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Waves DeEsser
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« Basic DeEsser »

Published on 12/14/12 at 11:30
Waves DeEsser is a software effects plug-in to be used in a DAW. All Waves plug-ins can be installed by downloading them off the Waves website. Authorization is completed using a USB stick as a dongle, or using an authorization manager application if your computer connects to the internet.
Waves plug-ins are known for working well without bugs. The 'DeEsser' plug-in has been around a long time and works in all popular DAWs.

SUITABILITY/PERFORMANCE

De-essing can be a very important part of mixing.Sometimes you can get by without it. However, if a vocalist makes really loud 'esss' and 'essshhh' sounds, it can ruin everything. If do almost any mixing, and don't have any method of 'de-essing', you really should consider adding a 'de-esser' to your arsenal. The Waves DeEsser is cheap. It is really simple to use, and the controls are pretty self-explanatory. But, it has just enough flexibility to get good results.
I received the Waves DeEsser as part of the Gold Bundle. I have tried using it, but found that I actually like 'de-essing' with the 'C1' better. It adds a little bit more control than the DeEsser.
Although, 'de-essing' is most commonly used for vocals. I also recommend using it on electric guitars, especially if they have a lot of distortion. In this case, you would only want to compress the problematic high-frequencies using split-band mode rather than wide-band mode.

OVERALL OPINION

De-essing is often over-looked as a mixing technique. A de-essing specific plug-in a really nothing more than a frequency specific dynamic compressor. This kind of processing can be achieved with a standard compressor by using a side-chain input. Waves made it really simple to 'de-ess' by creating a specific plug-in where the side-chain is set up internally. Not only does this plug-in make it possible to compress a signal based on the energy in a specific frequency range (wide-band de-essing), it also makes it possible to compress a particular frequency region without compressing a lower frequency region (split-band de-essing). Depending on your application it may be more appropriate to choose one method over the other.