DeEsser

Gently minimizes vocal sibilance and harshness

Remove or Reduce Harsh Vocal “S” Sounds Easily

Inspired by the vintage gear used for precision de-essing and high-frequency limiting, DeEsser tames “ess” and “shh” sounds. As recordings boost high frequencies for greater intelligibility with narration, audiobooks, vocals, and podcasts, de-essing is now more important than ever.

However, de-essing isn’t only about voice. DeEsser’s gentle de-essing action can reduce amp sim harshness, tame cymbals in drum loops, sweeten the sound of digital synthesizers, and more.

Preview what’s removed, to home in on ess and shh sounds
Fast, efficient user interface simplifies de-essing
Vary the range from 2kHz to 16 kHz to suppress high frequencies
Presets for male and female voice, as well as full mixes
Wideband or split modes focus the de-essing as needed
Choose bandpass or highpass filter for the sidechain

Watch It in Action

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What Top Pros Are Saying

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Also great on guitars and cymbals.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":2},{"itemID":2808,"itemGUID":"d38e11e2-68a7-4028-9a6e-415579981504","artistName":"Rob Cohen","artistTitle":"Engineer, Vocal Producer, Mixer","credits":"Portugal .The Man, Clean Bandit, Beyonc\u00E9, Khalid","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/rob-cohen.png","quote":"Waves DeEsser pretty much defines the sound of that super crispy rap/pop vocal we\u0027ve been listening to for years.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":3},{"itemID":123,"itemGUID":"65f8a017-cea1-4bf2-82df-77136f6b87a4","artistName":"Chuck Ainlay","artistTitle":"Producer / Engineer","credits":"Emmylou Harris, Taylor Swift, Mark Knopfler","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/chuck-ainlay.png","quote":"My favorite de-esser. Other de-essers can make the singer sound like they\u0027ve got a lisp, but I can always tune this plugin to deal with my S problems, without making the vocals sound manufactured.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":4},{"itemID":122,"itemGUID":"5c32f31b-ebef-4958-a13f-d1c4d319cb76","artistName":"Charles Deenen","artistTitle":"Sound Designer","credits":"The Fast and the Furious, Need for Speed","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/charles-deenen.png","quote":"When sounds have too much high-end in spots, the DeEsser can help you out. Since it\u0027s basically a \u0027banded\u0027 compressor, you can pick the frequency band that needs ducking.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":5},{"itemID":2587,"itemGUID":"dac910de-849e-4126-a18c-b45f6ce15db3","artistName":"Javier Valverde","artistTitle":"Recording Engineer, Mixing Engineer","credits":"T-Pain, Timbaland, Lil Wayne, Pitbull ","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/javier-valverde.png","quote":"Waves DeEsser is something I always pull up when I need a quick and precise DeEsser without affecting my overall sound.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":6},{"itemID":2495,"itemGUID":"87a4ffe7-c80c-4089-8302-b2b081459aa8","artistName":"Mr. Bill","artistTitle":"Musician, DJ, Producer","credits":"Mr Bill, deadmau5, Electrocado","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/mr-bill.png","quote":"My go-to when it comes to taming sibilant vocals or smoothing harsh hi-hats, and overly resonant elements in my music. ","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":7},{"itemID":2198,"itemGUID":"12dbe893-a45a-40f9-a4e1-880bf4bb429b","artistName":"Chris Carmouche","artistTitle":"Producer, Mixing Engineer, Composer, Musician","credits":"Big Boi, Major Lazer, Ice Cube","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/chris-carmouche.png","quote":"Out of all the DeEssers I\u2019ve tried through the years, Waves DeEsser is the one I use about 99.99% of the time. It removes the harsh frequencies and sibilance in vocals, and replaces the unwanted sounds with a something warm and appealing.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":8},{"itemID":2191,"itemGUID":"0d0d657a-7510-4756-9793-cc009cf9cd6c","artistName":"Gary Barlow","artistTitle":"Vocalist, Songwriter","credits":"Take That, Gary Barlow, Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/gary-barlow.png","quote":"This is on every vocal I record. It\u2019s simple and it doesn\u2019t destroy my top end. I also use this on the 2-buss to get rid of high frequencies from time to time.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":9},{"itemID":2115,"itemGUID":"950d3dd8-4011-478a-ac03-ceffa88147d7","artistName":"Kiyanu Kim","artistTitle":"Producer, Mixing Engineer, Songwriter, Guitarist","credits":"Miley Cyrus, Gwen Stefani, Lamont Dozier, Linda Perry","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/kiyanu-kim.png","quote":"I love the smoothness and transparency of this plugin. I use it mainly on vocal tracks to eliminate sibilance or on loud cymbals to reduce harshness.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":10},{"itemID":1627,"itemGUID":"9588a29b-a364-4801-807c-0792eff79ef1","artistName":"Lu Diaz","artistTitle":"Mixing Engineer \u0026 Producer","credits":"DJ Khaled, Pitbull, Beyonc\u00E9, Jay Z","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/lu-diaz.png","quote":"My standard de-esser on vocals \u2013 period.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":11},{"itemID":2031,"itemGUID":"c850edd8-be64-4007-afc0-23e754ada551","artistName":"Marc JB","artistTitle":"DJ, Producer, Composer, Remixer, Multi-Instrumentalist","credits":"Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Pink","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/mark-jb.png","quote":"Stereo DeEsser is great for sibilance suppression \u0026 for carving out harsh frequencies.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":12},{"itemID":1911,"itemGUID":"e6f16575-ebf7-459a-bc4a-b868c7ea1263","artistName":"Jim Fitzpatrick","artistTitle":"Re-Recording Mixer","credits":"Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/jim-fitzpatrick.png","quote":"Waves DeEsser has always been the plugin I seem to take for granted. It\u2019s generally set and left. It\u2019s always my friend. Punchy, clear dialog is the end result.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":13},{"itemID":121,"itemGUID":"e84477fd-a83f-4781-bfdc-9a433c989879","artistName":"Mark \u0022Spike\u0022 Stent","artistTitle":"Producer, Mixing Engineer","credits":"Radiohead, Muse, Madonna, U2","artistImage":"/images/artists/1280/mark-spike-stent.png","quote":"I love the DeEsser. I always use it, and it\u2019s always the first plugin in my chain.","isMainQuote":false,"sortID":14}]

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The Sound of Sssssssilence

Choose Your Solution
Choose one of two ways to suppress ess sounds. The highpass sidechain mode minimizes objectionable sibilants over the widest range, while the bandpass mode zeros in on problematic frequencies.
Fast and Simple
DeEsser uses a hard-knee compressor, so after choosing the frequencies you want to minimize, simply adjust the Threshold for the desired amount of suppression—as confirmed by the Attenuation meter.
Full Strength, or Full Fidelity
Split mode applies de-essing to only high frequencies, for maximum ess rejection. Wideband mode is gentler, and is useful for voice-only de-essing because it removes the crossover in the processing path.