessionallevelaudiorecordingandplayback.Thisinmostcaseswillletyou monitoraudiowithlessnoise,willgiveyouhigherqualityinputsfortransferringfromanalog mediatoyourcomputer,andwillincludeprofessionalstandardoutputssuchasXLRorbalanced quarterinchphonejacks,whichwillletyouconnecttoaudioreferencemonitorswithwell shieldedcables.Checkyourfavoriteaudioretailerandyoullseeawiderangeofinterfacesata widerangeofprices.Chooseonethatfitsyouandhasfeaturesthatfitthewayyouwantto work.Forexampleifyouwillbetransferringalotofrecordingsfromvinyl,someinterfaces includefeatureslikeagroundscrewandbuiltinphonopreamp. ConnectorCables Poorconnectorcablesareoftentheweakestlinkinrecordingandtransfer.Ifyoureconnecting yourcomputertoyourspeakerswitha1/8thinchcablethatcamewithyourcommercialCD player,dontbesurprisedifyourcablesactuallyaddnoise,makingithardertohearwhatyoure tryingtoremove.Spendafewextradollarsandbuyhigherquality,wellshieldedcables.Youll thankus. VideoDisplay Thelargerthevideomonitor,theeasieritwillbetoperformquickandaccuratesound decisions.RXprovidesahighresolutionspectrographicdisplaytovisuallyaidintherestoration processand,withalargeLCDscreen,youllactuallybeabletoseetheproblemsthatyouhear.
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Usingtwomonitors,youcandoubleyourvisualworkspacebydisplayingyourmain workscreenwithspectrogramononemonitorwhileviewingtheaudioprocessingmodules ontheother. MonitoringAudio Dontbeacheapskatewhenitcomestospeakers!Reliableaudiomonitoring,asyoumight imagine,isessentialtosuccessfulrestoration.Wesuggestafullrangespeakersystemthatsuits yourneeds,aswellasyourworkingspace.Itsagoodideatofrequentlycheckyourworkon othersystemsaswell.Aswithmastering,themostimportantadvicewecangivewithmonitors istolearntheuniquecharacteristicsofyourpairandhowtheysoundinyourroom.Thebest waytolearnyourmonitorsistolistentolotsofrecordingsyouknowwelltocalibrateyour ears. RoomAcoustics Youcanhavethebestreferencemonitorsmoneycanbuy,butifyoureworkinginatinysquare roomwithnoacoustictreatmentyouwillprobablynotheartheflatrepresentationof frequenciesthatcriticalaudiorestorationworkrequires.Evensmalldetailslikewhereyour speakersareplacedcanchangeyourspeakersfrequencyresponsedrastically.Werecommend researchingroomacousticsonline.Evenifyoureonabudget,youcancomeupwithasolution thatwilldramaticallyimprovethesoundofyourroom. Headphones Occasionally,youmaywanttolistentolowleveldetailsthatmaynotbeobviouson loudspeakers.Obviously,weneedtobecarefulofsoundpressurelevelsonheadphonesandits wisetousethemsparingly.
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Transferring media to the computer

Whenyousitdowntostartrestoringanaudioproject,youmightbeluckyenoughtohavea digitalfile,suchas.wavor.aiff,thathaseitheralreadybeendigitized,orstartedinadigital format.However,manyaudiorestorationtasksrequireyoutogetanoldrecordingfromtape, vinylorothersourcestoyourcomputer.Herearesometipsforgettingthemostusabledigital transfersofyouraudio. Startwiththemastercopy Itcantbestressedtoostrongly:alwaysutilizeoriginal,unprocessedsourcewhenpossible.Files thathavealreadybeencopiedfromrecordtotape,ordigitalfilesthathavebeenconvertedto MP3oranothercompressedformatlikelossyATRAC,willbemoredifficulttorepair.Youllbe facedwithmoreaudibleartifactsintroducedduringthecopyingorcompressionprocess. Similarly,audiothatsomeonehasalreadyattemptedtodonoisereductionandaudiorepairon maybemuchhardertogetgoodresultswiththananoriginalcopy. Inputlevels Whateveryoursourcetape,disc,analogordigitalifyourerecordingaudiointothe computeritsimportanttokeepinputsignalsatamoderatelevel.Toohighalevelmayresultin inadvertentclippingatthesoundcardoraudiointerface.Toolowalevelandyoumaynothave adequateheadroomtoaccommodatechangesinlevelasyouapplycertainprocessingfunctions duringrestoration.Sincethenoisefloorofananalogtodigitalconverterisfixed,ifyourecord attoolowalevel,youwillhavealowersignaltonoiseratio. SomeCDandDATplayersfeaturedigitaloutputs,andmanysoundcards/audiointerfaces havetheirowndigitalinputs.Takingadvantageofthiscanbetheperfectwaytogetdigital audiodirectlyintoyourcomputerwithouthavingtogothroughconversionbacktoanalog andthenbacktodigital.
Recording from analog formats

VinylLPsand45s Onceyoutransferarecordtothecomputeryoucandoalottoremovenoiseandimprovethe qualityoftherecording.Howevergettingagoodtransferfromvinylrecordscanbetricky.Keep thesethingsinmind: Thevastmajorityofturntablesdontoutputalinelevelsignal,theyrequireaphono preamp.Phonopreampsnotonlyboostthelevelofaudiocomingfromtheturntable, theyalsoapplyspecialequalizationthatispartoftheRIAAstandardforcreatingvinyl records.WithoutthisgainandEQstage,yourtransferwilljustplainsoundbad.
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Mostaudioamplifiersdesignedtoworkwithturntableshavephonopreampsbuiltin. SodoprofessionalDJmixers(manyofthesealsoprovideexcellentbalancedoutputs suitableforconnectingtoyouraudiointerface).Asmentionedearlier,someaudio interfacesevenhavebuiltinphonopreamps. SometurntablesnowincludedirectUSBoutputs,gettingaroundthepreampproblem. However,keepinmindthatmanyoftheseareveryinexpensivelymade,andthatyou willgetwhatyoupayforwhenitcomestoaudioquality.Makesureyoucheckthespecs beforebuying.Agoodturntable/audiointerfacecombinationmaygiveyoubetter quality. Makesureyourturntableisgrounded!Mixersandamplifierswithphonoinputswill usuallyhaveathumbscrewthatallowsyoutoconnectthegroundwirefromyour turntable.Useit!Ifyoudontyouwillprobablybeaddingelectricalhumtoyour transferredfile. Cleanyourrecords!Removingdustwithavinylbrushand/orusingavinylcleaning productcanmakeahugedifferenceinthequalityofyourvinyltransfer.Whyspend hoursremovingdustpopsinthecomputer?Youcangetridofmostofthem beforehandbysimplycleaningyourrecord. Useagoodstylus.Ifyourrecordplayerhashadthesameneedlefor30years,chances areitstimeforareplacement!Usingwornoutneedlescanbothaffectaudioquality andactuallydamageyourrecords.Someturntablesarenowhardtofindreplacement needlesfor.HoweverthereareplentyofcompaniesincludingShure,Stantonand Ortofonthatmakeawiderangeofreplacementstyli.Checktheinternetoralocalhifi shop. Whenyouhaveachoice,chooseastylusthatismadeforarchiving.Manyavailable solutionsaretailoredtoscratchDJsandsacrificesoundqualityfortrackingandother characteristics.
Shellacs,Cylindersandolderphonographformats ThereareawiderangeofformatsouttherethatprecededthemodernvinylLPsand45singles thataresocommonplacetoday.Ingeneral,usecautionwhentryingtotransferthesetypesof recordingsyourselfwithouttheproperequipment.Forexample,manyschellacsrequire different,nonstandardstylustipsbecauseoftheirvaryinggroovewallwidths.Someformats, liketheEdisonDiamonddiscs,havegroovesthatcapturedaudiothroughverticalmotion(called thehill&dalemethod)ratherthanlateralmovementusedbymodernvinylrecords.Ifyoudont havetherightequipment,considerfindingsomeonethatspecializesinformatslikethistodo thedigitaltransferforyou.
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Whilewecouldwriteanentirebookontheserarerformats,thatisoutofthescopeofthis guide.Ifthisisanareayoureinterestedin,youllfindnumerouswebsitesofferinguseful informationandgoodtipson78RPMhistory,availabilityandplaybackequipment.Herearetwo websiteswithverygoodinformation: The78rpmRecordHomePagehttp://78rpmrecord.com TimGracyksPhonographsandOldRecordshttp://www.gracyk.com Magnetictape Thereareendlessrecordingsouttheremadeoncassetterecordersandreeltoreelmachines. WhetheryouretryingtorestoretheWatergateTapes,workingonreeltoreelmasters,orjust cleaningupthoseoldfourtrackcassetterecordingsofyourhighschoolgarageband,therearea fewthingstokeepinmindwhentransferring: Thequalityofyourplaybackequipmentwillmakeadifference.Ifyouconnectyourold ghettoblastersRCAoutputstoyourcomputer,youllnotonlyintroducemorenoise intothetransfer,youmighthaveotherunwantedproblemslikespeedfluctuations. Slightchangesinatapesspeed(calledwowandflutter)cancauseproblemswhen youretryingtoremovenoise,becausethenoisecanmodulatealongwiththetape playbackspeed.Thiscanmaketonalandbroadbandnoisedifficulttoremovebecauseit willchangeovertime.Workwithawellbuiltandwellcalibratedtapemachineif possible. Tapeheadscanpickupdebrisandbecomemagnetizedovertime,leadingtopoor playbackquality.Cleaningyourdeckstapehead,capstanandrollerscanhelpensure youregettingthebestqualityrecordings.Youcanfinddeckcleaning/demagnetizingkits onlineandinspecialtystores. Oldmylar/polyestertapecansticktoitselfovertime,causingtapestoselfdestruct uponplayback.Ifyourepullinganoldreeltoreeltapeoutofadustyarchive,youmay wanttoconsultwithanexpertbeforetryingtoplayit.Sometapescanbebakedinan electricoventoremovemoistureandrevitalizethetapesadhesive,butwedont recommendyoutrythisathome.
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SUGGESTIONS FOR THE RESTORATION PROCESS

Onthesubjectsofrecordingandrestoration,opinionsaremanyandvaried.Herearefew generalguidelinestokeepinmindfortheprocessofrestoringaudio: 1. Backupyourwork.Alwaysmakeabackupoftheoriginalaudiofilebeforeyoubegin attemptingtorestoreit. 2. Keeptheearsrestedandthemindopen.Indoingaudiorestorationwork,youwill spendalotoftimefocusingondetails.Takingbreakswillhelpyoureturnwithafresh mindandseethebigpicture. 3. Makemultipleversions.Sometimesithelpstotrydoingthesameaudiorepairmore thanoncewithdifferentsettingsandthencomparetheresults.RXhasagreatCompare SettingstoolthathelpsA/Bresultsasyougo.Also,youmaycomebacktoaversionyou triedafewdaysearlierwhenyouweretiredandnowfinditsoundingworsethanever. Thishappenstoallofus!Seesuggestion#2. 4. Beginworkonthemostobviousorobnoxiousdefectyouhearfirst.Thereisnorightor wrongordertouseRXsaudiorestorationmodulesin,butsomeprocesseswillmake sensetodobeforeothersincertaincases.Forexample,aloudhummightpreventyou fromhearingotherdetailsthatneedtobefixed,orclippingmightmakeotherflaws hardtohearpeelingawaythatfirstlayermaymakethenextstepmoreobviousto you.Takerestorationonestepatatimeanddontbeafraidtotrydifferent combinationsoftoolstogettheresultyouwant. 5. Keepgoodnotes.Accuraterecordkeepingisinvaluable,particularlywhenmultiple optionsfortherestorationprocesspresentthemselves.Writedownyoursettings,the techniqueyouusedandthenameofeachfileyouappliedthatmethodto,nomatter howminutethedifferentdetailsmayseem.SavingpresetswithinRXcansaveyouthe troubleofwritingoutalloftheparameters. 6. Backupyourwork.Thefirstandlastruleofanyaudiorestorationproject!Younever knowwhenaharddriveoryouroriginalanalogmastermightfail.Again,alwaysbackup yourwork!
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HOW TO IDENTIFY AUDIO PROBLEMS

