4 Ways To Remove Noise From Your Recordings (Noise Reduction)

When you record vocalsa vlogor a podcast in a less-than-ideal conditionyou are bound to get some noise from your equipment and room. This article explains the best free and paid methods to remove background noise from an audio recording.

Noise Reduction Guide: Removing Background Noise From An Audio Recording in FL Studio & Reaper

Depending on the kind of noise you are looking to reduceyou can select from one of the following noise reduction methods. Most methods have more than one way to achieve the effect. Sowe will provide a free and paid alternative. Let’s get right into it.

First Method

This method focuses on humming that is generally not affecting your audio. Hencewe will be using an EQ to remove parts of the frequency spectrum affected by the noise. We will be using FL Studio and OcenAudio for demonstration.

You can download OcenAudio here.

• • Step 1
    Use a frequency analyzer (some EQs have built-in analyzers) to identify the problematic frequency. Simply playback the recorded audio looping over an empty part where you aren’t speaking/playingand note the analyzer. The peaking (tall) part is the hum; sonote that the frequency (labeled at the bottom of the graphs below) is close to 100 Hz.

    

    

  • Step 2
    The easiest way to get rid of such a humming is to EQ it out. You can do so only when the frequency doesn’t overlap with your voice/instrument. Add an EQ band over the peaking frequency (95 Hz in our example)and set its shape to a notch filter. You can also use a peak filter to reduce the gain if you aren’t looking for an extreme result.

    

    

  • Step 3
    Confirm what you are removing is the hum alone. Adjusting the Q factor orin OcenAudio’s casethe Passband limits will allow you to narrow down the filter precisely over the hum only. Doing so avoids artifacts over the rest of the frequency spectrum.

Second Method

When the noise is complex and spread throughout the frequency spectrumyou cannot isolate it using a simple EQ. Sothis method uses an automated process called Noise Reductionwhich can remove even the noise over your vocals/instruments. Thereforeit is the most universally effective method on our list.

Unfortunatelyan extreme amount of noise reduction will introduce artifacts in your audio. Soyou’re better off limiting its usage over short parts of the audio. A point worth noting is that some software products are better at noise reduction than others. For exampleneither FL Studio nor OcenAudio can provide you the level of flexibility that much more expensive software like Izotope RX-8 does.

• Step 1
  Make sure your audio editing software supports noise reduction. Do an online search for “noise reduction your_audio_editor” and see if you can find a mention of “noise profiles,” “noise reduction,” or “denoiser” feature anywhere. The following audio editors provide this feature:
  • FL Studio’s Edison
  • OcenAudio (free)
  • Audacity (free)
  • REAPER
  • Steinberg WaveLab
  • Magix Sound Forge

Since we cannot focus on every audio editorwe will use FL Studio and OcenAudio alone. Howeveralmost all software uses similar terminologiesso you should be able to follow the steps reasonably easily.

• Step 2
  For the denoiser to workit needs to “listen” to the noise and create a noise profile. Soselect a part of the audio where there is only noise (no voice/instrument)then click on “Get Noise Profile” or something very similar.

  

  

• Step 3
  Finallyyou can go ahead and adjust any settings available. For examplethe FFT Size in OcenAudio adjusts how fine-grained the noise profiler is (bigger number equals better quality). Thenapply the noise reduction.

  

  

Third Method

Our third method is manual spectral editing. Nowspectral editing is the same technology that our previous method uses. The difference is that we will be manually editing out the noise instead of letting the software detect the noise and automatically edit the audio.

Spectral editing means any sort of editing that is done to a specific range of frequencies. If you are familiar with multi-band compressorsthen you are already aware of it. For our editingwe will be using a software called ReaFIRwhich is available for free.

This method uses the analysis step from Method 1so make sure you have read it already.

• Step 1
  Analyze the noise using an FFT Analyzer to determine the exact frequency of the noise (Step 1 in Method 1).
• Step 2
  Load ReaFIR in your audio track if you are using a DAW. And if you are using an audio editor like OcenAudiofind ReaFIR under the Effects>VST menu.
• Step 3
  In ReaFIRset up the parameters as follows:
  Mode: Subtract
  FFT Size: As high as your CPU can handle.

  

• Step 4
  You will notice a horizontal on the graph in ReaFIR. Only the sounds above this line will pass through ReaFIR. Soright nowyou will hear nothing. Hold Ctrl on your keyboard and drag down with your mouse to bring the line to the bottom.

