Dealing with Breath Sounds: Editing Without Overcompensating

Breath sounds are a natural part of speaking, but sometimes they can get a little too loud, distracting, or just plain annoying in your recordings.

Whether you're narrating an audiobook or recording a podcast, you’ll inevitably encounter those big, audible inhales or exhalations.

While you don’t want to eliminate them completely (after all, breathing is part of what makes you sound human), you also don’t want them to dominate the audio.

Let’s talk about how to deal with breath sounds without overcompensating and making the recording sound weird or robotic.

1. Use a High-Pass Filter to Tame Low-End Breaths

Breaths tend to be in the lower frequency range, and they can sometimes sound a little too boomy or overwhelming, especially if you’re close to the mic.

A simple high-pass filter can help tame the low end breath sounds without affecting your voice’s natural tone.

How to do it: Set your high-pass filter around 100 Hz (or a little higher depending on your voice) to roll off the excess low end.

This will clean up any “windy” or overly deep breaths without touching the clarity or warmth of your voice.

2. Automate Volume to Smooth Out Breaths

Rather than manually removing every breath (which can make the audio sound unnatural), a more subtle approach is to automate the volume of the breaths so they’re less noticeable.

This method allows you to keep a natural breathing pattern while controlling the level of louder breaths.

How to do it: Zoom in on your waveform and listen for any breaths that stick out like a sore thumb. Using automation, reduce their volume slightly so they blend more naturally into the audio.

Just be sure not to overdo it... breaths are important for pacing and making the recording sound more human.

3. Don’t Over Process

It’s tempting to just slap a de-esser or noise reduction plugin on every breath, but too much processing can make your audio sound unnatural and fake. Your breaths are part of the texture and rhythm of the recording, so don’t strip them away completely.

How to do it: Instead of relying too much on plugins, focus on your editing. Only remove or reduce breaths that are disruptive. If a breath feels too loud or sharp, apply EQ or volume automation, but leave the others alone.

Breaths can give your recordings a sense of life and personality, so don’t be too aggressive with them.

Breathing sounds are a normal part of human speech, and with the right techniques, you can tame them without completely eliminating them from your recording.

With subtle EQ adjustments, volume automation, and careful editing, you’ll strike the perfect balance between smooth audio and natural sounding breaths.