Aswithmedicaldiagnostics,thekeytosuccessfulaudiorestorationliesinyourabilityto correctlyanalyzethesubjectscondition.Thiscanbealifelong,neverendingquestconstantly honingtheeartodistinguishthatwhichisnormalandthatwhichneedstobecorrected. RXhasmanydifferenttoolsforremovingnoiseandotheraudioproblems,anditalsoincludesa spectrogramandwaveformdisplaythathelpyouseeandzeroinonnoise.Togetstarted,its importanttoidentifytheproblemswithyourfileandidentifywhichRXtoolortoolswillgiveyou theresultsyouwant.Letsbrieflylookathowtousethespectrogramandwaveformdisplay toolstoexamineyouraudio,thenwellmoveontospecificexamplesofhowtoidentifyaudio problems.
Using the Spectrogram and Waveform Display

Youvelistenedtothematerialinquestionbutyoumaynotbesureexactlywhattheproblemis orhowoftenitoccurs.Thespectrogramdisplaystheindividualfrequenciesoftheaudioover time.Ifyoureusedtousingthewaveformdisplay,ittakesabittogetyourheadaroundthis uniquewaytoseetheaudio.Asastart,letslookatafewsimplepiecesofaudio. SineWave Hereisapictureofasinewavemovingupinpitchfrom60to12,000HzasseeninRXs waveformview.Thewaveformviewcanbeenabledbymovingthesliderbelowthe SpectrogramDisplayallthewaytotheleft.
Onethingyoullnoticewhenlookingatthewaveformdisplayisthatitisgoodatshowing amplitude(loudness)ofaudio,butnotveryeffectiveatshowingwhatishappeningatdifferent
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frequencies.Forexample,wecaneasilyseeherethatthesinewaveisthesameloudnessforthe entiredurationofthefile.However,wecanttellmuchabouthowthepitchorfrequency changesovertime.NowletslookatthesamefileinRXsspectrogramdisplay:
Nowitsveryobviouswhatishappeningtothepitchoftheaudio:itismovingup!Inthe spectrogramdisplay,thehorizontalaxisshowstime,justlikeinthewaveformdisplay.Butnow, theverticalaxisshowsusfrequencyinHzthatis,thepitchoftheeventthatishappening.We canseehowloudeventsarebyhowbrighttheimageis.Theblackbackgroundissilence,while thebrightorangecurveisthesinewavemovingupinpitch. HumanVoice Nowletslookatsomethingmorecomplex:thehumanvoice.Hereisashortspokenphraseas seeninRXswaveformview:
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Nowwhatwereseeingistheamplitudeofthespokenwordsovertime.Ifweswitchtothe spectrogramview,wellseemanythingswecantseeinthewaveformview:
Firstofallyoucannowseethatthehumanvoiceismuchmorecomplexthanitmightseem fromlookingatthewaveformview.Eachwordismadeupofafundamentalfrequency(atthe bottomofthespectrogram)harmonicsthatextendabovethatfrequency,sibilance(Ssounds) thatbeginorendwords,andmore.Andofcourse,youcannowmoreclearlyseethenoisethat issurroundingthevoice. Thisiswhyhavingadetailedspectrogramdisplayissoimportanttodoingaudiorestoration.It helpsyouclearlyseetheproblemsyouaretryingtofix.Nowwellmoveontosomespecific examplesofnoiseandotheraudioproblemsandhowtovisuallyidentifythem.
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How to Spot Audio Problems

Whileyourearsaregreatforlocatingproblemsinaudio,nothingbeatsbeingabletosimply glanceatafileandimmediatelygetasenseofwhatyouneedtofix.Betteryet,ifyoureworking witha2hourlongliveconcert,youcanlearntoquicklyzeroinonproblemslikeclippedsections, intermittentnoisesandmorewithouthavingtolistentotheentirerecordingfirst.Visual analysiswillneverreplaceyourears,butitcancertainlycomplimenttheminmanyways. LetstakealookatsomecommonaudioproblemsinRXswaveformandspectrogramdisplays. LearningtoidentifytheseproblemsbysightwillhelpyougreatlyasyoulearntouseRXsaudio restorationmodules. Hum Humisusuallytheresultofelectricalnoisesomewhereinrecordedsignalchain.Itcanusually beheardaudiblyasalowfrequencytone,usuallybasedateither50Hzor60Hzdependingon whethertherecordingwasmadeinNorthAmericaorEurope.Ifyouzoomintothelow frequenciesusingRX'sSpectrogramDisplay,youwillbeabletoseehumasaseriesofhorizontal lines,usuallywithabrightlineat50or60Hzandseverallessintenselinesaboveitatharmonics. Seebelow:
Insituationslikethisexample,whichhasonlyafewharmonics,RX'sHumRemovalmoduleisa goodtoolforthejob.HumRemovalletsyousettheprimaryfrequencyofthehumandcontrol suppressionofupto7harmonicsabovethelowfrequency.RXsDenoiserisalsoalogicalchoice touseforremovinghum,youmaywanttotrybothtoseewhichgivesyouthebestresults. Buzz Insomecases,theelectricalnoisewillextendupintohigherfrequencies,thiswilloftenmanifest itselfasabackgroundbuzz.Seetheexamplebelow:
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Insituationslikethisexample,wherethehum'sharmonicsextendintohighfrequencies,try usingtheDenoisermoduleinRX.Denoisercanworkwiththistypeofnoiseaswellandfeatures aTonalNoisesuppressioncontrol,whichcanoftencontrolhighfrequencybuzzmoreeffectively thanHumRemoval. TheabovescreenshotshowsRXsSpectrogramDisplayinahighertimeresolutionmode thatmakesseeingtonalnoiseeasier.Readontolearnhowtoadjustspectrogramsettings. HissandotherBroadbandNoise Unlikehumandbuzz,broadbandnoiseisspreadthroughoutthefrequencyspectrumandnot concentratedatspecificfrequencies.Tapehissandnoisefromfansandairconditionersare goodexamplesofbroadbandnoise.InRX'sSpectrogramDisplay,broadbandnoiseusually appearsasspecklesthatsurroundtheprogrammaterial.Seeimagebelow:
RX'sDenoisermoduleisthegototoolforremovingnoisesofthistype. Clicks,Popsandothershortimpulsenoises Clicksandpopsarecommononrecordingsmadefromvinyl,andcanalsobeintroducedby somekindsofdigitalerrors,includingrecordingintoaDAWwithimproperbuffersettings.These shortimpulsenoisesappearinRX'sspectrogramasverticallines.Theloudertheclickorpop,the brighterthelinewillappear.Belowisanexampleofclicksandpopsfromarecordingmadefrom
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vinyl:
RX'sDeclickerincludesbothautomaticandmanualtoolsforremovingclicksandpops. Clipping Clippingisacommonproblemthatoccurswhenaloudsignaldistortsoninputtoasound card/converter,mixingconsole,fieldrecorderorotherpieceofequipment.Theresultis overloaddistortion.ThisclippingcanusuallybeseenmosteasilyfromRX'swaveformdisplay (movethesliderbelowthespectrogramtothelefttosuperimposethewaveformdisplay).As youwillseeintheimagebelow,theclippingappearsas"squaredoff"sectionsofthewaveform.
RXhasadedicatedDeclippertoolwhichcaninmanycasesrebuildthesquaredoffpeakscaused byclippingandrestoretherecordingtoanaturalsoundingstate.Noteverykindofdistortion canberemoved,butRXsDeclipperworkswellonarangeofanaloganddigitalclipping. Sometimesheavilylimitedaudiowillalsoappearsquaredoffwhenzoomedoutzoom inbytimetoseeifindividualwaveformtopsareclipped. IntermittentNoises Intermittentnoisesaredifferentthannoiseslikehissorhum,theymayappearinfrequentlyand maynotbeconsistentinpitchorduration.Examplesincludecoughs,sneezes,footsteps,car horns,cellphonerings,etc.Thepicturesbelowrepresenttwodifferentexamplesofthese
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noises:drinkingglassesclinkingtogether,andanelectronicbeepfromacarignition.
Becausenoiseslikethisareoftenunpredictable,theyusuallyneedtoberemovedmanually. RX'sSpectralRepairtoolprovidesanumberofdifferentmodesthatallowyoutoselectand removeintermittentnoisesandreplacethemwithresynthesizedcontentbasedonthe surroundingaudio.
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GapsandDropOuts Sometimesarecordingmayincludeshortsectionsofmissingorcorruptedaudio.Theseare usuallyveryobvioustoboththeeyeandtheear!Seebelow:
RX'sSpectralRepaircanbeusedtoresynthesizegapsinaudio,sometimesofuptoahalfsecond longormore,byusinginformationaroundthegaptofillinthemissinginformationusing patternsandadvancedresynthesis.
Changing Spectrogram Settings

Inaddition,therearecountlesswaystoalterthe spectrogramandhowfilescanbedisplayed. Sometimeschangingspectrogramsettingscan showaudioinadifferentlight,helpingyouto identifyproblemsandzeroinonnoise.For example,justchangingthecolorsofRXs spectrogramcanbringdifferenteventstothe forefront. RXalsohastheuniqueabilitytosaveyour Spectrogrampreferencesaspresetsforeasy recalllater. RXsSpectrogramDisplayshowingvinylclicks andhisswithfourdifferentcolorsettings
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Spectrogram Settings
iZotopeRXoffersadvancedspectrogramoptionsundertheView|SpectrogramSettingsmenu. HereisanindepthdescriptionoftheSpectrogramSettingscontrols: SpectrogramTypeRXofferssomedifferentmethodsfordisplayingtimeandfrequency informationinthespectrogram.RXhasadvancedspectrogrammodesthatallowyoutosee sharpertime(horizontal)andfrequency(vertical)resolutionatthesametime.Thereisalwaysa tradeoffofdisplayqualityversusprocessingtime,sokeepinmindthatsomemodeswilltake longertodrawonthescreenthanothers.
STFT(shorttimeFouriertransform)Thisreferstothemethodthat'susedtotransform theaudiodataintothespectrogramdisplay.Thistypeofspectrogramisthemost commononeandcanbefoundinothereditors.Ithasafixeduniformtimefrequency resolution.ThisisthesimplestmodeinRX. AutoAdjustableSTFTThismodeautomaticallyadjustsFFTsize(i.e.timeand frequencyresolutionofaspectrogram)accordingtothezoomlevel.Forexample,ifyou zoominhorizontally(time)you'llseethatpercussivesoundsandtransientswillbemore clearlydefined.Whenyouzoominvertically(frequency),you'llseeindividualmusical notesandfrequencyeventswillappearmoreclearlydefined.ThisisRXsdefaultmode. MultiresolutionThismodecalculatesthespectrogramwithbetterfrequency resolutionatlowfrequenciesandbettertimeresolutionathighfrequencies.This mimicspsychoacousticpropertiesofourperception,allowingthespectrogramdisplay toshowyouthemostimportantinformationclearly. AdaptivelySparseThismodeautomaticallyvariestimeandfrequencyresolutionofa spectrogramtoachievethebestspectrogramsharpnessineveryareaofa timefrequencyplane.Thisoftenletsyouseethemostdetailsforathoroughanalysis, butit'stheslowestmodetocalculate.
FFTsizeFFTisafastFouriertransform,aprocedureforcalculationofasignalfrequency spectrum.ThehighertheFFTsize,thegreaterthefrequencyresolutioni.e.notesandtonal eventswillbeclearer.However,choosingalargernumberherewillmaketimeeventsless sharplydefinedbecauseofthewaythistypeofprocessingisdone.Choosing"AutoAdjustable" or"Multiresolution"modesallowyoutogetagoodcombinationoffrequencyandtime resolutionwithouthavingtochangethissettingasyouwork. EnablereassignmentThiscontrolenablesaspecialtechniqueforspectrogramcalculationthat allowsveryprecisepitchtrackingforanyharmoniccomponentsofthesignal.Whenused togetherwithFrequencyoverlap/Timeoverlapcontrols,thisoptioncanprovidevirtually unlimitedtimeandfrequencyresolutionsimultaneouslyforsignalsconsistingoftones. WindowTheWindowcontrolletsyouchoosedifferentweightingwindowsthatareusedfor
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theFFTanalysis.Thisgetsintosomecomplexmathematics,buttryingeachofthesewillhave differentspectrumsmoothingpropertiesandprevent"spectralleakage"indifferentways. HannisRXsdefaultwindowsetting. FrequencyScaleUsingdifferentfrequencyscalescanhelpyouseeusefulinformationmore easily.Differentscaleshavedifferentcharacteristicsfordisplayingthevertical(frequency) informationinthespectrogramdisplay.

