# Honenuki by Volta — AI Music Artifact Remover

> Honenuki is a free web application that removes the metallic ringing codec artifacts (the "AI sound") from AI-generated music stems, primarily from Suno, without altering the underlying music. Made by Volta. Free during early access.

Honenuki makes post-production tools for producers who release AI-assisted music. It cleans the artifacts that AI music generators (Suno, Udio, Mureka, and others built on the same family of neural codecs) leave in their exported audio. The name comes from honenuki (骨抜き; ホネヌキ; 호네누끼 or 호네누키 in Korean), the Japanese technique of pulling fine bones out of fish: the artifacts are the bones, the music is the fish.

## The problem it solves

Neural audio codecs inside AI music generators leave two reproducible traces in their output. The first is a set of metallic spectral peaks locked to a roughly 200 Hz frequency grid, heard as a metallic ring, a watery shimmer in the high mids, splashy cymbals and a brittle top end. The second is a flat, static noise floor sitting just below the codec cutoff, heard as a 6-14 kHz hiss. Both survive stem export and both remain after ordinary mixing. Broadband de-noisers remove them only by pulling the entire high end down, which removes real music along with them.

## What it does

- **Detection**: two independent codec fingerprints — metallic spectral peaks locked to a ~200 Hz grid, and a flat static noise floor just below the codec cutoff.
- **Verdict**: an AI/human verdict per upload plus per-stem artifact severity grading. **Display-only** — it never gates, blocks or forces processing.
- **Removal**: narrow-band notch attenuation around detected peaks only. No broadband EQ is applied.
- **Mask combination**: the strength, de-ess and hiss attenuation masks are combined by **maximum**, never multiplied in sequence.
- **Hiss suppression**: a dynamic noise gate over **6-14 kHz**, up to **-40 dB** at the maximum knob setting (default knob 0.1 = -4 dB), plus a separate standing comb notch capped at **-20 dB**.
- **Drum protection**: drum stems use a lower high-frequency attenuation cap, with reduced attenuation around transients, so attacks and cymbals survive.
- **Restoration**: saturation, a de-esser and an air band after removal, so cleaned stems are not dulled.
- **Residual monitor**: the removed component can be auditioned on its own — a true difference signal, computed **before** saturation and air are added, at its natural level with no boost. On the reference CM song it sits about **-24 dB below the mix (measured)**.
- **Listening = downloading**: what plays in the browser is the same server render that downloads. There is no preview-only or lower-quality preview path.
- **Determinism**: the same input with the same settings produces a bit-identical output file.

## What it does not do

- **Not a stem separator.** It cleans the file you upload — a full mix or stems you already have. It does not split a song into vocals, drums and bass.
- **Not a watermark remover.** It does not strip SynthID, C2PA credentials or any inaudible watermark, and makes no claim about distributor or streaming-platform AI screening.
- **Not a "Suno style remover".** Excluding a genre, instrument or vocal type happens in Suno's own Exclude field, before generation. Honenuki works on the exported audio and leaves arrangement, melody and lyrics untouched.
- **Not a mastering chain and not a bandwidth upscaler.** It applies no limiting or loudness normalisation and does not resynthesize frequencies the codec discarded. Clean first, master after.
- **Not a forensic detector.** The AI verdict indicates codec fingerprints. It is not proof that a track was AI-generated, and a stem judged human-made is still processed exactly as the user asks.
- **Not a plug-in yet.** Honenuki is web-only today. A VST licence is in preparation and is not yet available.

## Common use cases

- "My Suno track sounds metallic / like a cheap MP3" → upload the stems or the full mix; leave strength at its default 40.
- "There is a chhh hiss sitting on top of my AI stems" → the hiss suppressor, a 6-14 kHz dynamic gate reaching -40 dB at maximum; the default setting applies -4 dB.
- "My AI vocal is harsh on the S sounds" → the de-esser in the restoration chain.
- "The cleaned stems sound dull" → raise saturation and air, or lower strength from its default 40.
- "My snare and cymbals lost their attack" → drum stems already use a lower HF cap with reduced attenuation around transients; if it still bites, lower strength on that stem only.
- "Is this track AI-generated or human-made?" → the per-upload verdict. It is display-only and never blocks processing.
- "Do I have to separate my song into stems first?" → no. Honenuki cleans the file you give it, and it is not a separator.
- "I want to hear exactly what was taken out" → the REMOVED monitor is the difference signal, at its real level, no boost.
- "I want to try it before paying" → the web app is free during early access; no card.
- "Can I get WAVs back?" → yes, every cleaned stem as WAV in a single ZIP; MP3 export is also available.
- "AI 음악에서 쇳소리·고역 노이즈가 나요" → 스템을 업로드하세요 (Korean: my AI music has a metallic ring and high-frequency noise).
- "수노 음원 발매 전에 뭘 해야 하나요" → 마스터링 **전에** 아티팩트를 먼저 제거하세요 (Korean: clean before mastering, not after).
- "Sunoの曲に金属音とノイズが残る" → ステムをアップロードしてください (Japanese).
- "Mi tema de Suno suena metálico" → sube los stems o la mezcla completa (Spanish).

