Ghostnote Supply has recently released a free de-esser effect plugin for Windows and macOS (VST3/AU).
Designed to stay invisible, Veil features a split-band design that only ever touches the ess, level-independent detection, and a listen mode that plays only what it removes.
What makes VEIL different is a single design goal pursued without compromise: you should never hear it working. No dulled consonants, no lisping, no loss of air or presence — the voice simply stops spitting.
Three engineering decisions deliver that invisibility, and each one is verified by an automated measurement suite that runs before every release:
- Split-band processing. Only the sibilant band is ever turned down. The body of the voice passes through a mathematically flat crossover and is untouched by construction — measured change while
de-essing: 0.00 dB. - Ratio detection. VEIL listens to how much high-frequency energy there is relative to the voice itself, not to an absolute level. A whispered “ss” and a shouted “SS” are treated identically, so one setting
works for the whole performance. - Lookahead. The audio is delayed by 3 ms while the detector is not, so the gain is already in place when a “t” or “ts” transient arrives. Nothing escapes, and nothing clicks.
Veil is free to download from the Ghostnote Supply website.