Linearthissimplyshowsfrequenciesspreadoutinauniformway.Thisismostuseful whenyouwanttoanalyzehigherfrequencies. Logarithmicthisscaleputsmoreattentiononlowerfrequencies. MeltheMelscale(derivedfromthewordMelody)isafrequencyscalebasedonhow humanspercievesound.Thisselectionisoneofthemoreintuitivechoicesbecauseit correspondstohowweheardifferencesinpitch. BarktheBarkscaleisalsobasedonhowweperceivesound,andcorrespondstoa seriesofcriticalbands.
Frequencyoverlap(a.k.a.zeropaddingfactor)controlstheamountofoversamplingonthe frequencyscaleofspectrogram.WhenusedtogetherwiththeReassignmentoption,itwill increasetheresolutionofthespectrogramvertically(byfrequency). TimeoverlapThiscontrolsthetimeoversamplingofthespectrogram.Inmostcases,overlap of4xor8xisagoodsettingtostartwith.Howeverusinghigheroverlaptogetherwiththe Reassignmentoptionwillincreasethetimeresolutionofaspectrogram,makingtransientevents appearmoreclearly. ColorMapRX'sspectrogramdisplayallowsyoutochoosebetweenseveraldifferentcolor schemes.Thereisnorightorwrongcolorsettingtousewerecommendyoutrythemall. Sometimescertaincolormodeswillmakedifferenttypesofnoisestandoutmoreclearly. Experiment! Highqualityrenderingturningthiscontroloffmakesspectrogramrenderingslightlyfaster,but you'lllosesomedetailandclarityinthespectrogramimage. ReduceQualityAboveRX'sspectrogramusesveryaccuraterenderinglettingyouseeaudio problems,suchasclicks,evenatzoomedoutstate.Howeverdoingsuchrenderingforlongfiles canbesomewhatslow.So,whenthelengthofthevisiblespectrogramisabovethespecified numberofseconds,thespectrogramcalculationischangedtoafastandlessaccuratepreview mode.Whentheuserzoomsin,thespectrogramcalculationbecomesaccurateagain.
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BROADBAND NOISE REDUCTION

What is Broadband Noise?
Broadbandnoiseisgenerallydefinedasnoisethatisspreadacrossthefrequencyspectrum. Typicalexamplesofbroadbandnoiseincludeairconditioning,tapehiss,cameranoiseandother typesofinterferencethathardlychangesinlevelorspectralshapethroughouttherecording. Visually,itappearsasrandomspecklesorahazeovertheaudiofilesimilartothestaticyou seeonyourTVwhenthereisnosignal.Ingeneral,theconceptsinthischaptercanalsobe appliedtootherkindsofstationarynoiseandevenhumandbuzzwethinkyoullfindRXs Denoisertobeaveryversatiletool. Belowarescreenshotsofanoisysoundfilerecordedin1914thevoiceofAndrewCarnegie, philanthropist,whoendowedmanyrenownedinstitutions(notablyCarnegieHallinNY).
ThefarlefthandsideoftheseshotsillustrateshowRXvisualizesthebackgroundsurfacenoise (noticethewhitearrowspointingtothegreengranulesintheleftimage)andtheresultsofRXs Denoiser(rightimage).NoticethatafterbeingprocessedwithDenoiser,thevisualstaticwill bedecreasedinlevel,orwillappeardimmer.Thisisagoodvisualindicatorofhowmuchnoise youveremoved.Also,weveselectedaportionofvoicecomponentfordisplayontheRX spectrumanalyzeranotherextremelyusefulvisualinstrumentintheRXtoolbox(youcanfind thistoolunderView|SpectrumAnalyzer,orjusthitAlt+R).Keepthesevisualizationsinmind asyoureadon.
Basic Techniques for using RXs Denoiser

Training RXsDenoiserworksbylearningwhatthenoiseinyourfileisfromasectionofnoiseonly material.Byexaminingthissection,Denoisercreateswhatiscalledanoiseprofile.Once youvetaughtDenoiserwhatnoiseis,itusesthisnoiseprofiletointelligentlysuppressnoisethat
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ismixedinwithothersounds.Thistechniqueletsyoukeepdesiredaudiowhilereducingthe volumeofunwantednoise. TotrainDenoiser,identifyasectionoftherecordingthatcontainsonlynoise,withoutanyuseful audiosignal.Oftentheseplacesareatthebeginningorendofafile,butmayalsobeduring pausesorbreaks.
SelectingjustnoiseandhittingTrainwillcaptureanoiseprofile Selectthelongestsectionofnoiseyoucanfind,thenhittheTrainbutton.Thiswill"teach" Denoiserthenoiseprofileofyourfile.Insomecasesyoumaynothaveasectionofjustnoise,or youmaywantRXtofindaquietsectionforyou.Ifthisisthecase,opentheoptionsmenunext totheTrainbutton(+)andchooseAutoTrain. Denoising Afterthenoiseprofileiscaptured,adjusttheNoiseReductionsliderandhitPreviewtolistento theresult.MovingtheNoiseReductionsliderupanddownwillcontrolhowaggressivelyRXis reducingthenoise.Whenyourehappywithyoursettings,youcanhitApplytoprocessthe entirefile.Ifyouwishtojustprocessacertainselection(bytimeorbyfrequencyorboth),select anareausingRXsselectiontoolsthenhitApply.
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Bymakingaselectioninyourproject,youcanpreviewjustthatselection.Whilein previewmode,youcanalsohaveRXloopthroughaselectionofaudiobyturningontheloop featureonRX'stransport.

MakesurethattheA(realtime)algorithmisselectedifyouwanttopreviewtheresultin realtimetheothermodesmayyieldhigherqualitybuttheytakemuchlongertoprocess. StartingwiththeAalgorithmisagoodwaytoquicklygetasenseofhowthenoisereduction willsound.InmanycasesyouwontneedtouseRXsmorepowerfulBandCalgorithmsto getagreatsoundingresult. OutputnoiseonlyThisusefulcheckboxoutputsthedifferencebetweentheoriginaland processedsignals(suppressednoise).ThisisatremendouslyusefulfeatureinDenoiserbecause itallowsyoutohearinstantlyhoweffectivelynoisesarebeingremovedandhowmuch,ifany, programcontentisbeingimpactedbyyoursettings. HowmuchnoiseshouldIremove? Sometimeshavingalittlebitofbroadbandnoiseisagoodthing.Itcanhelpgelrecordings togetherandmakethemsoundmorenaturalsomeaudioengineersactuallyaddbroadband noisesubtlytotheirmixestosimulatetheforgivingcharacteristicsoftapesnoisefloor.And sometimes,forinterviews,moviesandothersituations,leavingabitofnoiseaddsimportant atmospheretotherecording. Whenattemptingtoremovebackgroundorbroadbandnoisefromarecording,itspreferableto identifyandisolateannoyingandobtrusiveelementshighhisslevels,discnoise, airconditioning,etc.Whenyouvesuccessfullyremovedthatwhichisannoying,listentowhats left.Hopefully,youllstillhearsomekindofroomtoneornaturalambience.Ifnot,youmay haveremovedtoomuch. Togetausable,naturalsoundingresult,youwontnormallyhavetoapplymorethan 15dbofNoiseReductiontogetahugedifference.Weencourageyoutotryawiderangeof settingsbyusingtheComparebutton(moreonthisfeaturelater).Keepinmindthatturning NoiseReductionallthewayupisntusuallythebestsoundingoption! SmoothingandMusicalNoiseReduction Especiallywhendoingverydrasticnoisereduction,youmaybegintohearartifactsleftover fromthenoisereductionprocess.Theseareoftenchirpy,waterynoiseswhichintechnicalterms arereferredtoasmusicalnoise. TheSmoothing(Basictab)andMusicalNoiseReduction(Advancedtab)controlssupress artifactsthatresultfromremovingbroadbandnoise.IncreasetheSmoothing(Basicview)or MusicalNoiseReduction(Advancedview)parametertoreducetheseartifacts.RXsmusical
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noisereductionincorporatescoolnewtechnologybasedondigitalimagingtogiveyouvery naturalsoundingresultswithlessartifacts. ChoosinganAlgorithm RX'sDenoiseroffersthreealgorithmsthatrangeinprocessingtime.Itisagoodideatostart withAlgorithmA,asitworksveryquickly.Thisalgorithmisoptimizedforrealtimeplayback,so itsbesttousethissettingwhenyoureusingDenoiserasaplugin.Ifyou'renothappywiththe resultsinthismode,tryBandthenC,whichwilltakelongertoprocessbuttheyusemore complextechniquesthatmayresultinanevenbetterfix. AlgorithmBusesadifferentMusicalNoiseReductiontechniqueforsmoothingoutartifacts whichcangiveyoumorenaturalsoundingrepairs.AlgorithmCusesmultiresolutionprocessing topreservetransientsbetterthanothernoisereductiontools.Whiletheysoundexcellent, AlgorithmsBandCarefairlyslow,andmaynotbeabletopreviewinrealtime.Thisisagood placetousetheCompareSettingswindowtosavetimewhencomparingtheseoptions(seethe GeneralRXToolschapterformoredetails).
About the Noise Spectrum Display

AfteryoutrainRXsDenoiser,youllimmediatelyseetheNoiseSpectrumDisplaychange.This showstheprofileofthenoiseyouvetrainedRXwith.Youcanseewherethenoiseyoure tryingtoremovesitsinthefrequencyspectrum,andhowlouditis. TheNoiseSpectrumDisplayoffersusefulinformationbothduringplaybackandwhenthenoise reductionprocessisapplied.Thefourcurvesshowndisplaydifferentinformation:
TheMagentacurveshowsthespectrumoftheinputaudiosignal
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TheYellowcurveshowsthespectrumofthedenoised(output)audiosignal TheBluecurveshowsthenoisethreshold.Thiscurverepresentsthelearnednoise profileaddedtothethresholdelevationcontrol TheWhitecurveshowsthedesirednoisefloorafterdenoising,Thiscanbe controlledbyReductionandResidualwhiteningcontrols(advancedmodeonly)
ScrollingandZoomingbygrabbingandmovingthehorizontalandverticalrulers,youcan adjustwhatpartofthegraphisshown.Inaddition,holdingthepointerabovearulerandusing yourmousewheelwillzoomthedisplayinandout.Runningthemouseoverthegraphdisplays correspondingdb/frequencycharacteristicsforeachcurveintheupperpartofthewindow.
Denoisers Advanced Controls

