any way to take out exploding P's from vocals?

[-J-]

I recorded vocals for a new song of mine last weekend and it had more P's than a bag of mixed vegetables [note to self: don't write vocal lines with words that start with P]. Every other one is like an explosion. I was kinda in a hurry and tried to re-record the really bad ones I could at the time, but time was short. Any way to fix it after the fact? I'm guessing no. Maybe I could cut and past a good line over a bad one since it is happening during the chorus mainly and I did nail a few.

I only had that one day to yell my head off cause now my wife and kids are back in the house. :Smug: Too bad you can't direct record vocals quietly, huh!

 

[Aaron Smith]

I'm actually not sure how easy it is to remove plosives after the fact...you can definitely somewhat help it with EQ, but I'm thinking that you may actually get some alright results using multiband compression in the same way that you would use it to remove the boominess from palm mutes on a guitar track. Play around with it! Just make sure the compressor only clamps down when a plosive happens.

Ideally, the way to fix plosives is to use proper microphone technique, so as to avoid them in the first place. A pop filter helps a lot, as well as turning the mic a little bit off-axis from your mouth, so the wind isn't directly hitting the capsule.

 

[Ben Johnson]

You have to redo them. Sorry.

 

[colonel kurtz]

a de-esser may help some...that being said, a de-esser is basically a frequency-specific compressor, so the previous suggestion of using a multiband comp might do the trick

if that doesn't fix it, nothing will

 

[Brett - K A L I S I A]

Multiband compression

 

[smy1]

On the really nasty ones you can manually reduce the gain on the waveform.

Select the part of the wave that is the plosive and go to process>gain and set it to minus-whatever. This is how it works in cubase, but every DAW has a similar function. Helps me a lot with plosives and breathing ...

 

[Fredrik-Ablaze]

sing through a pencil into the microphone or use a popshield

 

[-J-]

cool tips - thanks to all.

 

[fatalforce]

I was editing some of my friends spoken word yesterday. This was done on a dynamic mic with no pop filter. The bs, ps, and even the ws were so bad. I used a shelving EQ at each part around 100-300hz depending on the severity. I tried to find a good balance of what sounded good and what didnt sound too filtered. I then sent the track to a simple de-esser and a waves c4 (I loaded the vocal preset and fiddled with it alittle). Best way to do this is keep messing with things till it sounds good. I had about 300 EQ edits in a 3 minute song. Best of luck.

 

[derfbonker]

I actually read an article about this a while back. One way it to automate a quick volume where each of the pops are. This along with some EQ or multiband comp like the others suggested would probably help alot. In the same article the author also suggested that you can draw the offending pops out with the pencil tool. I can't go into much detail, as I do not remember the article well, but I remember thinking that it was a cool approach to the problem.

 

[-J-]

more for my files, thanks.

 

[crosstalk]

On the really nasty ones you can manually reduce the gain on the waveform.

Select the part of the wave that is the plosive and go to process>gain and set it to minus-whatever. This is how it works in cubase, but every DAW has a similar function. Helps me a lot with plosives and breathing ...

I've had to do that before. I always use a pop screen though. Good $20 headache reliever. I suggest picking one up if you don't have one or making your own, and rescream your head off when you get a chance.

 

[Executioner213]

Short of redoing them, I've fixed stuff by manually reducing the gain and doing short bursts of eq on the offending spot to reduce plosives. Don't expect a 'set and forget' cure, you'll be fucking with it for hours.

 

[greyskull]

ouch...
not fun.
I'd Multiband it, redo it and replace the letter P with b...
Much softer sound.
wierd i Know; but it works

 

[slashvanyoung]

ouch...
not fun.
I'd Multiband it, redo it and replace the letter P with b...
Much softer sound.
wierd i Know; but it works

Beace through bower!

 

[Sloan]

Yesterday I was experimenting with gating vocals and you may be able to kill some of it with a slower attack on a gate. It might take a lot of time to get it right, but it might worth trying.

 

["Evil" Aidy]

Pair of tights pulled over a bent coat hanger = good cheap DIY pop shield...



It might help out when trying to avoid "plosives"?

 

[AudioGeekZine]

[quote="Evil" Aidy;7056822]Pair of tights pulled over a bent coat hanger = good cheap DIY pop shield...



It might help out when trying to avoid "plosives"?[/quote]

Better to put the tights over the singer's head.

 

[Skaldir]

I recorded vocals for a new song of mine last weekend and it had more P's than a bag of mixed vegetables [note to self: don't write vocal lines with words that start with P]. Every other one is like an explosion. I was kinda in a hurry and tried to re-record the really bad ones I could at the time, but time was short. Any way to fix it after the fact? I'm guessing no. Maybe I could cut and past a good line over a bad one since it is happening during the chorus mainly and I did nail a few.

I only had that one day to yell my head off cause now my wife and kids are back in the house. :Smug: Too bad you can't direct record vocals quietly, huh!

You can cut that part and eq 50 hz (or where it lies) out. Will be a lot better

 

[ahjteam]

Better to put the tights over the singer's head.

And let him do the shopping with it on?




...and yes, I recommend re-recording with pantyhoses as popfilter (preferrably used with some odour still left for more DIY-groove and quicker results)