Vocal Cleaner vocal clean-up effect plugin interface by W. A. Production

Vocal Cleaner: Vocal Clean-Up Effect Plugin by W. A. Production Free Download

Rated 4.5/5 on Plugin Boutique (1,357 ratings)

Vocal Cleaner is a vocal processing effect plugin by W. A. Production that removes background noise, tames sibilance and cuts unwanted sounds from dry vocal recordings. It is available in VST2, AU and AAX formats.

VST2AUAAXWindowsmacOS64-bit
AVAILABLE ATPlugin Boutique
Free trial available from the developer
01Overview

Vocal Cleaner is designed for the first stage of vocal processing, before compression or reverb. It combines three processing stages: de-noise, de-ess and a noise gate. Simple threshold sliders and Amount dials keep the controls quick to use. Three optimisation modes, Bright, Natural and Dark, adjust the processing for different types of unwanted noise. A presence control, a high and low pass filter, and a Master Mix ratio give further control over the cleaned signal.

Best for

  • Vocal clean-up
  • Sibilance reduction
  • Background noise removal
  • Breath noise gating
  • Parallel vocal processing
  • Backing vocal processing
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02Key features

What you get

  • Three processing stages: de-noise, de-ess and noise gate
  • Bright, Natural and Dark optimisation modes
  • Presence control combining saturation, compression and EQ
  • Low and high pass filter for hum and upper frequencies
  • Pop and click free bypass for A/B testing
  • Master Mix ratio for blending with the dry signal
  • Live VU meters at each processing stage
  • Factory presets for male, female and backing vocals
  • Resizable user interface
03In depth

Clean-up stages and controls

The plugin processes the signal in three stages. The de-noise stage splits the incoming audio into voice and noise, which lets you reduce hum, hiss and other background noise with the main fader and Amount dial. The De-Ess unit detects harsh high-frequency sibilance from "sss" and "shh" sounds and applies an adaptive EQ curve to reduce them. The Noise Gate lowers quiet sections while letting louder parts through, which helps with breath sounds and room noise.

A high and low pass filter rolls off unwanted hum and upper frequencies. The Presence control restores some definition using a combination of saturation, compression and EQ.

The Bright, Natural and Dark (B/N/D) buttons tailor the processing: Bright targets high-frequency noise, Dark targets noise in the lower register, and Natural gives a balanced effect.

Monitoring, bypass and mixing

The live VU meters show what happens to the signal at each stage of cleaning in real time, which helps with monitoring at every step of the chain. The bypass control is smoothed to be pop and click free, so A/B testing stays clean.

The Master Mix ratio control blends the cleaned vocal with your original raw audio. This lets you reduce the impact of heavier processing, which is useful for parallel effects.

The plugin includes factory presets for female vocals, male vocals and backing vocals, which can serve as starting points for different types of voice.

04Specs

Will it run?

Formats, systems and requirements as listed by Plugin Boutique. Missing details are left out, not guessed.

DeveloperW. A. Production
TypePlugin
CategoryVocal Processing
FormatsVST2, AU, AAX
Operating systemsWindows, macOS
Architecture64-bit
Free trialYes
05FAQ

Questions, answered

What is Vocal Cleaner used for?

Vocal Cleaner is used to clean dry vocal recordings. It reduces background noise, tames sibilance and gates quiet sections such as breaths and room noise. The developer recommends placing it first in the vocal effects chain.

Which formats and operating systems does Vocal Cleaner support?

Vocal Cleaner is available in VST2, AU and AAX formats, for Windows and macOS. It is a 64-bit plugin. On macOS it requires 10.13 or later, and on Windows it requires Windows 8 or later.

Does the AAX version have any extra requirements?

Yes. The AAX format requires Pro Tools 11 or higher. Mac Apple Silicon users should check the current compatibility status of the plugin on their system before purchasing.

Is there a trial version?

Yes, Vocal Cleaner has a trial version.

07Developer

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