OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
High Pass Filter Online
Remove Rumble and Hiss From Audio With a Cutoff Frequency Filter
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How the Low-pass And High-pass Filter works
This high pass filter online tool also does low-pass. A high-pass filter keeps the highs and removes the lows — rumble, hum, wind, desk thumps. A low-pass keeps the lows and removes the highs — hiss, harshness, digital whine. Choose the cutoff and how steeply it falls away, preview, and export. The file stays in your browser.
High pass filter online: what it does and why
Most recordings contain energy that has no business being there. Traffic, air conditioning, a hand on the microphone stand and the building's own resonance all live below 80 Hz, where a voice has nothing. Tape hiss, preamp noise and the whine of a cheap converter live above 10 kHz, where a voice has little. A filter that cuts only those regions cleans the recording up without changing how it sounds.
High-pass. Removes everything below the cutoff. For speech, 80 to 100 Hz is the standard setting and is applied on almost every broadcast microphone channel; it takes out rumble and plosive thumps and leaves the voice untouched. For music be more careful: a bass guitar reaches down to 41 Hz and a kick drum to 50, so use 30 to 40 Hz on a full mix and reserve higher cutoffs for individual instruments such as guitars and vocals.
Low-pass. Removes everything above the cutoff. Use it to tame hiss on an old recording, usually somewhere between 8 and 12 kHz, or to soften a harsh cymbal or sibilant voice. Below 5 kHz it starts to sound like a telephone, which is sometimes the point — the telephone effect tool does that deliberately.
Slope. How quickly the filter drops off past the cutoff, in decibels per octave. 12 dB is gentle and sounds the most natural, but lets some of the unwanted energy through. 24 dB is the usual compromise. 48 dB is a brick wall that removes almost everything past the cutoff but can add a slight resonance right at the corner. The page builds steeper slopes by cascading second-order stages with the Q values that keep the overall response flat, so the pass band is not coloured.
Choosing a cutoff. Start with the filter set well away from the material — 40 Hz for a high-pass on music, 15 kHz for a low-pass — and raise or lower it while previewing until the problem disappears; then back off slightly. The stats panel names the filter and slope in use.
Stereo. Both channels are filtered identically, so the stereo image is preserved.
FAQ
What cutoff should I use for a voice recording?
A high-pass at 80 Hz with a 24 dB slope removes rumble and plosives without thinning the voice. If the recording was made outdoors in wind, raise it to 100 or 120 Hz. Avoid going higher than that on a deep voice.
Will a high-pass filter remove mains hum?
Only the fundamental at 50 or 60 Hz, and only if the cutoff is above it. Hum usually has strong harmonics at 100, 150 and 200 Hz that a high-pass cannot remove without gutting the recording, so for serious hum use the equaliser to cut narrow bands at each harmonic instead.
Is a steeper slope always better?
No. A 48 dB slope removes more but sounds slightly less natural near the cutoff, and can add a small bump right at the corner frequency. For cleanup, 24 dB is almost always enough. Reserve 48 dB for cases where the noise sits very close to the wanted signal.
Can I apply both a high-pass and a low-pass?
Run the file through the page twice — high-pass first, then low-pass the result. Each pass is a fresh render from the previous export so the quality does not degrade if you export as WAV between them.
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