So in most cases, you’ll want to use a plugin designed explicitly to de-ess. Again, just like the gate, you want to do this early on in the processing chain to avoid amplifying these harsh frequencies even further.ĭe-essing can be done with a standard compressor, but to mix vocals it’s usually not as effective. Most gate plugins visualize this process nicely, making it even easier to dial in the correct values.Ī de-esser is a type of compressor specifically designed to reduce sibilance, which are the harsh “S” and “T” sounds that can often be overbearing in a vocal track.

So if your vocal sits nicely at -12dB and some low background noise at -48dB, then you can probably set the gate to anywhere between -20 to -30dB. Whatever dB level you set the threshold to, the gate will let everything above it play and cut out everything below it. With most gate plugins, all you need to do is adjust the threshold. Otherwise, effects like saturation and compression can intensify background noise and make it harder to remove down the line.Ī gate can look intimidating but is actually very easy to use. In our guide, the gate is the first processing plugin in our chain since you want to remove unwanted background noise immediately.

However, using a gate is often easier and will save you time when you mix vocals. Some like to do this manually for maximum control by cutting out all the parts in the audio track where the vocal is not present.

A gate plugin is an excellent tool for reducing the amount of background noise in your vocal track.

Fl studio vocal chain