New Term

I learned a new term today. The word is sibilance, which refers to the unnaturally loud frequencies that appear on a recording when a vocalist sings certain consonant sounds. The most pronounced are the s-sounds and the p-pops, but t-sounds, k-sounds, sh-sounds, and others can pose similar decibel spikes.

As I let iTunes cycle through the Redline Project's completed tracks, certain problematic patterns have begun to emerge. Sharp consonant sounds abound in the recordings, even though I have always positioned a pop filter between my mouth and the microphones when singing.

Logic Pro ships with a plug-in called a De-esser, a little piece of software that purports to remove the troubled frequencies. One small problem: it fails to work. Initially, I assumed its yield was unsatisfactory due to incompetent user error. However, a Google search revealed that scores of other recordists have experienced similar woes.

What then is the antidote to this perplexing aural enigma? YouTube to the rescue...

I located a useful video tutorial that outlines the process of using a condenser plug-in to remove unwanted sibilance. A few clicks and loud hissy consonants seem to melt into a natural sonic spectrum. Looks like the old adage of, 'You learn something new every day,' applies to this one. Your ears will unknowingly thank me for unearthing this discovery.