BothiZotopeRXAdvancedandthebasicversionofRXfeatureanAdvancedDenoiserpanel thatyoucanswitchtoifyouwantmorecontroloverthenoiseremovalprocess.Herearesome deeperfeaturesyoucanusetofinetuneDenoiser: TonalandBroadbandnoisereductioncontrols RXDenoisersSimplemodegivesyoujustoneNoiseReductionslider.Theadvancedpanelgives youtwo:oneforbroadbandcomponentsofthenoiseandonefortonalcomponents.Thisallows youtotweaktheamountofnoiseremovedforbothtypesofnoiseseparately. Whyusethis?Sometimestherewillbetwotypesofnoiseinyouraudiofilethatareofvarying intensity.Forexample,youmayhaveaveryloudbuzz(tonalnoise)aswellasaquietertapehiss (broadbandnoise).Byfinetuningthesecontrols,youcanremovethebuzzmoreaggressively whilegentlyremovingthetapehiss.Thiscanleadtomorenaturalsoundingrepairswithless residualnoiseandartifacts.
ThenumerousslidercontrolsfoundinbothSimpleandAdvancedmodeofferfinetuning ofyoursettings.HoldingtheCTRLkeyasyoumovethesliderwithyourmouseallowsmore exactmanagementoftheslidermotion. ThresholdControls Theadvancedpanelalsofeaturesthresholdcontrolsforbroadbandandtonalnoise.These controlsareusefulforfinetuningthenoisesuppression.Forexample,ifyoufeelnotenough noiseisbeingcaughtbyDenoiser,tryraisingthethresholdslightly.IfyoufeelDenoiseris damagingaudioyoudontwanttoremove,tryloweringthethresholdslightly. Inmanycasesyouwillneverneedtotouchthethresholdcontroltogettheresultyouwant.We recommendyoustartwithathresholdofzero.
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Musicalnoisesuppression Thiscontroladjuststhereductionofartifactsknownas"musicalnoise".Thiscontrolisthe advancedequivalentoftheSmoothingcontrolfoundintheBasicpanel. ResidualWhitening Thisfeaturemodifiestheamountofnoisereductionappliedatdifferentfrequenciestoshape thespectrumofthenoisethatsleftover. Whenresidualwhiteningiszero,noisesuppressionisthesameatallfrequencies,andthe suppressednoisehasasimilarspectralshapetotheoriginalnoise.Whenresidualwhiteningisat itshighestsetting,thedesiredshapeofsuppressednoisefloorismadeclosertowhitenoise, whichisusuallymoreneutralsounding.ThiscontrolincombinationwiththeMusicalNoise Suppressioncontrolcanmakeahugedifferenceincontrollingresidualartifacts. MoreAdvancedModeControls(RXAdvancedOnly): MNSalgorithmMusicalnoiseartifactsuppressionalgorithm TheSimplealgorithmperformsindependentnoisegatingineveryfrequencychannelofFFT. ReleasetimeofsubbandgatesiscontrolledbytheReleasecontrol.Thisisafastalgorithm withsmalllatency(delay)thatissuitableforrealtimeoperation. TheAdvancedandExtremealgorithmsperformjointtimefrequencyanalysisoftheaudio signalwhichresultsinbetterqualityandless"musicalnoise"artifacts.Thesealgorithms havehigherlatencyandcomputationalcomplexity.
FFTsize(ms) InRX,wecontrolFFTwindowsizeforspecificrequirements:longerwindowsmeanlowertime resolution,butbetterfrequencyresolution.Goodfrequencyresolution(longerwindows)allows forbetterseparationoftonalsignalsandnoise,butitalsoreducestimeprecisionofDenoiser whichcanleadtosoftenedtransientsandlessnoisereductionaroundtransients.Switchingto MultiResolutionmodewilldisablethiscontrol. WheneverFFTsizeischanged,it'srecommendedyouretrainDenoiserbecausetheold noiseprofilewastakenatadifferentFFTsizeandthereforebecomesinaccurate. MultiResolution Themultiresolutionprocessingselectsthebesttimefrequencyresolutionforeveryportionof thesignaltominimizesmearingoftransientsandatthesametimeachievehighfrequency resolutionwhereitisneeded.Theoverallqualityofnoisereductionisincreased,butatthecost ofmuchhighercomputationalcomplexity.TheFFTsizecontroldoesnothaveanyaffectin multiresolutionmodebecauseFFTresolutionisselectedautomatically. Kneesharpness Adjuststhesharpnessofthenoisegatesusedinthenoisereductionprocess(1issoftknee,8is sharpknee).
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Release Selectsthereleasetimeofthesubbandnoisegatesinmilliseconds.Longerreleasetimes reducemusicalnoisemoreeffectively,butcanproduceechoesofnoiseafterloudsignals. Psychoacousticsuppression Enablesapsychoacousticmodelthatdynamicallycontrolssuppressionamount.ThisallowsRX tousesoftersuppressionwherenoiseissubjectivelyinaudibletothehumanear.Thepositionof theslidercontrolstheinfluenceofpsychoacousticmodelonsuppressionlevels. Harmonicenhancement Thiscontrolallowsforsoftersuppressionofharmonicsofthesignalthatcouldbeburiedin noise.Itcanmaketheresultingsignalbrighterandmorenaturalsounding,buthighvaluesof harmonicenhancementcanresultinhighfrequencynoisebeingmodulatedbythesignalsouse itsparingly.
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HUM AND TONAL NOISE

HumcanoriginatefrombadgroundconnectionsorinductedfrompowersourcessuchasAC mainsortransformersandcanusuallybeheardaudiblyasalowfrequencytone,usuallybased ateither50Hzor60Hz.HumbeeasilyeliminatedusingtheRXHumRemovalmodule,which welldescribeinthischapter. TonalNoisesuchasbuzzfromfluorescentlighting,isnotaseasytotracebacktoaprimary frequencyandmayextendupintohighfrequenciesthatareoutofthescopeofwhatRXsHum Removalmodulecanhandle.Tonalnoisevariesfrombroadbandnoiseinthatittendstobe concentratedatcertainfrequencies.WellalsodiscussremovingtonalnoisewithRXDenoiserin thischapter.
Finding the Hums Primary Frequency

Tobegin,selectasectionoftherecordingwherethehumisprominent.Sometimestherewillbe silence(ornearsilence)atthebeginningorendoftheprogrammaterialthatwillcontainnoise butnotanyotheraudio.Otherwise,trychoosingaquietpassageoftherecordingwherehumis obvious.Next,selectthesectionofaudiowherethehumismostclearlyaudible.Choosethe LoopPlaybackbutton.ThiswillallowyoutosetHumRemoval'sparametersasaudioplaysback. Whenattemptingtoremovehum,youfirstneedtofindthehum'sprimaryfrequency.Thetwo mostcommonbasefrequenciesforhumare50Hz(Europe)and60Hz(U.S.)duetothose regionsdifferenceinelectricaldelivery.Itsagoodideatotrythe50and60Hzpresetsincluded withRXfirst.Ifyouhearthehumdisappearorgetmuchquieter,youllknowyoureontheright track. Insomecases,forexamplearecordingmadefromanalogtapethatisnotpreciselyatitsoriginal recordedspeed,youmayneedtochoosethe"Free"FrequencyType.Selectingthisoption unlockstheBaseFrequencycontrolandallowsyoutomanuallyfindtheHum'srootnote.With Previewengaged,movethesliderupanddownuntilyoufindthepointwherethehumlessens ordisappears. UsingtheSpectrogram Forevenmoreprecisesettingsinfreemode,useRX'sSpectrogramDisplaytozoominonthe project'slowfrequencies.Youcanhoveroverthelowfrequencypartofthescaleontheright andmoveyourmousewheeluptozoomin.UnderView|SpectrogramSettings,choosethe AdaptivelySparsespectrogramtypetoseepitchwithrazorsharpaccuracy.Draggingtheruler upanddownwillrepositionthespectrogramatdifferentfrequencies.Remember,humusually appearsasabrighthorizontalline,sometimeswithmanylessbrightlinesaboveit(harmonics).
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Zoominginontheverticalaxisshowsthatthishumtoneisat110Hz
AdjustingFilterDepth YoucanadjusthowaggressivelyHumRemovalattackstheprimaryfrequencybypullingdown thefirstfrequencynode.Thedeeperthecut,themorehumwillberemoved,butyoumayalso adverselyaffectwantedaudiointhatfrequencyrange.TryselectingtheLinearPhaseFilters checkboxwhenyouremakingverydeepfiltercutsinfullfrequencyrangecontent,theywill helppreservesurroundingaudioduetotheirexceptionalsteepness.ThismodeismoreCPU intensiveandwillintroducesomelatency,sokeepthisinmind(especiallywhenusingtheHum Removalplugin).
AdjustingFilterWidth(Q) YoucanalsoadjustthewidthofHumRemovalsfilters.Thewiderthefilter,themoreoverlap therewillbewithsurroundingfrequencies.GrabthehandlesoneithersideoftheHumRemoval filternodeanddragthemaparttowidentheQortogethertonarrowit. AttenuatingHum'sHarmonics Becausehigherfrequencyharmonicsoftenresultfromhum,RX'sHumRemovalmodulehas controlsforattenuatingtheseovertones.
UsingtheNumberofHarmonicscontrol,youcanselectupto7harmonicsabovetheprimary humfrequency.Again,thespectrogramdisplayinmanycasesmakesiteasytoidentifythe numberofhumharmonicsinyourproject. Afterselectingnumberofharmonics,RXengagesnewfiltersatsetharmonicpointsabovethe primaryfrequency.UsetheHarmonicSlopecontroltohowaggressivelythehigherharmonics arebeingcut.TheFilterQcontroladjuststhewidthofthehumfilters. UsingtheResidualOutputcontrol ByselectingtheResidualOutputcheckbox,RXwillboostthesignalatthepointswhereyouare attemptingtoremovehum.Thisisusefulforfinetuningyoursettings.Playthroughasectionof yourfilewherethehumismixedwithothermaterial,andselectResidualoutputmodeandthen hitPreview.NowyoucanadjustparametersliketheFilterQ(width)controlandtheHarmonic Slopecontroltomaximizehumremovalwhileminimizingtheaffectontheprogrammaterial.If youhearwantedprogrammaterialleakingthroughinthismode,youmaywanttotrynarrower filtersorLinearPhasemode.
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LowandHighPassFilters RXsHumRemovalmoduleincludeslowandhighpassfiltersthatallowyoutogentlyorsteeply rolloffthehighestorlowestfrequenciesinyourproject.Thisisnotaspreciseatoolasthesteep notchfiltersdescribedearlier.Howeverifyouhaveasimplelowhumandrumblebelowavoice forexample,youmaywishtosimplyenableahighpassfilterthatcutsallfrequenciesbelow65 Hz. FilterDCOffset ThisremovestheDC(directcurrent)offsetthatiscausedbytheimbalancethatsometimes occursinA/Dconverters.DCoffsetisexhibitedbythewaveformappearingaboveorbelowthe zeroline,andisundesirablebecausemaximumaudiolevelscannotbeeffectivelyachieved.DC offsetmayalsocauseaudibleartifactsdependinghowthesignalisbeingprocessed.
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Using Denoiser for Tonal Noise Removal

Insomecases,electricalnoisewillextendupintohigherfrequencies;thiscanmanifestitselfas abackgroundbuzz.Seetheexamplebelow:
Aswementioned,RXsHumRemovaltoolisoptimizedforlowfrequencyhum.Foraddressing thatupperfrequencybuzzwerecommendyouuseRXDenoiser,whichiscapableofremoving thistypeoftonalnoise.SeetheBroadbandNoiseReductionchapterfordetailsonhowtouse Denoiser.
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REMOVING CLIPPING
Liveconcertsandonlocationinterviewsfrequentlybecomethevictimsofsignaloverloador clipping.Thisisoftentheresultoftoolittletimeavailableforsetuporsoundcheck.Inmusic recording,overlyenthusiasticsingersanddrummersarefrequentlytheworstoffenders! iZotopeRXfeaturesaDeclippertoolwhichcansaverecordingsfromsometypesofbothanalog anddigitalclippingoroverloaddistortion.
How does RXs Declipper work?

