Popping in Audio After Noise Gate

Report · Nov 06, 2019

I am starting to use noise gates in my podcast interviews. I usually take a quiet section at the beginning of the interview, then do Amplitude Statistics to see where the noise levels are. Then I apply a noise gate using the dbs around the peak amplitude, and then I adjust as needed to make it sound a little better.

The attack is set to 1ms, and the hold is set to 1ms. Release is 100ms.

I will get random "popping" in the silent areas of the track, and I am assuming it is something like bumping the table, or a mouse click, or something. But it makes a significant pop sound. Are there better ways to apply the settings so you don't get these types of pops?

Also the person talking sometimes you can here the noise gate click on and off in between words. How do you make that stop? (It is like the noise gate goes on, then off, then on, then off).

Thanks for any help!

Report · Nov 06, 2019

I'd try the Dynamics Processor version rather than the Dynamics one - it's way more flexible and can probably get around your click problem, because it has a look-ahead function. If you still want to use the simple one, then try increasing the Hold setting - that might get around some of the issues between words, but I don't hold out a lot of hope. But, that is what a gate does - turns on and off at the rates you set. Also increasing the attack time might make it less noisy whilst still catching what you want it to. Like all audio effects though, you have to experiment - all audio is different.

Personally I don't use gates unless I'm absolutely forced to. I'd rather get it right at source, or use Noise Reduction to reduce the background - this sounds way more natural than a gate ever can.

Report · Nov 06, 2019

Ususally it is my guest's audio that I am trying to fix since they are usually remote interviews.

So I was using Noise Reduction until a couple weeks ago when I started doing it this way. I would capture the noise of the quiet part, and then reduce it from the entire clip. However, sometimes there is audio bleed from the headphones into their microphone, so you can slightly hear myself talking in their audio. Would you capture a noise print of the bleed as well and would that remove it?

I'll have to play with the Dynamics Processing one, I am not that familiar with a lot of the settings and trying to understand the curve, so might take me awhile to figure it out.

Report · Nov 06, 2019

NR will only remove static noise, not dynamic - which means it won't get rid of your bleed, I'm afraid.