How to Remove Plosives in Audacity with High-Pass Filter

Plosives—the distracting thumps and pops caused by bursts of mechanical air hitting a microphone capsule during "p," "b," and "t" sounds—can compromise the quality of any vocal track. This guide explains how to surgically eliminate plosive pops in Audacity by applying a localized high-pass filter. By isolating only the damaged milliseconds rather than filtering the entire track, you effectively cut the unwanted sub-bass energy while keeping the speaker’s natural vocal warmth completely intact.

1. Locate the Plosive

Zoom in closely on your audio track where the pop occurs. You can identify plosives visually:

Waveform View: Look for an unusually wide, low-frequency wave cycle directly beneath the spoken consonant.
Spectrogram View (Recommended): Click the track dropdown menu next to the track name, select Spectrogram, and look for an intense, bright burst of energy concentrated below 100 Hz.

2. Isolate the Pop

Using the Selection Tool (F1), highlight only the specific duration of the low-frequency burst. This selection is typically very brief, often between 50 to 150 milliseconds. Avoid selecting the high-frequency vowel sound that follows to ensure the spoken word retains its natural tone. Press Z on your keyboard to snap the selection edges to zero-crossings, which prevents clicks or pops at the transition points.

3. Apply the High-Pass Filter

With the plosive highlighted:

Navigate to Effect > EQ and Filters > High-Pass Filter.
Set the Frequency (Hz) slider between 80 Hz and 120 Hz. Most plosive rumble lives between 20 Hz and 80 Hz, while standard human vocal fundamentals sit slightly higher.
Set the Rolloff to 12 dB or 24 dB per octave. A 24 dB slope provides a steeper, more aggressive cut for severe pops, whereas 12 dB offers a gentler, more transparent reduction.
Click Preview to evaluate the change.
Click Apply.

4. Review in Context

Deselect the audio and play back the entire phrase to ensure the transition sounds seamless. If a thud is still audible, press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on macOS) to undo, slightly increase the frequency threshold (up to 150 Hz), and reapply. If the vocal sounds unnaturally thin for a split second, lower the cutoff frequency closer to 70 Hz or reduce the rolloff to 6 dB.