RXfeaturesauniqueDeclipperwhichusesadvancedinterpolationtechniquestointelligently rebuildthepeaksofclippedaudiorecordings.Thistoolcanbeinvaluableforfixingrecordings thatyoumayhavethoughtwereruined! However,weshouldnotethatsomedistortionsimplycannotbefixed.Thereisalwaysapointat whichadigitalconverteroranalogtapehasbeenpushedsohardthatthereisnotenough usefulinformationleftforRXtomakeagoodrepair.Youmayfindoldrecordsthathavebeen playedsomuchtheyhavegroovewalldistortionfromrecordwearthiscanbevirtually impossibletofix.Insomecases,ifDeclipperdoesnotworkforyouyoumaybeabletouseRXs SpectralRepairtooltofixshortcorruptedsegments.SeetheSpectralRepairchapterformore details.
Repairing Clipping
ChoosingaDeclippingMode Inmostcases,itisbesttostartwiththeDeclippermodule'sSinglebandmode.Fortrickier clipping,youmayneedtouseMultibandmode(orMultiresolutionmodeinRXAdvanced). Welldiscussthislaterinthechapter. UsingtheHistogramtosettheClippingThreshold ThemostimportantpartofsettingDeclipperisfiguringoutatwhatlevelintherecordingthe clippingishappeningsoyoucansettheClippingThresholdcontrol.Dependingonhowthe recordingwasmade,whethertheclippingisanalogordigitalinnature,andotherfactors, clippingcanappearatdifferentdBlevels. ThehistogrammeterintheDeclippermoduleallowsyoutoanalyzeclippinginyourfile.Selecta sectionthatisclipped,andhittheComputebutton(ifyoureusingthepluginversionof Declipper,themeterwillautomaticallyupdateduringplayback).Agraphwillappearshowing theaveragelevelsoftheaudioovertheselectedtime.Thisiscalledahistogram.
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Ifclippingispresentintheselection,itwillusuallyappearasahorizontallineinthehistogram thatextendsallthewayacrossthemeter.Thisiswherethepeaksinthefileareconcentrated, usuallyindicatingclipping. Tosetthemodule'sthreshold,movetheredlineinthehistogram,ortheClippingThreshold slider,untiltheredlineinthehistogramisjustbelowthelinewhereclippingisconcentrated.
iftheclippingpointisbelow8dBFS,thehistogramwillbeempty.Yourfilemay needtobenormalized.YoucanalsoraisetheoverallgainofthefileusingRX'sGain module.

MakeupGain Thiscontrolaccommodatestheincreasedpeaklevelscausedbythedeclippingprocess.When RXrebuildstheclippedpeaks,theywilloftengohigherthanzero.Iftherebuiltpeaksgoabove zerodBinRX,yourrecordingwillclipagainwhenyouexportit.Themakeupgaincontrollets yousettheresultinggainofthedeclippingprocesssothatthewaveformisbroughtdownbelow zero. WhenusingDeclipper,startbysettingmakeupgainataround6.0dB.Ifyou'reremoving clippingduringashortselectionofafile,youmaywanttosetthiscontrolhighertopreventa noticeablevolumedropintheprogrammaterialduringthedeclippedsection. Choosingaqualitymode TherearethreequalitymodesinRX'sDeclipper:Low,Medium,andHigh.Lowqualitymode processesveryquickly;Highqualitymodeprocessesslowlybutinsomecasescanachievebetter results.Inmanycasesyouwillfindthat"Low"qualitymodegivesyougreatresults.Tosavetime, alwaysstartbypreviewingtheLowqualitymodesfirst.
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WhenusingDeclipperasaplugin,thehigherqualitymodesmayintroducealotoflatencyor causedropouts.Ifthishappens,youcanswitchtoalowerqualitymodeforrealtimeuse,then changetohighqualitymodewhenyourereadytobouncedownorrenderyourtrack.
Toavoidfluctuationsinvolume,youmaywanttoapplyDeclippertoyourentirefile ratherthanjustshortclippedsections.SingleBandmodewillnotadverselyaffectthequality ofthenonclippedmaterial. WhentouseMultibandandMultiresolutionmodes Usually,Singlebandmodeisagoodstartforanyaudiofile,butifthequalityofsingleband declippingisinsufficient,youmaywanttotryothermodes,suchasMultibandor Multiresolutiondeclipping. BothMultibandandMultiResolutionmodeshavesimilarparameterstoSingleBandmode. HowevertheyalsoallowyoutoselectthenumberoffrequencybandsRXusestoperform interpolation.Ahighernumberofbandsdoesnotnecessarilymeanhigherquality,youmayneed tosearchforagoodsoundwiththisparameterasitisextremelysituationdependent.For example,multiresolutionmodecanbeusedincertainscenarioslikehighfemalevocalswith reverberationthathaveonlyamoderateamountofclipping.Werecommendyoutrymultiple modesandpreviewtheresultsintheCompareSettingswindow.
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REMOVING CLICKS AND POPS

Clicksandpopscanoccuratalmostanystageintherecordingprocessandcanappearinnearly anymedium:surfacenoisefrommechanicalmedia(especiallydiscs),staticelectricity, powerlineinterference,inadvertentphysicalcontactwithamicrophone(includingthoseon camcorders)ortelephonehandsetand/orbadaudioconnectorcables.Occasionally,digital errorswillresultinafew,unexpectedclicksaswell.Yourchallengewillbetoreduceorremove clicksandpopswithoutdisturbingprogramcontent.ThankfullyRXprovidessomeeasytouse, highqualitytoolsfordoingjustthat.
Using RX Declicker
RXsDeclickerrepairsorreducesclicks,popsandotherimpulsenoisesintheaudiowaveform.It hastwomodes:ManualandAutomatic.IntheManualmode,youcanmanuallyselectaclickor otherimpulsenoiseonRXsSpectrogramorWaveform.InAutomaticmode,theprogram automaticallydetectsandinterpolatesclicksinalongselection.
Aswithothermodulesdiscussedearlier,werecommendyoubeginwithfactorysettings orpresetsasyouexplorethebestwaytoeliminateclicks.Andaswithotheroperationsin RX,itseasytoUndoandRedobeforecommittingyourchangestothefileitself.
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Automatic Mode
Whenusingtheautomaticfeature,itsbesttopreviewtheoffendingclicksinthewaveform viewinordersettheproperwidthviatheMaximumclickwidthcontrol.Thewaveformviewis moreaccuratethanthespectrogramfordeterminingclickwidth. BeforeapplyingDeclicker,clickonpreviewtoheartheresultofyoursettingsandwhileaudiois inplayback,finetunethesensitivityandclickwidthsliderstoremovethemostclicksandpops. Theidealsettingshouldremovethemostclickswithoutdamagingtransientsintheprogram material.Forexample,drumhitsmaybemistakenforclicksathighWidthandSensitivity settings. OutputClicksOnly TickingthischeckboxwillletyouhearjusttheclicksandpopsthatRXisremoving.Thisis extremelyusefulforcheckingtomakesureyoureonlyremovingwhatyouwantto.Hitpreview withthisboxcheckedandifyouvesettheWidthandSensitivitycontrolscorrectlyyouwillhear justyourclicksandpopswithoutthecontentyouwanttokeep. Ifyouwanttocreateamazinglyrealisticlofieffects,tryleavingOutputClicksOnlyon whenyouapplytheDeclickingprocess.Youllbeleftwithjusttheclicksandpops,whichyou canexportasasamplethatyoucanuseasaneffectelsewhere. Quality TheLowandMedium qualitymodes offerfairlygoodsoundqualitywithlowlatencyandCPU usage. These modes are ideal for using in time critical applications or when youre using the plugin version of Declicker in realtime in your audio host. The high quality settings will allow youtoremovemoretickswithlessresidualdamagetotheaudio.
Youmayfindthelowerqualitysettingsarehelpfulforpreviewingthedeclickprocessin realtime.Previewinlowqualitymodethenapplytheprocessinhighqualitymode.Thiscan beespeciallyusefulforlongrecordingswithalotofsmallclicks
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Manual Mode
Automaticmodeisgreatforaquickfix,butmanysituationsrequireacustomsettinginorder to totally clean the odd click or pop from your file. Find a prominent click or pop in the file yourecleaningandafterselectingitwiththemouse,zoominontheselectionandexamineitin thespectrogram. Oncezoomedin,youllwanttocarefullyreselectthenoiseyouneedtoeliminateincludingonly thenoisespikethatsvisible. Whilethespectrogramwillhelpwithfindingclicks,thewaveform displaywill help you accurately select click boundaries. When you hit Apply, theclick will be removedusinginterpolationfromthesurroundingaudiodata.
The Declicker can only process selections with 4000 samples or less in Manual mode. Should your selection be wider than 4000 samples, you may need to remove the problem withSpectralRepair(whichwelldiscussinthenextchapter).
Iftheresultisnotsatisfactory,tryadjustingInterpolationOrderorotherparameters.Iftheclick or popis verylong, Declicker may cause a minor drop in level. You may want to try the RX SpectralRepairtoolinstead.
Processing on one channel only

Intheexamplebelow,wewantedtoremoveaclick,presentintheleftchannelalone,without disturbingthesoundintherightchannel.Thefragileprogramcontent(aboychoirsinginga cappellainanemptycathedral)requiredpreciseanddelicateprocessing. RXcanisolateeithertheleftorrightchannelandprocessinjustthatchannelwhenrequired.In astereoprogram,youcanselecteitherleftchannelalone,rightchannelaloneorbothtogether whenchoosingaportionofyourfileforprocessing.Selecttheleftchannelalonebydraggingthe mouseatthetopofthedisplay,therightchannelalonebydraggingatthebottomofthedisplay orbothchannelsbyselectinginthemiddle.Youcanalsodeselectachannelbyclickingthegray rectangletotheleftofthechannelinthedisplay.
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Therearemanytricksofthetradeandthemoreyoutry,theeasierandquickerdeclicking willbecome.Forexample,withmaterialcontainingclicksandpopsofvaryingsizestry runningDeclickerinseveralpasses.Beginbyrepairingshortclicks,andthencontinueonto longerones.Also,youmighttryfirstapplyingtheautomaticdeclickerandthenmovingonto manualdeclickerforthoseclicksmissedinautomaticmode(orviceversa).
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REMOVING INTERMITTENT NOISES AND GAPS

Intermittentnoisescanincludeawiderangeofintrusivesoundsthatdontfallintothecategory ofbroadbandortonalnoise.Thiscanincludecellphoneringsataviolinrecital,squeakingdoor hingesinterruptinganinterview,ortrafficnoisethatmarsdialogrecordingforafilm. Gaps,dropoutsandshortsectionsofcorruptedaudioarealsoacommonaudioproblem.These cancomefromeverythingfromaloosemiccabletodigitalerrors. Thereareseveralthingsthatmakethesenoisesespeciallyhardtofix: Theycanbewildlyunpredictableinfrequencyandtiming. Unlikebroadbandnoiseorclicks,noiseslikethiscantberemovedwithanautomated process. Theycanbeverytimeconsumingtofix. Mosttraditionalnoisereductiontoolsandaudioeditorscannoteffectivelyremovethem withoutleavingmanyartifactsordamagedaudio. Thankfully,iZotopeRXincludesadvancedSpectralRepairtoolsthatallowyoutofixthese difficultproblems.InthischapterwellexploreusingtheSpectralRepairmoduletoremove intermittentnoisesandfillgaps.WestronglyrecommendyoutrytheSpectralRepairexamples includedintheAppendixandaudiodemofilesthataccompanythisguide.
Selecting by time and frequency to repair noises

