You can apply a Sidechain to any audio source with the Compressor filter. The Sidechain/Ducking feature is found in the Compressor filter settings. In fact, you can trim out some unwanted high-pitched sounds by removing these higher frequency EQ bands. Anything above 15 kHz is not needed for most audio capture systems. Between five and 15 kHz is what is called sibilance which provides minimal nuances in the human voice. Regular telephone calls generally max out at 3 kHz. Finally, between two and three kHz you can usually add clarity to your voice. Between 300 – 1000 Hz you will hear the reflections of the room. In between 200 and 300 Hz is the boom of a voice which gives it its fullness. Between 80 and 120 Hz is the lower bass sound of the voice and it is very important for intelligibility. Since the human voice generally starts at 80 Hz, there is no reason to include audio from frequencies below this area. Most EQ interfaces will show a graphical display that starts at 20 Hz and goes up to 20 kHz. Male voices and female voices differ in the frequencies they generally exhibit. If you are creating an EQ for the human voice, you can use basic high-pass and low-pass filters to remove unwanted noise and enhance the vocals. Using an EQ takes some getting used to but you can apply some best practices to get started. Unfortunately, there is no default EQ for OBS and you will need to use a VST 2 plugin to gain this functionality.

An EQ can make a voice or other audio source easier to hear and understandable for listeners.

Try listening with your headphones and focus on the beginning and ending of words to make sure the gate is not turning on or off too quickly. It’s a good idea to record a few tests as you adjust the noise gate. If you find the noise gate makes your voice sound unnatural you will want to adjust the Attack and Release settings to tune how quickly the filter affects your voice.

If you are using the default OBS Noise Gate there is no option for using a high pass filter. If you have a deep voice you can use a High Pass Filter around 80 Hz to make the audio gate sound more natural. There are a few tricks you can apply to a Noise Gate to make it sound more natural. ReaGate is a free VST 2 plugin available for use with OBS

Obs plugins