DeBess
TL;DW: DeBess is an improved DeEss, with perfect rejection of non-ess audio.
This should be fun! Sometimes it’s worth keeping a weird codger like me around ;) meet DeBess.
Named because, for some of you at least, it is at last The Best De Ess. Period. Ever.
…assuming certain conditions.
DeBess is an extension of my former DeEss, which itself was the high point of several earlier attempts at a special de-esser with an unusual algorithm for finding specifically ess content and rejecting anything else in that frequency range, no matter how many overtones it had. DeEss used a set of sample comparisons to try and find esses, and was very successful at this… except some folks had trouble getting it to engage, and others needed it to be more perfect at rejecting even the faintest softening of other content.
DeBess does this by extending the sample comparison window a LOT. In fact, it’s now a slider! You can set it to be even blurrier than DeEss if you like… or barely crack it open to replicate the original DeEss… or crank it up for high isolation de-essing. If you are recording on prosumer equipment or using moving-coil microphones, you might not get enough change between samples to engage DeBess. Same if you’re using high sample rates and your mics do NOT extend right up as far as the sampling lets you: DeBess is not for taking stage mics and making them lisp. It is very distinctly for taking the most high-end of vocal tracks and de-essing only the ess sounds out of them, with zero cost to anything else. Whatever you’re using, if your esses are blowing out the highest treble (which is exactly what you need a de-esser for) then it ought to work for you.
If you’re using high sample rate and struggling to get DeBess action and you’re going to be treble boosting for that ultra-bright voice sound, try brightening BEFORE DeBess and you’ll probably be able to get what you need. It wants very bright esses to work with, so it can duck and darken them. Use the filter control to shape a better EQ on your esses, rather than just trying to duck ’em.
Airwindows is supported by Patreon, so if you can afford to buy this for $50 like it was a commercial plugin, and you’d want to, then go throw $50 a year at the Patreon instead. If I’ve written another good plugin or done something else useful a year from now, you can keep it going :)
Ok this is epic
This Plugin doesn’t show on Reason 10 ! No GUI accessible
Outstandingly good work, Chris. Got to be the plugin of the decade. Will chip in.
Das ist der Beste DeEsser Plugin je gemacht worden… ! Gratuliere Chris…
I look forward to giving this a go as I’m oversensitive to esses. THANKS.
Chris, you just made my day. I have no idea how you are able to produce so many top-of-the-line plugins so quickly! Thank you so much for all you do. You are the absolute treasure of the recorded music industry. This plugin is an all time great. No one with ears could deny it. Wow!
How do I install this on mac?? I just get folders with PkgInfo, DeBess plist etc, is there a vst??
Had trouble installing this on MacOS Catalina for Reaper DAW, but was able to get it to work. Posted the instructions here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Reaper/comments/gfabwe/how_to_install_debess/
[…] DeBess – an extension of an earlier plugin “DeEss” with an unusual algorithm for finding […]
Is not working for mac, at least I tried the vst and au, de vst opens but in ableton live does nothing.
I am trying Debesser for the first time. Not working here on a M1 MacBook with Big Sur. Logic Pro’s plug-in manager shows it as installed, validated, and in-use. But when I try to add it in the Audio FX section of the mixer, it does not show up under Audio Units where all my other third-party plugs are. Am I missing something? Is this a Big Sur issue? An M1 issue? Thanks.
I was able to get this working for me, while messing with the settings. Very useful indeed. Usually the ones that fight off excessive high frequencies and help make stuff louder work the best for me. Like this, lowpass, neverland, calibre, etc. That’s why I’ve been hoping you make a soothe some day.
I downloaded the StarterKit, which also includes the DeBesser, to get familiar with your plugins.
And I’m amazed at how clean and precise this de-esser is.
The original audio almost stays untouched, except for the “esses”.
And the CPU and RAM usage is minimal.
You are the plugin God! I can’t wait to explore all the other plugins.
Signing up to your Patreon as we speak
This is an incredible tool. I had been using it on my last MacBook Pro and was very happy.
I’m now using DeBesser in Reaper on a MacBook Pro M1 and I’m having issues because DeBess is using anywhere from 10% to more than 20% of my CPU per track. This is causing a lot of playback issues (making it impossible to listen) and also causing the rendering to be extremely slow. How can I resolve this?
For Reason Users, if you have an issue opening Air Windows plugins you can use a third-party plugin called “PatchWork by Blue Cat Audio” to open their plugins.
Chris, how would you set this up to tame harsh distorted electric guitars? Also, it seems with the depth closer to zero that the deesser reaches down further or trims more. Just an observation playing with the unit and looking at the frequency graph on my DAW.