Theprocessofspectralrepairwillrequiremakingpreciseselections,eitheralongthetimelineor byfrequency.ThiswillrequireinteractingwithRXsSpectrogramwithdifferentselectiontools.If youreusingtheSpectralRepairpluginthatcomeswithRX,italsoincludesabuiltinspectral editorwindowthatworksinasimilarwaytoRXsinterface. Ifyoudidntknowhowtoreadaspectrogramdisplaywhenyoustartedthisguide,youprobably nowhaveabettersenseofwhatinformationonecanhelpyousee.Whengoingaftertricky intermittentnoises,RXsSpectrogramDisplaynotonlyallowsyoutoseetheproblem,itallows youtoselectivelychooseatimeandfrequencyrangetoapplySpectralRepairto.Thisisthe essenceofSpectralRepairitallowsyoutofocusinandrepaironlycertainpartsofthe frequencyspectrum. LetstakealookattheRXspectrogramandtheallimportanttimefrequencyselectorcontrols:
TimeSelectionthistoolallowsyoutoselectasegmentofyourprojectalongthetimeline. TimeFrequency Selection allows you to make rectangular selections in the Spectrogram
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Displaytoisolatesoundsbytimeandfrequency. FrequencySelectionletsyouselectbyjustfrequency(verticallyintheSpectrogram). TheZoomSelectiontool,whenenabled,zoomsintotimeandfrequencyselectionsasyoumake them. MostoftenwhenremovingintermittentnoiseyouwillbeusingtheTimeSelectiontooltoselect ashortsliceofaudioalongthetimeline,orusingtheTimeFrequencyselectiontooltodrawa boxaroundanoffendingsoundburiedinyouraudiofile.Heresanexampleofwhatmakinga TimeFrequencyselectionwilllooklikeinRXsSpectrogramDisplay:
Inthiscasewevedrawnanarrowrectangularselectionaroundaveryclearlydefinedsound:an electronicbeep.Thisisagoodexampleofasoundthatoccupiesonlyacertainfrequencyrange thatmustbesurgicallyremovedtoavoiddamagingthesurroundingfrequencies. InsomecasesyouwillwanttoselectallfrequenciesoverarangeoftimeandapplySpectral Repair.Usuallythisworksbestforshortsectionsofaudiothatarecompletelycorruptedor unusable,gapsanddropouts,andwhereanoiseextendsfromthetoptothebottomofthe frequencyspectrum. Previewingtheselectedsound Onceyouvedrawnaselectionaroundaspecifictimeandfrequencyrange,clickthePreview Selectionbuttoninthetransport.ThisspecialPlaybuttonwillplaybackonlytheselection, allowingyoutohearwhatisintheboxyouveselected.Thisisgreatformakingsureyouve
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accuratelyselectedonlywhatyouwanttofix.
Decidedyouwanttochangeyourselectionslightly?Youcansimplygrabtheedgesofa selectionboxtoresizeit.
ChoosingaSpectralRepairMode Nowthatyouvecarefullyselectedthenoiseyouwanttorepair,opentheSpectralRepairtool. ThefirstthingyoullneedtodoischoosefromoneofSpectralRepairsfourprocessingmodes. Eachofthesemodesusesadifferenttechniqueformakingarepair.Youmaywanttotryeachof theseinturnonthesamenoisetoseewhichworksthebest.Herearesomegeneralguidelines onhowtouseeach: Attenuate Thismodeisgreatforblendingnoisesintothebackgroundofarecordingandmakingthem inaudible.Forexample,aneventlikethebeepshownabove,acellphonering,acarhornora squeakydooraregoodcandidatesforthismode.Attenuatelooksattheaudioaroundthe selectedeventandusesthatinformationtoblendtheoffendingsoundintotherecordings background.Thismodeissuitableforrecordingswithbackgroundnoiseorwherenoiseisthe essentialpartofmusic(drums,percussion)andshouldbeaccuratelypreserved.It'salsogood whenunwantedeventsarenotobscuringthedesiredsignalcompletely. TheStrengthcontroladjustshowaggressivelySpectralRepairattenuatesthesound youveselected.Ifyousetstrengthtoalowsetting,someofthenoisemaystillbe audible.Ifyousetittoohigh,youmayhearaholeintheaudioatthepointofthe repair.Findingagoodbalancebetweenthetwoisthekeytogettinggreatresultswith thistool. DirectiondetermineswhichdirectiontheSpectralRepairalgorithmwilllookwhenitis figuringouthowtorepairthesound.InVerticalorHorizontalmodesitwilllookatthe materialaboveandbelow,ortotheleftandright,oftheselection.In2Dmode,itlooks aroundtheeventinalldirections.Tryingeachofthesemodescangiveyoudramatically differentresults.Trythemalltoseewhichoneworksbestonyourrepair.We recommendusingVerticalmodeforlongnarrowrepairs,andhorizontalmodeforshort timeselectionsthatcoverawidefrequencyrange.
Replace UnlikeAttenuatemodewhichgentlyblendstheselectionintothebackground,Replacemode completelyresynthesizestheselectedarea.Replacemodeworksverywellwhenthereisa sustainedmusicalpartorothertonethatisinterruptedbyanunwantedsound,andcanalsobe usefulwhenremovingnoisesfromdialog.Thismodecanalsobeusedtocloseupgaps,dropouts andcorruptedsectionsofaudio. Pattern Thismodesearchesforapatterninthesurroundingmaterialandusesittoreplacetheselection
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youvemade,seamlesslyblendingtherepairintothesurroundingaudio.Patternmodeis particularlyusefulforgapsandbadlydamagedorcorruptedsectionsofaudio.TryusingPattern modeondropoutsinrhythmicpartslikedrumtracksitcanworkwonders. Partials+Noise ThismodecanbethoughtofasanadvancedversionofReplacemode.Itisalsoagoodchoice forsustainedmusicalmaterialandtones.Whenusedcarefullyitrestoresharmonicsoftheaudio moreaccurately.Itcaneventrackchangesinpitchbetweenthebeginningandendofagap. Partials+Noisemodelinksdetectedharmonicsbysynthesizingthemthroughtheselection,and interpolatestherestofthesignalusingtheReplacemethod. HarmonicSensitivityadjuststheamountofdetectedandlinkedharmonicsinPartials+ Noisemode.Lowervalueswilldetectfewerharmonics,whilehighervalueswilldetect moreharmonicsandcanintroducesomeunnaturalpitchmodulationsinthe interpolatedresult.
CommonControls Spectral Repairs modes share several common controls that affect the way the selection is repaired. SurroundingRegionLengthletsyouchoosehowfarbeforeandaftertheselection SpectralRepairwilllookwhenfiguringouthowtomaketherepair.Tryingdifferent settingswillhelpyoufindthebestrepairforyourparticularproblem. Before/AfterWeightingdetermineswhetherSpectralRepairusesmoreinformation frombeforeoraftertheselectiontomaketherepair.Forexample,youmayneedto repairasustainedsectionofaudiorightbeforeanothereventonthetimeline.Toavoid smearingofthatothereventintoyourrepair,settheWeightingcontrolallthewayto thelefttoonlyuseaudiobeforetheselectiontomaketherepair. NumberofbandsselectsthenumberoffrequencybandsthatRXusestomakethe repair.Ahighernumberofbandscanprovidebetterfrequencyresolution,butwillalso useawidersurroundingarea. Multiresolution(RXAdvancedonly)thismodeallowsforbetterfrequencyresolutionat lowfrequenciesandbettertimeresolutionathighfrequenciessimultaneously.
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GENERAL RX TOOLS
Comparing Settings
Theabilitytoeasily,repeatedlyandaccuratelycomparesettings,visuallyandaurally,withinthe fiveRXmodulesisavaluabletoolaswellasatruetimesaverinwhateverprojectyouundertake. YoullfindtheCompareSettingsfeaturetobeanextremelyusefulreferencewhencontrastinga widerangeofchoiceswiththeoriginal.Takingnotesonyoursettingsandsavingyourown presetscanbeanexcellentpathtowardefficientandeffectiveaudiorestorationprocedure. SendingsettingstotheCompareSettingsWindow Findasettinginthemoduleyoufeelworksforaspecificsituationandthenclickonthe Comparebutton.RXautomaticallyopenstheCompareSettingswindowwhileprocessingthe resultofyoursettingsinthebackground.Viewandchangeyoursettingsandclickagainon Compare.RXwilladdanewitemtothelisteachtimeyouclickonCompare.Byclickingon OriginalwithyournewSettings,youllhaveaninstantcomparisonwitheverySettinglistedin thewindow. Repeatthisstepwithothercontrolsettingsorprocessingmodesinthemodule.Thesewillbe listedwithdefaultnames,butyoucanusetheRenamebuttontochooseyourownnamesfor theitemsinyourComparelist.NoticethattheSpectrogramdisplay,aswellasthesound, changeseachtimeyouselectaSettingintheCompareSettingswindow.
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Batch Processing
RXoffersnumeroustimesaversandBatchProcessingisoneofthebest.Simplydefined,Batch Processingpermitstheautomationofprocessingongroupsoffiles.
UseofBatchProcessingallowsautomationofalonglistoffilestoberunandprocessed
inthebackgroundwhileyoudootherthings:getasnack,walkthedog,takeanap. ApplyBatchProcessingtofiles BeginbyselectingFile|BatchProcessing.Clickthe"AddFiles"buttontoaddoneormorefilefor batchprocessing,thenchoosetheprocessingmoduleyouwishtouse.Toviewthesettingsfora particularbatchprocessingjob,clicktheViewSettingsbutton.Aftermakingchanges,tograba snapshotofthemodule'scurrentsettingstouseforbatchprocessing,clicktheUpdateSettings button.
RunningaBatchProcess Onceyouaresatisfiedwiththebatchprocessingjobs,clicktheRunbuttontorunallofthem. YouwillseeaprogressdialogwhileRXrunseachjob.Tocancelthecurrentjobandall subsequentjobs,clicktheCancelbutton. Afterbatchprocessing,theresultswillbepresentedtoyouinthebatchprocessingwindow.Ifa jobhasfailedorbeencancelled,youcanclicktheRunbuttontoattemptthesejobsagain. SettingtheBatchProcessingoutputsettings Toconfiguretheoutputfileformatforallbatchprocessing,clicktheSettingsbutton.
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EQ
RXincludesa4bandparametricequalizermodulewithadjustablenotchfiltersand lowpass/highpassfilters.Thiscanbeahandytoolforcuttingorboostingcertainfrequencies, orforquicklyremovingunwantedloworhighfrequencysoundslikerumbleorhiss.
TheEQmodulecomesintwoflavorsorEQTypes: AnalogEQisanonlinearphasefilter.TheLinearphaseEQusesaFIR(finiteresponse)filter. Theanalogfiltergivesaverydifferent(somesaywarmer)characterthanthelinearphase filterwhichisverypreciseanddesignedtominimizephaseshiftsinaudio.Youcaneasilyswitch betweenthetwofilterstohearwhichbestsuitsyourproject.AswithallthemodulesinRX,you havetheoptionofPreviewandCompareplustheabilitytocreateandsaveyourownsettings (presets)inEQ.
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Working with Presets

