Lindell 902 De-Esser
The Lindell 902 De-Esser is an audio plugin developed by Lindell Plugins and distributed by Plugin Alliance. It is designed to reduce or eliminate harsh sibilant sounds ("esses") in vocal recordings and other audio sources, while preserving the natural character of the sound.
Toolbar Controls
The top section of the plugin interface features several global controls:
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A/B ?
Allows switching between two different settings or presets for quick comparison. The currently active setting is highlighted in blue.
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Copy Button (>) ➡️
Copies the current setting to the other memory slot (A or B).
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Calibration ?️
Adjusts the calibration level, mapping digital dBFS to virtual dBu. This is often expressed as XX dBFS = 0 VU (or +4 dBu).
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Oversampling ⚙️
Selects the oversampling mode. Higher oversampling reduces aliasing but increases CPU load.
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UI Zoom ?
Adjusts the user interface size, ranging from 80% to 150% of the normal size. The plugin's maximum size is capped at 80% of the screen's width/height.
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Graph ?
Toggles the visibility of the spectral graph display.
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Noise ?
Option to turn off the very low, usually inaudible, noise floor added by the plugin.
Menu Commands
The menu provides access to common commands and information:
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Common Commands
- « Set in all instances »: Copies the current parameter value to all instances of the plugin within the session. This can also be achieved by holding [Shift] and clicking a menu option.
- « Save as default »: Sets the current parameter values as the default when the plugin is opened. This can also be achieved by holding [Alt] and clicking a menu option.
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About ℹ️
Displays the plugin version and credits.
De-Esser Core Controls
These controls directly manage the de-essing process:
Indicates the amount of gain reduction (in decibels) applied to the signal in real-time.
Engages or disengages the de-esser circuit.
When enabled, the de-esser only processes high-frequency content above the set 'Frequency' parameter.
Sets the frequency threshold. The plugin analyzes the signal above this frequency to detect sibilance. The algorithm compares the wide-band signal level with the level below this frequency to identify "esses", reducing the need for manual threshold calibration.
Range: 800 Hz to 8 kHz.
Determines the maximum amount of gain reduction that can be applied. It is recommended to keep this value around the "Norm" zone for typical vocal processing.
Range: 0 dB to 20 dB.
Additional Features
These controls offer further tonal shaping and monitoring options:
Provides different monitoring options:
- Output: Normal operation mode.
- Detector: Monitors the filtered side chain used to detect "esses".
- DS: Monitors the portion of the signal that was removed by the de-esser.
Blends the original (dry) signal with the processed (wet) signal. A setting of 0% is fully dry, and 100% is fully wet.
Range: 0% to 100%.
Applies a smooth high-frequency boost to help restore brightness that might have been reduced during the de-essing process.
Range: 0 dB to 20 dB.
Graph Display
The spectral graph provides visual feedback on the signal:
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Level (white line) ?
Shows the signal level in decibels. The opacity of the area below the curve indicates the amount of high-frequency content (HFLevel + Range FBWLevel). Full transparency means no high-frequency content, opaque white indicates the de-esser is starting gain reduction, and yellow hues indicate increasing gain reduction.
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Gain Reduction (red line) ?
Visually represents the gain reduction applied by the de-esser.
Credits
The Lindell 902 De-Esser was developed with contributions from:
- Emmanuel Dubecq - LSR audio (Programming, Graphics, Circuit modeling)
- Tobias Lindell - Lindell Audio (Concept, Tests and tuning, Presets)
Distributed by Plugin Alliance.
