How to Remove Background Noise in Premiere Pro Like a Pro: The Ultimate Guide
Luckily, Premiere Pro isn’t just for cutting clips and color grading. It comes equipped with powerful audio tools that allow you to remove noise and polish your sound like a professional.
In this guide, we’ll show you step by step how to denoise audio in Premiere Pro, including basic tools, advanced workflows, and pro tips so your projects always sound as great as they look.
Professional Premiere Pro Templates
Understanding Background Noise
Even seasoned professionals struggle with getting clean audio, especially when filming in uncontrolled environments. Whether you’re shooting on a busy street or in a windy park, mastering Premiere Pro audio cleanup techniques can transform a noisy recording into clear, professional-quality sound.
Premiere Pro’s Built-in Tools for Noise Reduction
A. The Essential Sound Panel
The Essential Sound Panel is your starting point for quick and intuitive audio repair. To open it, go to Window > Essential Sound. Once you select your audio clip and label it as “Dialogue,” you’ll unlock a set of handy repair options.
Key Feature: “Reduce Noise” Slider
This tool is designed to reduce background noise in Premiere Pro without affecting your main audio. Simply drag the slider until the unwanted sound fades away—start with 20–40% and increase only as needed to avoid dulling your vocals.
Other useful tools include:
- Reduce Rumble – Great for low-frequency hums.
- DeHum – Targets electrical interference and buzzing.
- DeEss – Reduces harsh “s” sounds in dialogue.
Together, these features offer a quick and effective way to clean up problematic audio.
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B. The DeNoise Effect
For finer control, you can use the dedicated DeNoise effect.
Here’s how:
- Go to the Effects panel and search for “DeNoise.”
- Drag it onto your audio clip.
- Open the Effect Controls panel to tweak the settings.
Adjust the Reduction percentage to control how much noise is removed. Start at 40–60% and fine-tune by ear. You can also switch the Processing Focus from “Light Noise” to “Heavy Noise” depending on the severity of the issue.
Combining this effect with the Essential Sound Panel can deliver excellent results when cleaning up layered or particularly noisy clips.
C. Other Useful Effects
In some cases, other Premiere Pro audio effects can be just as helpful:
- Parametric Equalizer – Ideal for reducing frequencies where noise is concentrated.
- Low Pass Filter – Useful for removing high-frequency hissing.
- High Pass Filter – Great for cutting out low rumbles or distant traffic.
These effects require a more analytical approach, but they give you additional flexibility when the main tools aren’t enough.
Advanced Techniques and Workflows
A. Adobe Audition Integration
If Premiere’s built-in tools aren’t getting the job done, consider using Adobe Audition. You can send audio directly from Premiere by right-clicking your clip and selecting Edit Clip in Adobe Audition.
Audition offers more surgical control over noise reduction with features like:
- Spectral Frequency Display
- Noise Print Capture
- Adaptive Noise Reduction
After cleaning the audio in Audition, simply save and it will update automatically in your Premiere timeline. This audio editing workflow is ideal for tougher problems like layered background sounds or complex dialogue scenes.
B. Using Plugins
There are powerful third-party plugins made specifically for audio denoise tasks:
- CrumplePop AudioDenoise – Simple interface, real-time processing, and strong results.
- Waves NS1 – Popular for its one-slider simplicity.
- iZotope RX Elements – Highly precise and professional-grade.
These Premiere Pro plugins can offer better results in less time, especially when you’re dealing with a tight deadline or challenging recording conditions.
C. Tips for Best Results
Even with the best tools, your results depend on how you apply them. Here are a few tips for consistently clean audio in Premiere Pro:
- Record the cleanest audio possible—always use a good mic and monitor with headphones.
- Apply noise reduction gradually; small adjustments go a long way.
- Avoid over-processing—removing too much noise can make audio sound robotic or lifeless.
- Always A/B test your audio by toggling effects on and off.
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Troubleshooting Common Noise Problems
- Wind Noise: Use a Low Pass Filter or the DeNoise effect, and if available, apply Premiere Pro reduce wind noise presets or adjust EQ bands below 150 Hz.
- Hum and Electrical Interference: Use the DeHum slider in the Essential Sound Panel or apply a Notch Filter centered around 60 Hz (USA) or 50 Hz (Europe).
- Room Echo: Try using Reverb Reduction tools or export to Adobe Audition for more advanced treatments.
These solutions can help you eliminate background noise in Premiere Pro regardless of the situation.
Conclusion
Clean audio means a more professional, polished final product that keeps your viewers engaged. So don’t settle for noisy clips—get hands-on and start practicing.
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