How to Apply Studio Sound to Clean Up Audio in Descript

Use Descript's Studio Sound to remove background noise and make voice recordings sound like they came from a studio mic.

6 minBeginner

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Studio Sound is Descript's one-click audio enhancer. It removes background noise, evens out volume, and adds warmth so a clip recorded on a laptop or phone sounds closer to a professional mic in a treated room. This guide shows how to apply it to a clip and dial in the strength.

What you need

A Descript project with a recording that has noisy or thin audio
A paid plan for full-quality export (free plan previews it)
Headphones for accurate before-and-after comparison

Step 1: Select the clip or speaker

Click the clip in the transcript or timeline that you want to enhance. To apply it to one person across the whole project, you can target their speaker label so only their audio gets processed.

Step 2: Open the effects panel and add Studio Sound

Open the right-hand panel, choose the Effects or Sound tab, and click Studio Sound. Descript analyzes the audio and applies the enhancement. The first render of a clip takes a few seconds.

Descript - Effects panel

Effects

------------------------------

[+] Studio Sound ON

Intensity ----------o-- 80%

Remove background noise [x]

Reduce room echo [x]

[+] Add another effect

Studio Sound added with the intensity slider at 80 percent.

Step 3: Adjust the intensity slider

Studio Sound has an intensity control. At 100 percent it can sound over-processed, like the voice was scrubbed too hard. Start around 70 to 85 percent for a natural result. Move the slider while playing back to find the sweet spot.

Less is more with room echo

If your recording was in an echoey room, Studio Sound at high intensity can introduce a slightly robotic tone. Pull it down a notch and the artifacts usually disappear while still killing most of the noise.

Step 4: A/B test before and after

Toggle the Studio Sound effect on and off with the switch in the panel and replay the same sentence. This A/B comparison tells you whether the cleanup helped or whether you pushed it too far. Trust your ears over the visual waveform.

Descript - A/B compare

Timeline clip: interview_take2.wav

------------------------------------

Studio Sound [ OFF ] raw audio

~~~/\~~~~//\~~~ hiss visible ~~~

Studio Sound [ ON ] enhanced

___/\____/\___ floor cleaned ___

Press M to mute and replay the same line

Toggling the effect off and on to compare the raw and enhanced waveforms.

studio-sound-checklist

[ ] Effect toggled ON for the right clip/speaker
[ ] Intensity set between 70 and 85 percent
[ ] A/B test done with headphones
[ ] No robotic artifacts on sibilants (s, sh sounds)
[ ] Background hum/AC noise removed

Result: a clip recorded next to a humming air conditioner now sounds clean and present, with the hum gone and the voice fuller, all from a single effect and one slider adjustment.

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