  

• Step 5
  Create a peak precisely in the area where the noise is (according to the frequency analyzer from Step 1). Make the peak high enough to reduce the noise but not so high that it reduces your voice/instrument as well. You’ll have to make a few tries to get it right.

  

   

You can also use a dedicated spectral editing tool such as REAPER or Steinberg SpectraLayers 7 to achieve even better results. Howevernote that these programs have a relatively steep learning curve.

Fourth Method

Here is our final methodwhere we will be using a gate to eliminate all the sounds below a certain threshold. This method is only applicable when the noise is in-between your voice in your audio recording.

• Step 1
  If you are using a DAWplace a gate in the first place of your effect chain. And if you are using an audio editor like OcenAudiofind Gate/Noise Gate under the Effects menu.

  

  

• Step 2
  Adjust the threshold so that only the noise is affected while the rest of the audio remains playing. You can also adjust the attack and release to make the transition smoother. The attack controls how quickly the gate appliesand the release controls how quickly the gate stops working.
• Step 3
  If you are using an audio editor, click on Apply. And if you are using a DAWyou can either render the audio out or let the gate plugin work in real-time.

How To Use Noise Reduction In Audacity?

Audacity has a built-in effect plugin that denoises automatically based on a noise profile analysis. Select a part of the audio with the noiseopen the Noise Reduction effectand click on Get Noise Profile. Nextselect the area where you want the noise reducedreopen and apply the Noise Reduction effect.

As a lot of people are using Audacity as their primary audio editing softwarehere is a step by step guide showing the Method 3 process in Audacity:

• Step 1
  Select a part of the audio with the noise. Go to Effects and find Noise Reduction.
  
• Step 2
  In the Noise Reduction windowclick on Get Noise Profile. The effect plugin will analyze the selected area and recognize it as noise. As soon as you click on the buttonthe window will disappear; this is normal.
  
• Step 3
  Select the area from where you want the noise eliminated. Typicallythis area is over your vocals/instrument. Thenreopen the Noise Reduction effect plugin.
  
• Step 4
  Adjust the various settings. You will generally want a high amount of noise reduction (upward of 10 dB) and keep the sensitivity around 5. Use the Smoothing feature if your audio has audible artifacts after noise reduction. Before you hit OKmake sure to use the Preview button to listen to how it sounds first. And the Residue button allows you to listen to what has been reduced from your audio (the noise). It’s handy to listen to how much of your voice/instrument is being affected.
  

Tips For Noise Prevention

While having multiple methods of removing background noise is excellentit’s a good idea to know how to avoid it in the first place. The reason is that noise reduction always comes with artifacts; you will change the fundamental sound of your voice/instrument along with the noise itself.

Sohere are six tips for you to help prevent noise early on:

• Recording Equipment
  Consider purchasing a decent microphone and audio interface to improve your recording quality. You can also buy a budget USB microphone or a portable audio recorder like the Zoom H1nboth of which are much better than a phone/laptop mic. Their prices range around $100 and above.
• Microphone Gadgets
  Depending on your recording circumstancesvarious gadgets can help you reduce background noise. For examplea fleece windshield is handy when you are recording outside. Similarlya pop filter eliminates plosives when you say p or b. And a shock mount will reduce vibrations when you touch the mic stand or your table.
• Grounding
  A grounding system adds a low impedance connection to the earth so that rogue electric charges can travel into the ground and not harm you or your gadgets. While most countries have mandatory grounding systemssome countries don’t. Soif you live in a house without a grounding systemendeavor to have one for safety and noise reduction. Here’s an article explaining the concept of grounding.
• Cables
  When you are recordinguse balanced cables to connect your mic to your audio interface or PC. Balanced cables provide protection against electromagnetic interference and audio loss. Sothey are also helpful when you need a longer cable. The only downside is that they can be relatively more expensive.
• Room Treatment
  The acoustic treatment eliminates the reverb and echoes in your roomwhich adds clarity to your recordings. While professional treatment is often costlyyou can combine wooden furniturecarpetsmattressesand acoustic foam for decent results on a budget. You can also build acoustic panels using Rockwool if you are into DIY projects.
• Quieter Appliances
  Sometimesessential appliances like the fan or even a PC create a lot of background noise. The easiest way to reduce ambient noise is by opting for quieter appliances—for examplea bladeless fan for your room and a quieter cooling system for your computer. And if you have the budget for itreplacing your hard drives with SSDs is ideal.

What Is Background Noise?

