Watch live GR while reading a sibilant phrase¶
The gain-reduction (GR) bar in the Aetherial De-Esser updates in real time while you transmit or speak. Use this procedure to watch the meter respond as you read a sibilant phrase, so you can confirm the de-esser is catching your "S" and "T" sounds before going on air.
Before you start¶
- The Aetherial De-Esser must be enabled via the CHAIN widget. The applet is hidden until the De-Ess stage is active.
- Your microphone must be routed through the TX audio chain and producing signal — either by keying the radio or by using a monitor/test mode so audio flows through the DSP.
- Open the "Aetherial De-Esser" sub-container inside the Aetherial Audio (TXDSP) parent container. Bypass and editing are both handled through the Aetherial Audio Channel Strip — there is no separate floating editor for the de-esser.
- The de-esser panel supports both TX and RX sides. The RX instance is titled "Aetherial De-Esser — RX" and is reachable through the Aetherial Audio Channel Strip.
Steps¶
- Ensure the De-Ess stage is enabled in the CHAIN widget. The applet will be visible once the stage is active. When the stage is bypassed, the entire tile dims to approximately 55% opacity.
- Locate the Gain-reduction bar — the horizontal strip directly below the sidechain response curve.
- Key your radio or activate your audio path so microphone audio flows through the TX DSP.
- Speak a phrase containing heavy sibilance — for example, "She sells seashells by the seashore" — at your normal microphone level and distance.
- Watch the Gain-reduction bar fill from right to left in soft red on each "S" or "T" sound. No fill means the de-esser is not triggering; a fill that reaches the full width means up to 24 dB of reduction is being applied.
- Note where the bar typically peaks. The tick mark on the bar indicates the −6 dB point, which is the default Amount value and a common target for transparent de-essing.
- If the bar never moves, lower Thresh toward −60.0 dB until it begins to respond. If the bar is pegged to the right on every syllable, raise Thresh toward 0.0 dB.
- Repeat the phrase until the bar responds only on genuine sibilant peaks, not on ordinary speech.
What each control does¶
| Control | Default | Valid range |
|---|---|---|
| Sidechain response curve | — | — |
| Gain-reduction bar | — | 0 to 24 dB GR |
| Freq | 6000 Hz | 1000 to 12000 Hz |
| Q | 2.00 | 0.5 to 5.0 |
| Thresh | −30.0 dB | −60.0 to 0.0 dB |
| Amount | −6.0 dB | −24.0 to 0.0 dB |
| Attack | 1.0 ms | 0.1 to 30.0 ms |
| Release | 100 ms | 10.0 to 500.0 ms |
| Slope | 24 dB/oct | 12 / 24 / 36 / 48 dB/oct (1 to 4 stages) |
Note: Attack and Release controls are available in the Channel Strip's StripDeEssPanel (both RX and TX instances). The docked ClientDeEssApplet omits these two knobs.
Indicators¶
| Indicator | States | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Centre-frequency ball | Resting on curve peak | Marks the currently-tuned sibilance centre frequency on the response curve. |
| Gain-reduction strip | Empty or soft-red fill | Current attenuation applied to the sibilance band. |
Inline value editing¶
All knob controls in the Aetherial De-Esser support inline value editing. Instead of dragging the knob, you can click the value text below the knob to open a small text editor overlay. This is useful for setting precise values quickly.
How to use inline editing:
- Click the value text displayed below any knob (e.g., "6.0 kHz" below Freq).
- A small text field appears with a dark background and cyan border to indicate edit mode.
- Type a new value. You can include units or extra text — the editor strips non-numeric characters automatically. For example, you can type "12.5 ms" or "−6 dB" and the value will be extracted.
- Press Enter to commit the value. The editor closes and the knob updates to the new value.
- Click elsewhere on the UI or press Tab to move focus away — the value is also committed on focus-out, just like pressing Enter.
- Press Escape to cancel editing and revert to the previous value without changes.
Supported input formats: - Simple numbers: "4500" or "3.5" - Locale-aware decimals: "12,5" works in comma-decimal locales - Values with units or symbols: "6.0 kHz", "−30 dB", "1.00 ms" - The editor intelligently strips non-numeric characters, so you can enter values exactly as they appear in the knob's label format
Tips¶
- The meter runs at approximately 30 Hz, so short, sharp transients may appear as brief flashes. This is normal.
- The gain-reduction bar now updates more smoothly during sustained sibilance. Prior to v26.6.3, the animation timer could stop early during continuous de-essing. The meter now repaints continuously while gain reduction is active, even if the internal smoother settles temporarily. This means you will see a steady, responsive bar during a long "S" sound rather than a brief flash that disappears.
- Keep the Amount knob at its default of −6.0 dB while watching the meter for the first time. Dial it down only after you have confirmed the meter is triggering on the right sounds.
- If the ball on the sidechain response curve sits far from where your sibilance peaks, use Freq to move it. The meter will only show GR when energy in the current Freq band crosses Thresh.
- When the De-Ess stage is bypassed in the CHAIN widget, the entire applet tile dims visibly. If the tile appears faded, confirm the stage is not bypassed before interpreting the meter.
- To access the RX de-esser instance (titled "Aetherial De-Esser — RX"), open it from the Aetherial Audio Channel Strip rather than the docked applet panel.
- The frequency axis labels in the sidechain response curve use "100", "500", "1k", etc. for clarity and are rendered at 8-pixel font size. The curve widget caches these labels for improved rendering performance.
- For precise value entry, use the inline editor by clicking the knob's displayed value. This is faster than fine-tuning with mouse drags and avoids overshooting your target setting.
- The Slope button cycles through 12 → 24 → 36 → 48 dB/oct with each click. Higher slopes create a narrower notch around the sibilant frequency, reducing collateral attenuation of the mid speech band. The button is located in the bottom-left corner of the Channel Strip's de-esser panel, below the Thresh knob.
Troubleshooting¶
- Gain-reduction bar never moves — The de-esser is not triggering. Check that the De-Ess stage is enabled in the CHAIN widget, that audio is flowing through the TX DSP, and that Thresh is not set too high (too close to 0.0 dB) for your microphone level.
- Gain-reduction bar is pegged to the right on every syllable, including non-sibilant speech — Thresh is set too low. Raise it toward 0.0 dB until ordinary vowels no longer trigger the meter.
- Bar moves but you hear no effect on air — Amount may be set too close to 0.0 dB. Lower it toward −24.0 dB for more audible reduction, or confirm the stage is not bypassed in the CHAIN widget.
- Applet tile appears dimmed — The De-Ess stage is bypassed. Single-click the DESS stage in the CHAIN widget to re-enable it. The tile will return to full opacity when the stage is active.
- Inline editor reverts to the wrong value after typing — Ensure you press Enter to commit before clicking away. If you click another control while the editor is open, the value is committed automatically, which may not match your intended setpoint if you hadn't finished typing.
- Sibilant sounds still harsh after adjusting Freq and Q — Try increasing the Slope to 36 or 48 dB/oct. A steeper slope creates a narrower notch that cuts sibilance more precisely without affecting the mid-range speech band.