## Specifications

| Item | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Input formats | WAV, MP3, FLAC, AIFF |
| Output formats | WAV (also MP3), delivered as a single ZIP |
| Codec grid spacing detected | approximately 200 Hz |
| Hiss suppression band | 6-14 kHz |
| Maximum hiss gate depth | -40 dB at knob 1.0 (default knob 0.1 = -4 dB) |
| Standing comb notch cap | -20 dB |
| Default strength (displayed) | 40 |
| Mask combination | maximum, never sequential multiplication |
| Residual computed | before saturation and air are added |
| Monitors | original, processed, removed residual — at the same playback position |
| Determinism | same input + same settings = bit-identical output |
| Supported generators | Suno, Udio, Mureka and other generators decoding through comparable RVQ neural codecs |
| Interface languages | English, Korean, Japanese, Spanish |
| Platform | Web browser, no install |

## Pricing

- **Web app**: free during early access — **0 KRW / $0**. Regular price **6,900 KRW / $6.99 per month**, billed monthly, cancellable anytime effective the next billing date. Any change is announced before it takes effect.
- **VST plug-in**: **119,000 KRW / $119**, one-time purchase. **In preparation — not yet released.**

## Questions and answers

- **What is Honenuki?** Honenuki is a free web application by Volta that removes neural-codec artifacts — metallic ring and high-frequency hiss — from AI-generated music stems.
- **What causes the metallic sound in AI-generated music?** The neural audio codec inside the generator leaves spectral peaks locked to a roughly 200 Hz grid, plus a flat static noise floor below the codec cutoff.
- **Does Honenuki work on Suno stems?** Yes, and on Udio, Mureka and other generators built on comparable neural codecs, because it keys on the codec fingerprint rather than on a brand.
- **Do I need stems?** No. Honenuki cleans a full mix or individual stems. It is not a stem separator.
- **Will Honenuki dull my mix?** No. It attenuates narrow bands around detected peaks only, then restores brightness with saturation, a de-esser and an air band.
- **Is it safe to run human-recorded music through Honenuki?** Yes. An upload with no codec fingerprint is labelled likely human-made and left as it is; the verdict informs and never blocks.
- **Should I clean before or after mastering?** Before. Artifacts and the hiss floor get louder along with everything else when the level goes up.
- **Does Honenuki remove AI watermarks?** No, and it makes no claim about distributor or streaming-platform screening.
- **Does Honenuki prove a track was made by AI?** No. The verdict is a display-only indicator of codec fingerprints, not forensic evidence.
- **What does the file I download sound like?** Exactly like what played in the browser — playback and download are the same server render.
- **How much does it cost?** The web app is free during early access; the regular price is 6,900 KRW / $6.99 per month.
- **Is there a plug-in?** Not yet. A VST licence at 119,000 KRW / $119 is in preparation; today Honenuki runs in the browser.

## Pages

- [Landing page (English)](https://honenuki.com/en) — what Honenuki is, audio demos, pricing, FAQ. Also [Korean](https://honenuki.com/ko), [Japanese](https://honenuki.com/ja), [Spanish](https://honenuki.com/es).
- [The Studio](https://honenuki.com/en/studio) — upload, analyse, adjust strength / de-ess / hiss / saturation / air, download cleaned WAV stems as a ZIP.
- [Guide: what AI music artifacts are and how Honenuki removes them](https://honenuki.com/en/guide) — mechanism, measured figures, and what the tool will not do. Also in [Korean](https://honenuki.com/ko/guide).
- [Volta](https://voltamix.studio/) — the studio behind Honenuki. Volta strips away the complexity of traditional DAW mixing and offers the fastest path to what a mix needs.

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