Background noise is anything you hear in your audio recording other than your voice or instrument. Most commonlyyou will find a hissing noise in your recordings caused by recording equipment. Other timesit could be the sound of your room’s air conditioner or your neighbor.

What Types Of Noise Are There?

In general, there are internal and external noises. Depending on the noise sourceyou will notice a different kind of soundand each requires a different type of treatment. You can prevent some of them fairly easilywhereas others require you to buy equipment and so on.

Furthermorein our articlewe have several methods for noise reduction. Henceeach of the types of background noise described below will comment on whether you can fix it during editing. And if yeswe will also mention which of our techniques will be the most appropriate for it.

Internal Noise

Internal noise is the noise caused by your recording equipment or power supplies. These often last throughout the entire audio recordingbut there are cases when they also disappear over time. We will be delving into the various kinds of the internal noise in this section:

• Mic Noise
  Reduction: Method 2
  The hissing noise caused by mics is probably the most common issue with audio recordings. There is no permanent cure for this type of noise other than replacing your mic. Howeverthe noise reduction methods we will cover in this article can help you with this problem.
  

  The audio demonstrates a condenser mic’s self-noise in an isolation chamber.

• Audio Interface/Chip Noise
  Reduction: Method 2
  Albeit less common than mic noiseboth share very similar characteristics: hiss. Simply disconnect your microphone and hit record; if you hear the hissall the sameyou have a poor audio interface. As with mic noisenoise reduction will help.
• Electromagnetic Interference
  Reduction: Method 4
  We live in a world full of electromagnetic waves emitted by phonesWi-Filighting circuitsand Bluetooth devices. They create a particular kind of noise that distorts the audio signal and sounds like gated synths. Unfortunatelyit’s pretty much impossible to fix it while editingother than by chopping off the damaged parts.
  

  The audio demonstrates audio being disrupted by radio signals.

• Electrical Hum
  Reduction: Method 1
  Some electrical components add audio humming in your recordings caused by an electrical power supply. Generallyif some part of the A/C enters a D/C circuityou will hear a low-frequency hummingwhich is solved by adding a grounding connection. These can be eliminated in editing as well.
  

  The audio demonstrates a humming caused by the lack of a grounding system.

External Noise

External noise (or ambient noise) involves real-world noise that gets picked up by the microphone. Oftenthese appear in short bursts and disappear. Of coursenoise caused by an ACfor examplelasts throughout the recording. Let’s talk about the various kinds of external noise:

• Wind
  Reduction: Method 4
  If you are recording outsidethe wind can be pretty loud. You will want to invest in a windshield (or windscreen) to solve this problem. Unfortunatelythere isn’t much you can do during editing to eliminate wind noise.
  

  The audio demonstrates the sound of wind recorded without a windshield.

• Room Appliances
  Reduction: Method 1 & 2
  A hum from an air conditionerfanor PC is a common issue in recording indoors. Of courseturning off the appliances is the ideal solutionbut you cannot turn off some devices like the computer itself during recordings. These can be reduced using our editing methods.
• Others
  Reduction: Method 3 & 4
  There are several other kinds of noises like sounds from your neighbormachinerymechanical noise from your setupand so on. They produce short noises that may or may not be mixed with your voice or instrument. If mixeduse Method 3whereas Method 4 is for the noise that hasn’t mixed with your voice/instrument.

Conclusion

While recording audioyou will encounter many kinds of background noise and artifacts in your recordings. However, knowing the various methods of noise reduction can help you solve each with ease. If you are only starting to record audiowe suggest learning to prevent noise early on.

Similarlyanother useful skill is masking noise. Let’s say you are recording guitars for a hard rock songand you notice a hiss. Howeverthe chances are that the hiss won’t even be noticeable in a full mix. Furtheryou can use EQs to make noise even less apparent.

Of courseif you wish to look into more advanced noise reduction solutionsplenty of software products are available. iZotope RX8 and Acon Digital Audio Restoration Suite 2 provide the most comprehensive audio repair solutions. And Klevgrand Brusfri is another simpler denoiser that offers outstanding results.

That isn’t to say that free tools or stock plugins are poorthough; they often provide results exceeding expectations. Soeven if you are a professional recordistmake sure you give them a try.

And that brings us to the end of our article. We hope this guide has been helpful for you to achieve a cleaner audio recording.

Integraudio

Integraudio is a audio-focused blog that explores everything from VST plugins and studio hardware to practical guidestipsand tutorials on SpotifyAirPodspodcastingDiscordand beyond.