How do I remove unwanted distortion from an audio track?

[EDT 4]

Hi, I have a track I am finishing off and the main instrument within it is my old Yamaha CP-30 which I recorded into an audio track however I recorded it a bit too "hot" and there are a few notes, not many - maybe 10 or 12- which are slightly distorted and I was wondering if there is anything in Cakewalk which I can use to edit them out without actually deleting the audio.

I would probably try and record it again, but I have since sold the CP-30.

[Gswitz 393]

Can you paste the notes from other locations in the recording over the notes that clipped?

[EDT 4]

Hi Gswitz, not sure I could manage the editing to do that, but I will give it a thought.

[EDT 4]

There are actually more passages with a bit of clipping than I thought. I might just have to EQ them carefully and disguise it somehow.

[msmcleod 2,158]

You could try iZotope I guess, but it's not guaranteed that it'll work perfectly:

https://www.izotope.com/en/learn/products/rx/repairing-a-distorted-audio-track.html

 

[bitman 89]

Terry West Relife VST.

It's Voodoo. And probably 32 bit.

[Brando 15]

(Free)  audacity

Tech Report

Edited August 4, 2019 by Brando

[Starship Krupa 1,688]

Yeah, there are a variety of plug-ins that claim to be able to smooth out clipping with varying degrees of success. I finally snagged a license for iZotope RX Elements and it does the job as well as any.
The trip to Terry West's site is worth it just to check out the oddness of it all.

More about Terry on the Freeware FX thread....

[Gswitz 393]

Could you post a link to the track you want fixed? Then we could inspect the problem.

[Larry Jones 138]

The fact that you're concerned about this issue indicates you don't want to release your work with this amount of distortion on the CP-30. Nothing suggested so far in the thread will actually eliminate the distortion. I'd say it's time to fire up whatever synth you still have, play the part again, and consider this a lesson for the future.

[EDT 4]

Thanks all for the tips. I will have a look at the various plug ins (I had forgotten about Audacity!!)

I'm reluctant to re-record as the original sound of the CP-30 i had going through a phaser effect sounds dreamy 🙂. But as you say I might have to bite the bullet and re-do with a midi piano plus effects.

[Promidi 460]

Personally I believe you are going to be unsatisfied with the results of any plugin or editor and simply re-record it with a phaser VST.

[bdickens 257]

You can't unbake a cake.

[Grem 2,468]

15 hours ago, Byron Dickens said:

You can't unbake a cake.

This. In spades!

[Jim Roseberry 576]

You can remove short spots of digital and analog clipping.

What you can't do is take a constantly/heavily saturated recording (like distorted guitar) and remove it.

Samplitude Pro X Suite comes with declipping capabilities.

There's also Izotope Rx.

[Freyja Grimaude-Valens 269]

This is why you do a sound test before doing the actual recording. Record cold, and then warm it up using effects and/or gain knobs.

[EDT 4]

On ‎8‎/‎7‎/‎2019 at 2:42 AM, Jim Roseberry said:

You can remove short spots of digital and analog clipping.

What you can't do is take a constantly/heavily saturated recording (like distorted guitar) and remove it.

Samplitude Pro X Suite comes with declipping capabilities.

There's also Izotope Rx.

That's what I need Jim, thanks for the constructive response.

[John 380]

RX 7 can remove clipping. It may also be done with Spectral Layers 6 from Steinberg. As mentioned Samplitude Pro X4 also can.  

True one can not unbake a cake. However, we are not talking about baking. Sound has a frequency(s) with all its overtones. These can be isolated and edited.  

Who thought we could adjust the note pitch with ease via Melodyne of recorded sound. Anyone heard of autotune?