A noisy recording in, a cleaner one out. What Noise Reduction costs, what it hands back, and why the first run should leave the one control exactly where it is.
Lesson 1 · start · 4 min read
Open Noise ReductionNoise Reduction takes one recording with something unwanted underneath it and gives you back one cleaner version of the same recording. That is the whole idea. This lesson runs it once, end to end, on the case it handles best — and the case it handles worst is a whole lesson of its own later on.
Note
There is no plan gate on this tool. Every account can run it, including a free one — the only limit is credits. That is worth saying plainly because much of the studio is not like that, and readers assume a lock that is not there.
Steady background noise is what this tool is for: mains hum, tape hiss, a fan, air conditioning, traffic drone, a computer. Noise that is there the whole time and barely changes. This is what noise reduction is for and what it does best, because a constant sound is easy to tell apart from a voice that starts and stops.
Tip
If the only recording you have is one where a door slamming is the problem, run it by all means — but read the third lesson first, because that is the case where a successful job can still leave you worse off.
The two input tabs.
Uploads are audio only — WAV, MP3, FLAC, OGG, OPUS, AAC, M4A and WEBM — and up to 5 files at a time, each processed as its own job. How large and how long a single file may be depends on your plan, and the tool prints your real figures on the line above the dropzone. Do not go looking for those numbers in a guide: they are resolved for your account, which is the only place they are ever correct.
There is exactly one setting: a Quality menu with Balanced, Studio and Ultra in it, starting on Studio. It is not a strength dial. Nothing in the tool asks how much noise to take out — the three options change how much processing the recording gets and what it costs, not how aggressive the cleanup is. The next lesson is about choosing between them; on a first run, leave it.
Tip
The credit estimate appears beside the input tabs once the length is known. 660 credits per minute of audio you put in, at the default quality — 6,600 credits for ten minutes, 39,600 for an hour.
Careful
There are two cases where no estimate appears at all, and in both of them the job still costs what it costs — you simply find out afterwards.
The output of a finished job.
Finished jobs collect in the History tab, newest first, each with its player. The delete control there is offered on jobs that did not complete; a completed job stays in your history.
Not from memory. You need the two sounds close together in your ears, because the difference is the only thing you are judging and it is easy to talk yourself into.
The noise should be gone or much quieter. That part is usually obvious and usually right.
Are the consonants still sharp? Does it still sound like it is in a room rather than under a blanket? Do the quiet ends of sentences still hold together? A cleanup that took the noise and some of the voice with it is the failure this tool actually has, and nothing on screen will mention it.
If the voice held up, you are done: download it from the player, or use function(){throw Error("Attempted to call OPEN_IN_STUDIO_LABEL() from the server but OPEN_IN_STUDIO_LABEL is on the client. It's not possible to invoke a client function from the server, it can only be rendered as a Component or passed to props of a Client Component.")} to take it straight into the editor. If it came back dull or distant, that is not a mistake you made — it is the tradeoff at the centre of this tool, and the next lesson is about hearing it early and spending as little as possible on it.
Questions
Free to start
Reading about a style description only gets you so far. The studio is free to use — write one sentence and hear what comes back.
1,000 credits every month. No card required.