Obviously it is that last thing we're interested in. Amongst other things it can be used as a precision EQ, a gate, a fast attack/release precision compressor, a noise reduction tool.

ReaFIR is a EQ and dynamics plug-in that includes an FFT spectrum analysis window. But the simpler definition for ReaFIR itself from the Reaper manual is: If you would really like to geek out on what it really means, including all the scary math involved, you can read about it at the Finite Impulse Response Wikipedia page. So what does FIR mean? It stands for Finite Impulse Response. Reaper names its effect plugins by using 'Rea' as a prefix (for Reaper), and then the name of the function after it. For more information on why I love Reaper so much, see my article, Why Reaper Rocks As A DAW.īut for some reason, Reaper doesn't have an effect called 'Noise Reduction.' So how do you reduce noise in Reaper? Enter ReaFIR My favorite recording program, Reaper, is a digital audio workstation (DAW), which is a fancy way of saying full-featured multi-track recording program. Once it has the noise profile, it can do its thing.

So you have to highlight a section of the recording where there is ONLY noise, and no voice, and feed that sample to the noise reduction tool. In order to do this, the software has to know what noise looks like so it can separate it from the signal (voice). What noise reduction tools try to do is filter and removing as much noise as it can without also removing too much of the voice. The typical method is to use an effect in an audio editor called 'Noise Reduction.' See my article How To Get Rid Of Background Noise In Audacity for how that normally works.īut since the noise and the voice are both together in the same recording, it isn't a perfect process. Recordings sound much better if you can reduce the noise, and that is what noise reduction tools are designed to do. The noise usually comes from a combination of stuff happening in the space/room where the recording takes place, and the electronics of the microphone and other gear involved. It is especially noticeable in recordings of just one thing, like a single voice. There is almost always a bit of background noise in recorded audio. I know! Who'd have thought to look for noise reduction editing chops under a moniker like that? Review of What Noise Reduction Doesįirst though, let's do a quick review of what noise reduction does for us in the world of recording. It just happens to do it REALLY well, and non-destructively (if that's not a word already, I hereby create it). The reason I didn't know about it sooner is primarily due to the fact that reducing recorded noise is not its only or primary function.

Reaper audio software