Arboretum Ray Gun.
Mac VST, PC DirectX, Premiere, Audiosuite
Reviewed: PC DirectX version
If you want a comparatively low‑cost plug‑in to reduce hiss, hums and pops, one of the options is Arboretum's Ray Gun, now at version 1.3. This provides a self‑contained problem‑solver with three easy‑to‑use sections. The first is Noise Reduction, a single‑band expander, which is only really suitable for removing continuous noise such as tape hiss. There are just two controls: Threshold and Attenuation. Although Ray Gun's threshold is automatically adjusted, the slider control allows you to bias the adjustment for different types of noise. Attenuation, as its name suggests, controls the amount of noise reduction, and is variable between 0 and 36dB.
The second stage is Pop, which has a single slider to adjust Sensitivity (from 0 to 100 percent). It detects transients and then replaces this data by interpolating neighbouring sample values. The final stage comprises two switchable filters: a high‑pass for Rumble, and a notch filter with a choice of either 50Hz or 60Hz settings for Hum. A pair of output‑level faders let you make up any gain lost in any of the processes.
Compared with version 1.2, the noise‑reduction algorithm has been noticeably improved: the single‑window display is more compact, and you can now right‑click on any slider to reset it to its default position. However, despite the slider markings, it would still be useful to have a readout of the current values to get repeatable settings more easily.
In use, Ray Gun certainly made a significant improvement to various types of noisy programme material, although it was fairly easy to overdo things and get unwanted side‑effects. For instance, too much Noise Reduction soon gave rise to audible pumping, and while the Pop control was quite good, turning the Sensitivity up too high quickly strangled the sound. However, provided you carefully check that it is not removing wanted material along with the noise, Ray Gun is quite effective, and should prove useful in a variety of situations. It can also be run in a stand‑alone version and its technology has been licensed for use in Adaptec's Easy CD Creator Deluxe 3.5. However, for stand‑alone use, you might also want to look at Steinberg's Clean! (reviewed in SOS July '99), which is a little cheaper and has slightly more effective and comprehensive noise‑reduction options. Martin Walker