Adobe Audition: Remove network hum - how it works
Adobe Audition allows you to remove network hum from audio tracks. We show you how this works in this guide.
Remove network hum from audio tracks
Especially with guitar recordings and in rooms full of electrical devices, network hum can sneak into an audio track. In the following steps, you subsequently eliminate the hum from a track. Further information can be found in the following picture gallery.
- Mark the track that is affected by the network hum and navigate to "Notch Filter" via "Effects" and "Filters and EQ".
- The European power grid has a three-phase AC voltage with a basic frequency of 50Hz. The sudden changes in direction create a rectangular shape in the voltage curve. This means that 50Hz and all odd integer multiples are contained in the signal to different extents.
- Select "50Hz + Harmonics Removal" under "Effect Presets" for normal interference and "50Hz + Harmonics (Heavy)" for strong interference.
- If you are not satisfied with the result, adjust the amplitudes of the individual frequencies manually.
- Do not be fooled by your hearing: even if you completely eliminate the fundamental frequency, you will still perceive it as a residual pitch. Therefore, first reduce the amplitudes of higher frequencies and work your way to the fundamental.
In the next practical tip, we will show you how to remove noise using Adobe Audition.
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Mark the track from which you want to remove the mains hum and navigate to "Notch Filter" via "Effects" and "Filters and EQ". A notch filter is a narrow band stop.
Select "50Hz + Harmonics Removal" under "Effect Presets" and "50Hz + Harmonics (Heavy)" for strong interference.
If you are not satisfied with the result, remove the checkmark from "Set attenuation time to" and select the amplitude reduction for each frequency by ear.
Also set the notch width manually. The narrower, the fewer neighboring frequencies are filtered out. However, since mains hum always does not always have a constant fundamental frequency of 50 Hz, but can have slight frequency modulations, wider notches are sometimes necessary.
If all tracks are affected, click on "Mixer" and select the "Notch filter" for the "Master output" with the settings described.
