Audio production2 min read
De-essing
In short
De-essing reduces harsh sibilance, the sharp energy on s, sh, and t sounds, without dulling the rest of the voice. Done well it is invisible; done heavily it lisps the speech. It targets a narrow band rather than the whole signal.
Why it matters
Sibilance is fatiguing. On headphones and earbuds, harsh s sounds jump out and wear a listener down over a long piece, even when nothing else is wrong. De-essing fixes that, but it is easy to overdo: push it too far and the voice starts to lisp, which is its own kind of wrong.
In practice
Target the narrow frequency band where the sibilance lives rather than dulling the whole voice, and apply it only when an s actually spikes. If words start to sound soft or lispy, you have gone too far and should back it off.
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