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TASCAM TA-1VP 13
What is a De-Esser?
When recording spoken or sung material, the sibilants
(Ss, Ts, CHs, and SHs) in the track often sound louder than
the rest of the signal. The effect is unnatural and often
irritating. The solution to this problem is to compress
only the sibilants, thereby lowering their level relative to
the rest of the track. Processing a signal this way is called
de-essing.
The diagram below shows how analog hardware is
traditionally configured to accomplish de-essing.
COMPRESSOR
IN
IN OUT
OUT
SIDECHAIN
INPUT
HIGH
PASS
FILTER
Only the sibilants pass through the highpass filter. When
the input signal contains sibilant material, the output of
the filter causes the compressor to compress the signal.
The compressor only operates when a sibilant is present.
The TA-1VP uses a digital algorithm to implement the de-
esser function. While the details of the algorithm are quite
complex, the resulting effect is functionally equivalent to
the diagram above.
Equalization
The TA-1VP’s two bands of equalization each offer seven
different filter types: Low Pass (6 dB/octave and 12 dB/
octave), Low Shelf, Band Pass, Notch, Peaking, High Shelf,
and High Pass (6 dB/octave and 12 dB/octave). Each
filter type has its own characteristics and applications.
The graphs used in the next section show the frequency
response for each type with the settings used to generate
the curves notated next to the graph.
Low Pass - High Pass Filters
The low pass and high pass filters available in the TA-1VP
offer both a 6 dB per octave and a 12 dB per octave roll-
off characteristic. The 6 dB per octave versions offer a
more subtle effect, while the 12 dB per octave roll-off is
useful for attenuating sub-sonic noise, rumble, mic stand
noise, high frequency hiss, and other environmental
noises encountered in the recording process. Additionally,
the 12 dB per octave versions provide a “Q” control that
allows you to create a variable height peak at the cut-off
frequency.
LOG
MAGNITUDE
(dB)
FREQUENCY
50
-18
-12
-6
0
6
100 300 1000 3000 10000 22050
LP
LOW PASS FILTER
Frequency: 1,000 Hz
Gain: N/A
Bandwidth: N/A
LOG
MAGNITUDE
(dB)
FREQUENCY
50
-18
-12
-6
0
6
100 300 1000 3000 10000 22050
HP
HIGH PASS FILTER
Frequency: 1,000 Hz
Gain: N/A
Bandwidth: N/A
2 – Introducing the TASCAM TA-1VP Vocal Producer