SoundSoap 2 good enough?
 

If all I want to do is remove as much tape hiss as possible without losing audio quality of the dialogue, will the basic ($140) version of SoundSoap suit me or do I need to get the pro version?

-- Brian.

I've seen some good things with the basic version. It is not as good as the Cedar but it is O.K.

For the money it is a useful tool though.

I managed to get rid of a lot of back ground pub behind the bar noise and clean up dialogue to the extent that I will be definitely using it again and may buy it my self.

You have to be a bit careful when using it with music but with voice only the negative aspects of processing are less of a problem. They are there though.

Unless you go high end then there will always be a slight trade off between getting rid of stuff you don't want and keeping what you do.

Even the Cedar DNS systems are to be handled with care.

Having said that the auto function on Sound Soap is O.K. if not the best.

I have had SS Pro for years and think it is pretty good. FWIW, there is no difference between the noise reduction "engine" on the cheap SS and SS Pro.

The only difference is that SS Pro gives you a LOT more control over how the NR is deployed. If it's a one shot deal, I would try the cheap version and see how it does. If you regularly need to do NR, I would buy the Pro or better yet, I would look into the WAVES Restoration bundle, it is better but costs a lot more. The CEDAR stuff is good as well but I have more experience with the WAVES and SS Pro.

No matter which of these you use, beware of getting your audio to be so noise reduced that it begins to sound hollow, metallic and ring-modulated. None of these tools will eliminate all BG noise without messing up your desired audio unless you are REALLY talented and have accurate monitors. But they can cut the noise down to an "acceptable" level without messing up your audio even if you are fairly inexperienced with using NR systems.

Dan