Spectral repair

Where it is

The Spectral page (Alt+3) · the Repair panel on the right

What you can do

• Time runs left to right; low frequencies at the bottom, high at the top. Colour shows how loud each part is.
• Select a stretch that holds only the noise and press Learn noise (Ctrl+Alt+N). Then select what to clean and Reduce noise (Ctrl+Alt+D).
• Restore clipped peaks rebuilds the tops of waves cut off by a level set too high.
• Hum, clicks and room reverb have their own repairs. Ctrl+Alt+5 and Ctrl+Alt+6 take out 50 or 60 Hz hum.
• Select by time, with a box, by frequency band, or draw round a sound with the lasso (L) or brush (P).
• Each repair is one Undo step: listen, and undo if it sounds unnatural.

In this film

1. 0:03Sound by frequencyLow at the bottom, high at the top · noise is the haze behind the words
2. 0:05Select a stretch of only noiseThe gap before the first word is ideal
3. 0:06Learn the noiseOmaAudio takes a print of it
4. 0:09Select everything, then Reduce noiseEvery frequency loses what the print says is noise
5. 0:13Restore clipped peaksRebuilds the tops of waves cut off by a level set too high
6. 0:16The haze behind the words is goneEach repair is one Undo step