Clean, clear audio builds trust with listeners, which can lead to brand loyalty and advocacy. However, you may encounter background noise in recordings from time to time.
Fortunately, using an audio editing program, there are many ways to mitigate and even remove background audio noise from audio content. The first step is to select the audio event you want to edit.
Use a Low-Pass Filter
Ideally, you want to avoid background noise when recording. But if that’s not possible, audio editing software tools are available to reduce it. This can be especially helpful for voice recordings.
A low-pass filter is beneficial for taming high frequencies. This includes the piercing click of a kick drum and the bass guitar’s fuzz or distortion. It’s essential to keep in mind, though, that you don’t want to go too overboard with this. If you do, you’ll bury some of the track’s lower frequencies, potentially making it sound muddy.
In addition to lowering the overall volume, the low-pass filter has other settings that help with specific types of noise. You can select the frequency range of the noise to target and fine-tune the Threshold and Amount settings to remove just the desired noise. You can also use the Smoothing control to reduce the audible artifacts of the noise reduction process.
This feature benefits voices since a microphone would pick up very little energy in the lower frequencies. For example, a low-pass filter of around 250 Hz can eliminate unwanted ambient sounds and low-frequency background noise while leaving the voice unaffected. This setting is also commonly used in audio production outside music, such as video game sound design.
Boost the Bass
If you want your audio to sound bassier, use an equalizer to increase the lower frequencies. You can use this on your computer or by downloading a free application like Sonix which can fix the most common background noise and is available for Windows, macOS, and other operating systems.
Boosting the bass with an equalizer can reduce or eliminate the background noise and make the audio clearer and punchier. However, it is essential to remember that too much bass can ruin your audio. This is why testing the result in your headphones before applying it to your final audio file is essential.
Another way to remove background noise in an audio clip is to use a noise gate, which can be found under the Effect menu in most programs. To activate it, select your track, then use the mouse to isolate a section without noise or background audio. Once you have isolated the clip, click Get Noise Profile. This will tell the program which frequencies to filter out and which to ignore.
You can also use a program to adjust and enhance your audio files. This more advanced tool allows you to modify the treble and bass frequencies, which the old Bass Boost effect could not do.
Equalize
An audio editing tool is used to adjust a clip’s frequency range to cut out noise. It’s the same equalizing you might have already done on your home stereo by turning up or down the bass and treble knobs – only more refined. For example, you might want to use to reduce hums and buzzes from the room or high-pitched sounds like beeps or ringing phone tones.
One of the easiest ways to remove background audio noise with an equalizer is by using the built-in noise reduction feature. First, highlight the portion of your audio file that contains the noise you want to remove. Then, select the Effects menu and choose Noise Reduction. Use the slider tools to make adjustments until your audio file is free from noise. You can start by choosing a standard noise reduction preset and comparing the result to the original audio file to see if it meets your needs.
There are also other tools you can try to help reduce background noise, including the free online tool, which uses intelligent algorithms to remove electronic humming or wind noise from recordings in just a few clicks. Another option is to incorporate music into your video clips to drown out background noise or even create a new soundtrack to make the audio in your footage more engaging. It has a great guide to getting the most out of music for your videos, including how to find genuine chart music that will match your content.
Compress
A noise reduction tool is one of the best ways to remove ambient sounds from your audio or video file. It is particularly effective for constant background sounds such as humming from desktop heat sinks or tape hiss, but it also works well on predictable ambient sounds such as airplane hum and static.
Often, the dynamic range of an audio file is uneven, with parts that are far too loud, followed by portions that are too quiet for listeners to hear clearly. Compression can even out this dynamic range, preventing the highs from cutting through the lows and making the sound too compressed to be heard.
The controls of an audio compressor vary depending on the application and the effect, but most include a threshold that sets the point at which you want to begin reducing the sound’s volume. You can set this to 1:1, 4:1, or 10:1 to determine how much you want to reduce the book for every decibel above the threshold.
Many programs include an audio compressor, but you can also get good results from free software. The program’s built-in noise reduction feature is an excellent option for eliminating predictable ambient sounds. Still, you may need additional filtering and equalization to the file before it sounds perfect.