GroupsofsettingsineachofRXsmodulesandpluginscanbesavedandrecalledaspresets. EachmoduleinRXcomeswithitsownsetoffactorypresetsthatprovideagoodplacetobegin. Onceyouvemademodificationstothesettingsinamodule,youcannamethepresetandsave ittoitsownfilename.Moreover,youcanexportyourpresetstoanyfilefolderorstoragearea onyourcomputerforbackuportosharewithotherRXusers.
Itmaybeusefultoseparateandassociatethefilenameofeachpresetforexportwiththe typeofmodule.Forexample,ifIvefoundausefulpresetforHum,Illnamethepreset RooseveltOval1940SideAandexportthefileasHumRoosOval1940_A.Whensaved,RXwill addtheextension(.pluginpreset).Whateveryounameyourexportedfile,RXautomatically knowswhichpresetgoeswithwhichmodule.
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Keyboard shortcuts and assigning your own
Likepresets,RXincludesdefaultkeyboardshortcutsbutyoucancustomizethemtoyour preference.Thekeyboardshorcutsmenuisquitestraightforwardandlikethepresetstool,saves timeandincreasesefficiency.
Presetsmenusavegroupsofkeyassignmentswiththistool(seeparagraphonPresets) Showcommandscontainingletsyousearchbykeywordforacommandyouwanttoassigntoa keystroke Shortcutsforselectedcommandshowsifthereareanykeystrokesassignedtothecommand selectedintheabovemenu Removeremovesthecurrentlyassignedkeystrokefromacommand PressShortcutKeytoassignanewkeystroketoacommand,selectthecommandfromthe menu,thenclickinthisfieldandpressakeyorcombinationofkeys Assignassignstheenteredkeystroketothecurrentcommand Shortcutkeycurrentlyusedbylistscommandstowhichthecurrentkeystrokeisassigned Resetreturnssettingstodefaults
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EXPORTING AND DELIVERING AUDIO

Onceyouvecompletedtherestorationprocess,youwillwanttosaveyourfileforthenext proceduremasteringorperhapssomefinetuninginyourfavoriteeditororDSPapplication.To savefilesasacopyorinanotherformatgotoFile|SaveAs(Ctrl+Shift+S).Youcanalsoselectjust aportionofyourprojectandexportthatsegmentasanewfilebygoingtoFile|ExportSelection (orCtrl+Shift+E).
Thiswouldbeagoodtimetosaveyouroriginalworkasabackupfile,eitherina separatefolderoranauxiliarystoragedevicesuchasaflashdrive.Havingaduplicatecopyof youroriginalsisalwaysasmartidea!
Exporting to different formats

RXsupportstheimportofcertainaudioformatsWAV,BroadcastWAV,AIFF,MP3,WMAand canexporttoWAVandAIFFwithvaryingtypesofditheranddegreesofbitdepthor wordlength. Dithering Ditherisroutinelyintroducedintotheprocessingofdigitalaudioinordertoprevent quantizationerroranunpleasantaudioartifactgeneratedduringroundingortruncationof digitalvalues.Putsimply,Ditheringisusedtoattainhigherqualitywhenexportingtoalowerbit depth(forexamplefrom24bitaudioto16bitfordeliveryonCD).Yourchoiceofdithering algorithmwilldependlargelyonprogramcontentandwhatyouperceivetobethebest soundingresult. Ifyoureinterestedinreadingmoreabouttheconceptofdithering,youcanfindiZotopes DitheringGuideatwww.izotope.com/support. ToaccesstheOutputOptionsandditheringcontrols,clickonFile|Export(orCtrl+Shift+E).
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CheckthePreservenonaudiodataboxwhenyouexportyourfileifyouneedtopreserve
additionaldatainyouraudio,suchascuemarkersorACIDizedWAVinformation. DitherModes:

None(Truncate)convertstoanewbitdepthwithoutapplyingdither,insteadtruncatingor removingtheextrabits. WhiteNoise(TPDF)standardqualitydithering
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iZotope MBIT+ Dithering Panel (RX Advanced only)

TheDithermoduleappliesiZotope'sMBIT+ditheringtechnologytoimprovethequalityofyour audiofileswhetheryouareconvertingto24,20,16,12,or8bits.MBIT+usesproprietarynoise shapingmethodforimprovedquality. WhilethebasicRXapplicationdoeshaveonesimpleMBIT+mode,RXAdvancedgivesyouan entirepanelforcustomizingtheditheringsettingsforoptimalresults. AswithmanyofthemodulesinRX,theMBIT+optionsmenuallowsforsavingandimportingof yourownsettingsasPresets.
NewbitdepthThissetsthetargetresolution(bitdepth)oftheaudiofile. NoiseshapingByshapingthedithernoise,itispossibletoprovidemoreeffectiveand transparentditheringbyshiftingthedithernoisespectrumintotheleastaudiblefrequency bands.Youcancontroltheaggressivenessofthisshaping,rangingfromNone(noshaping) throughUltra(roughly14dBofaudiblenoisesuppression) DitherAmountTheditheringamountcanbevariedfromNone(noiseshapingonly)toHigh.No ditheringorLowditheramountcanleavesomenonlinearquantizationdistortionordither noisemodulation,whilehighersettingscompletelyeliminatethenonlineardistortionatthe expenseofaslightlyincreasednoisefloor.Ingeneral,theNormalditheramountisagood choice. AutoblankingThisoptioninstructsRXtocompletelymuteditheroutput(i.e.dithernoise) whentheinputsignaliscompletelysilent(0bitsofaudio). LimitingofnoisepeaksDithernoiseisrandominnatureandexhibitsverylowamplitude. However,afternoiseshaping,especiallyinaggressiveditheringmodes,thehighfrequency dithernoiseissignificantlyamplified,andtheoveralldithersignalcanshowspuriouspeaksup to60dBfs,(anabbreviationfordecibelamplitudelevelsindigitalsystemswhichhavea maximumavailablelevel).Ifsuchhighpeaksareundesirable,youcanenablethisoptionto effectivelysuppressthespuriouspeaksinthenoiseshapeddither.
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HarmonicssuppressionIfevenslightditheringnoiseisundesirable,simpletruncationremains theonlychoice.Truncationresultsinharmonicquantizationdistortionthataddsovertonesto thesignalanddistortsthetimbre.InthiscaseyoucanenableSuppressHarmonicsoptionto slightlyalterthetruncationrules,movingtheharmonicquantizationdistortionawayfrom overtonesofaudiblefrequencies.Thisoptiondoesn'tcreateanyrandomditheringnoisefloor. Insteaditworksmoreliketruncation,butwithbettertonalqualityintheresultingsignal.This optionisapplicableonlyinthemodeswithoutditheringnoiseandwithoutaggressivenoise shaping.
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iZotope 64-Bit SRC Panel (RX Advanced Only)

RX'sResamplemoduleallowsyoutoconvertanaudiofilefromonesampleratetoanother. SampleRateConversion(SRC)isanecessaryprocesswhenconvertingmaterialfromone samplingrate(suchasstudioquality192kHz)toanotherrate(suchasCDquality44.1kHz).Itis commontorecordandeditinhighsamplingratessincehigherratesallowhigherfrequenciesto berepresented.Forexample,a192kHzaudiosamplecanrepresentfrequenciesupto96kHz whereasa44.1kHzaudiosamplecanonlyrepresentfrequenciesupto22.05kHz. Whenreducingthesamplingrate,ordownsampling,itiscrucialtoremovethefrequenciesthat cannotberepresentedatthelowersamplingrate.Leavingfrequenciesabovethispointcauses aliasing.Notunlikequantization,aliasingcanbeheardasthefrequenciesinaninaudiblerange areshiftedintoanaudiblerangecausingdistortionandnoise.WithiZotopeSRC'suserscan completelyavoidthecommonaliasingartifactswhilemaintainingthemaximumfrequency content.
NewSamplingRateThissettingchoosesthesamplingrateyouwanttoconvertto.Choosea sampleratefromthedropdownlist,orclickonthefieldtotypeinanothersamplerate FiltersteepnessControlsthesteepnessoffiltercutoff.Steeperfiltersperformbetterin frequencydomain,i.e.passmoreinusefulrangeandsuppressaliasingbetter,butworseintime domain,i.e.havestrongerringing.Ringingofdigitalfiltersissmearingoftransientenergyin processedsignalsneartheNyquistfrequency.It'sdisputablewhetherthisaffectssoundquality atall,butsomesuggestthatexcessiveringingnegativelyaffectsstereoimagingandbass perception.That'swhyitmaybeimportantforsomeuserstodecidehowprecisetheyreally needtobeinfrequencydomainandhowmuchringingtheycantolerateinthetimedomain. CutoffshiftCutoffscalingshiftsthefiltercutofffrequencyupordowntofinetunethe frequencyresponseoftheresampler.Shiftingcutoffdownsuppressesmoreusefulpassband signals,butalsorejectsmorealiasingcomponentsinthestopband.It'spossibletoshiftthe cutofftocompletelysuppressanyaliasinginthestopband(byabout180dBormore).It's
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disputablewhetherasmallamountofaliasingneartheNyquistfrequencyisaudible,butsome experimentsbyBrunoPutzeyssuggestthatitcansignificantlyaffecttheresult.So,thiscontrol setsthetradeoffbetweenaliasingsuppressionandpassbandrange. PreringingsetstheratiobetweenpreringingandpostringingintheSRCfilterandcontrolsits phaseresponse.Whenpreringingis1,thefilterislinearphase,i.e.hasequalpreand postringing.Whenpreringingis0,thefilterisminimumphase,i.e.hasnopreringing(only postringing),anditsphaseresponseisnonlinearacrossallthefrequencyrange.Intermediate valuesofpreringingadjustsratiosofpreandpostringing,andalsolinearizethefilter'sphase responseinthepassbandasmuchaspossible.
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SUMMARY
ThankyouforreadingRestoringAudiowithiZotopeRX.Wehopethatthisguidehasgivenyou thebackgroundyouneedtosuccessfullyrestoreaudiowithavarietyofproblems.Nowthat youvereadtheguide,besuretodownloadouraudioexamplesandmoveontotheAppendix, whereyoullfinddescriptionsofhowtorepairrealworldaudioproblemsusingwhatyouvejust learnedfromtheGuide.
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About the Authors

InadditiontothehardworkofiZotopesdevelopment,QAandcontentdevelopmentteams,we alsowishtoextendourthankstoNatJohnsonwhosewriting,restorationexpertiseandaudio examplescontributedgreatlytothisguide.
Nat Johnson
WhilestillamusicstudentinBoston,NatJohnsonbeganacareerinradiobroadcastingand soundrecordingwhenhejoinedtheConcertNetworkasanannouncerandmusicprogrammer. Duringthisperiod,hewasofferedtheopportunitytorecordaseasonofliveperformancesfor SarahCaldwellsOperaCompanyofBoston.Soonthereafter,NatjoinedthestaffatWGBHTV andRadioandwasassignedtheunique,tripleroleofannouncer,producerandaudioengineer andwherehebecameengagedwiththerecordingandmixingofmultitrackrecordings, includingbroadcastsbytheBostonSymphonyandPopsOrchestras. WhileinEnglandproducinganalbumforWGBHattheBBCStudiosinLondon,Natreceivedan invitationfromRayDolbytotourDolbyLaboratoriesatClaphamandlater,asaproducerfor RCARecords,continuedhisassociationswithDolbyinNewYorkdevelopingProLogicsurround remasteringprojectsforCD.In1999,whilesupervisingclassicalandfilmmusicreissuesat BMG/RCA,JohnsoninitiatedauniqueaudiophileseriesofhighendCDsemployingWeiss24/96 A/DconvertersandSonicSolutionsHighDensityeditingsystem.In2000,Natwasnominated foraGrammyasProducerofthe94CDRubinsteinCollectionforBMG/RCA. In2004,Natfoundedhisowncompany,RockportRestorationStudiosinRockport, Massachusetts,specializingintherestorationandpreservationofearlysoundrecordings.At present,heisheadingaprojecttorestoreallknownextantrecordingscontainingthespeeches andWhiteHouseconversationsofPresidentFranklinD.Roosevelt.
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Appendix: Repairing the Included Audio Files
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Example1:RemovingBroadbandNoisefromaConcertRecording
DETAILS: PlayerorganrecordinginBoston:VierneOrganSymphonyNo.1Allegro(STEREO).Originallyrecordedon Ampex440B,analoguetape,nonoisereductionusedatsession. COMMENTS: Theprincipalproblemwasasteady,lowlevelbackgroundnoiseresemblingtapehiss.Thechallengewasto reducethenoisewithoutsacrificingupperregisterharmonicsduringquietpassagesinthemusic.Thus,the settingsinDenoiser(particularlythreshold)Iusedwereconservative.Nat TIP:Zoomingintoselectedquietpassageswiththespectrogram,examiningthewaveformandcheckingyour programaurallywhilecomparingagainsttheoriginalcanbeacheckthatyourprogrammaterialisntbeing compromisedduringprocessing.Foraneasycomparison,IdrecommendopeningtwoinstancesofRX simultaneouslyonewiththeoriginalaudioandonewithyourprocessedversion.TIP:Leavingalittlenoise behindispreferabletohearingnobackgroundsoundatall! GOALS: TrainRXsDenoiserusingasampleofjustnoise.ThenuseDenoisertoreducebackgroundhissand lowlevelhum. Trynottodamagethemusicalqualityoftheperformancesometimesleavingsomenoisebehindis betterthantakingthelifeoutoftherecording!YoumaywanttobeconservativewiththeNoise suppressioncontrols,andturntheSmoothingorMusicalNoiseReductioncontrolsuptoprevent artifacts.
TrainDenoiserwiththejustnoisesignalpresentbeforetheorganstartsplaying
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BeforeandAfternoisereduction
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Example 2: Using Denoiser and EQ on a Shellac Recording of Spoken Word

