How to de-ess vocals in Logic Pro
By Human Engine Labs · · 5 min read
Logic Pro ships with a perfectly capable de-esser, and most people either never open it or fight it into dulling the vocal. Here's how to de-ess cleanly in Logic with the stock tools, where they run out of road, and how to think about the whole thing so your esses come out smooth without the air going with them.
Key Takeaways
- Logic's DeEsser 2 is genuinely good and free with your DAW — learn it before buying anything.
- Set the frequency by ear on the harshest word, use a narrow band, and keep the reduction gentle.
- Use DeEsser 2's Detector monitor to hear what you're removing — the single most useful habit in de-essing.
- Logic's de-esser is single-band and frequency-fixed; a phoneme-aware plugin follows the ess and preserves the vowel automatically.
Where Logic's de-esser lives
Logic has two options, and it's worth knowing both:
- DeEsser 2 — the dedicated de-esser, under Dynamics in the plugin menu. This is the one to use.
- A dynamic band in the Channel EQ — you can set a band to move only when the high end gets loud. More manual, but handy if you're already in the EQ.
For vocals, reach for DeEsser 2. Drop it on the vocal channel, usually before any bright compression or saturation (more on that below).
De-essing a vocal in Logic, step by step
- Find the harsh frequency. In DeEsser 2, switch the mode to Detector so you hear only the band it's listening to. Sweep the Frequency control until the esses are loudest and clearest in that monitor — that's where the sibilance lives, usually somewhere between 5 and 9 kHz depending on the voice.
- Set a narrow band. Keep the detection focused on the sibilant region so you're not ducking the whole top end. Narrow beats wide almost every time.
- Set the amount on the worst word. Switch back to the normal mode and lower the Threshold (or raise Reduction) until the hardest ess in the take stops biting, then stop. Tuning to the worst case keeps the quieter esses from lisping.
- Check the vowels. Play a phrase with long, open, sung vowels. They should be untouched. If they dim when the singer opens up, your band is too wide or the threshold too low.
- Listen to the difference. Flip to Detector one more time and confirm you're hearing esses and little else. If you hear whole words or breath, ease off.
That's the whole method, and it's the same in any DAW — we cover the philosophy in depth in the complete guide to de-essing.
Where to put it in the chain
De-ess before anything that adds high-frequency energy — bright compression, saturation, an "air" shelf, or the mastering chain on the bus. De-essing early means those later stages aren't amplifying an ess you could have tamed first. If you de-ess after a big air boost, you're chasing your own tail. (Why chain order matters is part of what actually causes sibilance.)
Where the stock de-esser runs out
DeEsser 2 is single-band and works from a frequency you set. That's fine for most vocals, but it has two limits worth knowing:
- The ess moves and the frequency doesn't. Sibilance shifts word to word; a fixed detection frequency is a compromise that's slightly wrong on half the words.
- It reacts to level, not to the phoneme. A brightly sung vowel or a breath can trip it, because it can't tell a consonant from any other loud high-frequency sound.
A phoneme-aware de-esser like Sibilance closes both gaps: it classifies the consonant and follows where the ess actually is, so it acts on the ess and leaves the vowel alone automatically. It runs as an Audio Unit right inside Logic, and there's a free tier to try it against DeEsser 2 on your own vocal.
The short version
Open DeEsser 2, use Detector to find and confirm the sibilant band, set the amount on the worst word, protect the vowels, and place it before your bright stages. Do that and Logic's stock de-esser will get most vocals where they need to be — and when you want it to follow the ess for you, a dedicated tool takes it the rest of the way.
Frequently asked
Does Logic Pro have a de-esser?
Yes. Logic ships DeEsser 2 under the Dynamics plugins, and you can also set a dynamic band in the Channel EQ. For vocals, DeEsser 2 is the one to use.
What frequency should I set the de-esser to in Logic Pro?
There is no fixed number. Use DeEsser 2's Detector mode to listen to the band it is watching and sweep the frequency until the esses are loudest and clearest, usually somewhere between 5 and 9 kHz depending on the voice.
Should I de-ess before or after compression in Logic?
Before anything that adds high-frequency energy, such as bright compression, saturation, or an air shelf, so those stages are not amplifying an ess you could have tamed first.
Sibilance is the single-authority de-esser this comes from — a real free tier, and a 7-day Pro trial with no card.