You need to place a pop filter between the mic and mouth to reduce or stop these noises from being recorded. They are relatively inexpensive. That would be ideal.

Thanks for the response.
I'm using a lav mic so that's not an option unfortunately! Also, the 'click' is quite loud, distinctive, so I dont think this would work.

I've had to do that manually in PD, and it is time consuming. Honestly it sounds like your approach is reasonable, although it's worth giving the Click Removal and Plossive Removal tools from the Restore page a try.

The other option would be to go back a re-record your narration after practicing speaking for a while in a way that reduces the unwanted sounds.

OptoData
Ha! I hoped there might have a been a magic button to press ; Oh well ...
I've been working on this project for a couple of weeks (re my other posting on clipping) so to re-record isn't an option.
I was thinking somehow AD could 'copy and correct' one of these clicks, save this as a rule, and that this could then be applied to search the whole project and correct for similar.

Can you post a audio file with this issue and a timecode of the issue? Make sure the file has good voice in it too so if we try something, we can see how much it damages good content too.

Jeff

Hi Jeff
How about this?
Thanks once again for your interest.
Neil

So, are you mainly talking about this large smack near 6.7-7.1 sec? Or other more subtle ones too? The big one is very easy to fix since well isolated. Since a pulse it contains many frequencies so you can't do something to the whole file without causing good audio damage too but one could very easily clean up every isolated smack.

Jeff

I agree that the loud tongue clicks will have to be addressed individually, but in your sample clip it's well removed from any other vocals and is fairly easy to remove.

For the remaining items, applying either Plossive Removal or Click Removal will dull the edges of them and make them less apparent. Experiment with the different settings until you find a good match then apply that to your entire track to soften the harsher sounds.

Jeff/OptoData
Thanks for the input. I'll certainly try that out. Being a process junkie I was hoping there was some way of automating the click removal, as the 'clicks', as you say, are well defined.
I'm raising my game now having just received a Tascam Dr05X which I'll plug my Boya lav mic into. It'll probably record the clicks even more clearly
We live and learn.

There are other tools out there that work well in reducing or eliminating the mouth clicks in AudioDirector and others that can be seen in demos. Here is a link to the click removal tool use: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsjMybnhJTc . You can use it to start but need to run more than one tool as others have suggested.

Tomasc
Thanks for the link. I still can't help thinking there could be some way of automating a 'search and replace' type function, for the kind of clicks I make. Very much mindful as to how this works in MS Word - search - find next - replace?
It needs someone much smarter than me to create this though

Hello Back2TheBike,

Jeff, optodata & tomasc have all provided excellent options for resolving your mouth click issue in ADR.

You may be interested to read this article, which explains some ways to avoid & deal with unwanted mouth clicks in voice recordings.

As Jeff indicated, there's a delicate balance between removing unwanted sound & maintaing the quality of the rest of the audio.

Beyond the repair tools optodata suggested, there are other options. You mentioned an "automated function/process". Yes, there are such options available but how well they function (without affecting the rest of the audio) is variable. These usually come in the form of VST plugins. Some are free, but many are not. ADR can import VST plugins to expand the feature set.



VST plugins for your purposes are easy to find. Searching for "VST declicker" will yield results. Here's an example of a VST bundle that includes a declicker.

PIX PIX YouTube channel

Pix
That's a fascinating article. I train people in risk management, and the following would seem a helpful mitigation strategy:
I have been hydrating, but need to up my game here:

1. 2 hours before the session AND every 15 lines


2. A tip from the comments section, to keep mouth slightly open between breaks


3. Mic positioned slightly further away (a lav mic pinned about 3 buttons down currently). Every little helps ...

Looking at all the advice above, I've tried the click removal tool (Audacity too), plosive tool, all to minimal effect.
In my case, the 'smack' is always bracketed with silence before and after, so quite a distinctive wavform to search for.
(see attached image)
I reckon it wouldn't be hard for CL to design a search and replace tool. You would copy a typical 'smack' and replace with silence of similar length. Press a button and the software jumps to the next similar 'smack' etc
In these days of face recognition software, and CIA looking for voice patterns over the airwaves, the tech must exist somewhere IMHO.

Your thoughts very much appreciated - thanks
Neil