DETAILS: ThisexamplecomesfromEugeneField'spoem"Departure,readbyGeorgeBroderick.Thefirstnumbered recordofEldridgeR.Johnson'sConsolidatedTalkingMachineCompany,thediscwasassignedcatalognumber A1.RecordedNovember1900,take3.Originalwasa7shellactransferreddirectlyfrommuseumcopy. (MONO)
COMMENTS: Thisveryearlydisc,manufacturedwithprimitiveshellacpressingmaterial,wasintolerablynoisyanduntilRX Denoiserbecameavailable,therewasnoknownwaytoreducethisdegreeofoverwhelmingbackground interferencewithoutlosingsomeofthevoiceaswell.Iusedathresholdofonly4.6onDenoiserwhichwas sufficienttodrivedownthebackgroundgrungeandliftupthevoice.PreviewandOutputNoiseOnlyweremost usefultoolsduringmyexperimentationwithdifferentsettings.NatJohnson BackgroundinformationontherecordingplustheentireRXrestorationcanbefoundonlineat http://www.gracyk.com/johnson.shtml. GOALS: UseDenoisertogetridoftheheavybackgroundnoise.Trytoimprovetheintelligibilityofthevoice withoutobscuringthepoemwithnoisereductionartifacts. UsingRXsEQwillgetridofthehighfrequencydistortionwithoutdamagingthevoiceinthe recording.Usingalowpassfilterthatcutseverythingaboveabout4,000Hzwilldonicely.
The Spectrogram Display before and after Denoiser and EQ are applied
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Example3:RestoringanHistoricalSpeech:MakingVoiceMoreIntelligible
DETAILS: ThisfilecontainsthevoiceoffamedphilanthropistAndrewCarnegie,recordedIn1914(Internetsource) (MONO) COMMENTS: Someofthewordsinthisspeech,recordedbyCarnegiein1914,aresomewhatdifficulttodecipherowingtoa pronouncedScottishburr,madeevenmoremuffledbysomeonesrudimentaryattemptatnoisereduction.In addition,therewassteadystatebackgroundnoise.IbeganwithRXEQtoraisethevoiceoutofthemudusinga slightboostroughlybetween1Kand9KandthenranDenoiser.IlefttheEQcompensationinfollowing Denoisingasthisleftthespeechabitclearer.NatJohnson GOALS: Usegentlelinearphaseequalizationtoliftthevoiceoutofthebackgroundnoise. UseRXDenoisertoreducesteadystatebackgroundnoise
Using a tag-team approach of EQ and Denoiser can make buried dialog much more intelligible
Example4:CleaningupaPhoneInterviewwithSpectralRepair
DETAILS:
InterviewwithFrancisFordCoppola,recordeddirectlytoDATfromphonepatch(MONO) COMMENTS: Theseproblemswerecausedmainlybymechanicalcontactwiththetelephonehandset.Priortothe developmentofRXSpectralRepair,therewasnotrulysuccessfulmethodofremovinglongnoises(longerthan 10msorso)fromontopofprogramsignalwithoutcorruptingdesiredcontent.TheRXSpectralRepairmodules, alongwiththeRXspectrogramandzoomcontrols,allowedextremelypreciseisolationofeachproblem.By accurateremoval(orreduction)ofthedisturbancefollowedbyinterpolation,spectralrepairwasabletofix nearlyeverydisturbanceinthisinterview. Forinstance,at11.62secondsintothesuppliedCoppolaexamplewherehespeaksthewordsmotionpicture business,thereisaloudclick.Becausetheclickisover4000samples,Declickerwontworkineither automaticormanualmode.Instead,thenoisewassuccessfullyremovedbyusingSpectralRepairusing Replace.NatJohnson SUMMARY: UsingRXSpectralRepairsReplaceandAttenuatemodes,removephonehandsetnoisefromthe interview. UsingReplacemode,getridofhandsetnoises. Useattenuatetoremovelowfrequencythumpsleftbehind.
Each of the phone handset noises is comprised of a vertical spike and a horizontal thump
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Removing the vertical spikes with Replace mode still leaves a thump
A quick pass with Attenuate mode gets rid of the low frequency sound

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Example5:RemovingClicksandPopsfromaConcertonRecord
DETAILS: KingsCollegeChoir,Cambridge,England.Source:331/3RPMLP(1965recording,STEREO) COMMENTS: IfoundthislongsoughtafterdiscinasecondhandrecordshopandwantedtotransferittoCD.Fortunately, theonlyproblemsweencounteredweremostlylightvinylclicksandheavyroomambiencefrominsidethe massivechapelatCambridgeUniversity.DeclickerwasemployedusingtheautomaticfunctionusingHigh QualityDeclickerandoneortwospotsinthemanualmode.Generally,IrecommendusingHighQuality Declickerwheneverpossible.TherumblingroomtonewasreducedbyDenoiser,againusingathresholdof 0.0.NatJohnson GOALS: UseRXDeclickerinautomaticandmanualmodestoremoveclicksandpops UseRXDenoisertoremovebackgroundnoise.Trytoretainthemusicalcharacterofthe performancewhileremovingasmuchoftheoffendingnoiseaspossible
TherecordingbeforerunningAutomaticDeclicker
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Clicks(verticallines)arenowcompletelyrepaired
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Example6:RemovingClippingfromaPhoneInterview
DETAILS: ThisphoneinterviewforaniZotopePodcastwithproducerMorganPagewasrecordedwithphoneline breakoutboxandUSBaudiointerface. COMMENTS: Thisisaclassicexampleofinputgainbeingsettoohighresultinginnastyclipping.Inthisexamplethedistorted sectionscanbeclearlyheard,butlookingatthemwiththeSpectrogramDisplayandWaveformoverlayshows themevenmoreclearly. BeginbyselectingasectionofclippedaudiothenhittingComputebelowDeclippersHistogramDisplay.This helpsyouseewheretheclippingisoccurring.SettheThresholdcontrolsothattheredlineisbelowtheclipping intheHistogram(clippingwillappearasahorizontalline,usuallywithnoinformationaboveitinthedisplay). Hitapplytoseetheresult. GOALS: UseRXDeclickerinautomaticandmanualmodestoremoveclicksandpops UseRXDenoisertoremovebackgroundnoise.Trytoretainthecharacterofthevoicewhile removingasmuchoftheoffendingnoiseaspossible.
AnalyzeaclippedareawiththeComputebuttonandHistogramwindow
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AfterrunningDeclipper,Waveformsshowamorenaturalshapeandharmonicdistortiondisappears
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Example7:RemovingGuitarStringSqueakswithSpectralRepair
DETAILS: ThisrecordingbyguitaristJamieRobertsoncontainsafewloudsqueakstheresultofslidingoneshandup anddownthefretboardquickly. COMMENTS: Insituationslikethis,itsalwaysajudgementcall.Shouldyouremoveallminorblemishesifyourtoolsallow youto?Orshouldyouleavethingslikethesesqueaksinthefinalproducttokeeptherecordingscharacter intact?Sometimesremovingonlythemostoffendingeventsisthebesttactic,butwellletyoudecidehowfar togo! IdentifythesqueaksusingtheSpectrogramDisplay.UsingReplaceModeinSpectralRepair,selectthesqueaks carefullyandapplytheprocess.HINT:Becausethesesqueaksoftenoccurrightbeforeanewchordornoteis played,youmaywanttosettheBefore/Afterweightingcontrolallthewaytotheleft.Thiswillensurethatthe repairismadeusingsustainedmaterialfromtheearlierchordonly. GOALS: UseRXSpectralRepairsReplacemodetoreplacesqueakswithnaturalguitarsustain. UseBefore/AfterWeightingtousesustainedmaterialfromthepreviouschordsonlywhen makingarepair. Aimforarealisticresultthatwillnotsoundunnaturaltothelistener.
Stringsqueakselected
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Stringsqueakinterpolatedusingmaterialfrombeforetheevent
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Example8:FillingaGapinAudiowithSpectralRepair
DETAILS: Thisisasweepingsquarewavewitha.2secondsectionofmissingaudio. COMMENTS: RXsSpectralRepairhasamodecalledPartials+Noisewhichissuitedtofixingsectionsofmissingaudiolike thisonethathavechangesinpitch.ThisextremeexampledemonstrateshowRXcanresynthesizemissing sectionsofaudio,includingharmonicsaboveanote. GOALS: UseRXSpectralRepairsPartials+Noisemodetofillthegap Trytocreatethemostnaturalsoundingrepairpossiblewhenthesettingsarecorrect,thereplaced audioshouldbeaudiblyperfect Experimentwiththeareayouselectthiscanmakeabigdifferenceintheresultsoftheprocessing
SelectthegapanduseSpectralRepairsPartials+Noisemode
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Whensettingsareappliedcorrectly,SpectralRepairwillfillthegapconvincingly
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Izotope RX Restoration Guide V 1

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Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

iZotope with Nat Johnson

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Intended Audience for This Guide

Try It For Yourself!

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

WHAT IS AUDIO RESTORATION?

What are the Goals of Good Audio Restoration?

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

WHAT IS IZOTOPE RX?

What can RX do?

Where can I use RX?

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

GETTING SET UP TO RESTORE AUDIO

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Transferring media to the computer

Recording from analog formats

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

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SUGGESTIONS FOR THE RESTORATION PROCESS

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

HOW TO IDENTIFY AUDIO PROBLEMS

Using the Spectrogram and Waveform Display

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

frequencies.Forexample,wecaneasilyseeherethatthesinewaveisthesameloudnessforthe entiredurationofthefile.However,wecanttellmuchabouthowthepitchorfrequency changesovertime.NowletslookatthesamefileinRXsspectrogramdisplay:

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

How to Spot Audio Problems

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

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Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Becausenoiseslikethisareoftenunpredictable,theyusuallyneedtoberemovedmanually. RX'sSpectralRepairtoolprovidesanumberofdifferentmodesthatallowyoutoselectand removeintermittentnoisesandreplacethemwithresynthesizedcontentbasedonthe surroundingaudio.

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

GapsandDropOuts Sometimesarecordingmayincludeshortsectionsofmissingorcorruptedaudio.Theseare usuallyveryobvioustoboththeeyeandtheear!Seebelow:

RX'sSpectralRepaircanbeusedtoresynthesizegapsinaudio,sometimesofuptoahalfsecond longormore,byusinginformationaroundthegaptofillinthemissinginformationusing patternsandadvancedresynthesis.

Changing Spectrogram Settings

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX

2008 iZotope, Inc.

Restoring Audio with iZotope RX