# Six-stage voice chain

Edit / Sound / Voice. Checked 2026-11-13.

A phone or clip-on recording sounds like a broadcast voice.

- Use when: Every voice recorded outside a studio: creator video, a talking head, a podcast clip.
- Phrase: run the voice through a high-pass at 100 Hz, a downward expander, a de-esser, a 3 dB lift around 3.5 kHz, a compressor and a limiter, in that order
- Page: https://directorchair.ai/sound/voice-chain
- JSON: https://directorchair.ai/api/sound/voice-chain.json

## Watch out

- The expander goes before the compressor. Otherwise the compressor lifts the room noise between the words again. (practitioner; Director Chair notes on Product UI as the explainer (Patchd))
- Measured on the dry half of the source clip's own hook: the chain lowered the noise floor from -23.6 to -33.8 dB and kept the peaks under -1 dBFS. The values are starting points, not tuned to a room. (measured; Director Chair notes on Product UI as the explainer (Patchd))
- Set the expander's threshold above the room's own noise, measured on a second of silence. Loudness is a separate last step. (practitioner; Director Chair field notes on editing)

## The six stages, in order

| # | Stage | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | High-pass at about 100 Hz | removes rumble, where there is almost no voice |
| 2 | Downward expander | turns the quiet moments down further, so fans, keys and breaths drop between words |
| 3 | De-esser | turns down only the sharp hiss of S sounds |
| 4 | Lift of 3 dB around 3,500 Hz | the range where words get their clarity |
| 5 | Compressor | narrows the gap between quiet and loud words |
| 6 | Limiter | a ceiling, so a laugh or a shout does not distort |

## Prompts

### Any chat model

```
Give me a sound brief: what to record or pick, where it sits on the timeline, the levels, and what to check before export, for a short video about [your product], for [your audience]. The technique is six-stage voice chain: a phone or clip-on recording sounds like a broadcast voice. How it works: run the voice through a high-pass at 100 Hz, a downward expander, a de-esser, a 3 dB lift around 3.5 kHz, a compressor and a limiter, in that order. It is right for: every voice recorded outside a studio: creator video, a talking head, a podcast clip. The expander goes before the compressor. Measured on the dry half of the source clip's own hook: the chain lowered the noise floor from -23.6 to -33.8 dB and kept the peaks under -1 dBFS. Be concrete: numbers, seconds and settings, no theory. Ask me one question first if something you need is missing.
```

## Goes well with

- Loudness target: https://directorchair.ai/sound/loudness-target
- Room tone under a generated voice: https://directorchair.ai/sound/room-tone-under-generated-voice
- The result in the hook: https://directorchair.ai/hook/demonstration-hook

## Source

Own words from Director Chair notes on Product UI as the explainer (Patchd) and Director Chair field notes on editing

Text CC BY 4.0, Director Chair (directorchair.ai). Reference clips and their card texts belong to their makers.