Need Help! A simple audio Set-up

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LeAkeem

New member
Hi there guys! I need some help.

I recently bought a $180 condenser microphone that connects to the computer via USB. My problem is noise issues. Even in an environment that I think is already quiet, there is noise. I'm a newbie at this. I've done my research but I think it is not enough.

Is there any free/cheap software that acts like a filter before the signal goes into say... audacity or any streaming app (skype perhaps?) so that noise would be removed?

In post, any suggestions on how to deal with this? My experience with audacity and too much noise reduction is that audio gets messed up.

Thank you!
 
One of the benefits/drawbacks of condenser mics is that they are very sensitive, and tend to pick up everything. Really best used in pro studio (soundproofed) environment. You can try the usual suggestions (hang heavy blankets around the recording space, record in a closet, record at times when ambient noise levels are low etc) with some measure of success. You don't say what you're trying to record - for voice, tbh a dynamic mic probably would have been a better choice (less sensitive, more directional). There's really no way to eliminate the noise in real time with software. After the fact though, if the noise has a pattern there are tools (inside a DAW) that can automate removal. Random ambient noise can only be removed by manual editing.
 
Hi! Thank you for the response. I got too excited with the mic that I overlooked that one bit of detail. I am trying to record voice and instruments. Sometimes voice only: singing or speaking.

That blanket suggestion, I'll try that.

Thanks for the tips!

I'll try to upload later a sample track to show what my problem is.
 
There's also the fact that your ears adjust really quickly to ambient noise - unless you live somewhere out in the countryside, there's most likely going to be a steady background noise everywhere that you don't even realize. The mics, of course, don't adjust - they kind of hear everything, and as said, condenser mics tend to hear even better.

Also, the built-in preamps in those USB mics can often be somewhat noisy to begin with. It shouldn't be unusably noisy, but it all adds up. And with USB mics...well, even though $180 might sound like you're buying something relatively high quality, you have to consider the fact that you're basically buying not only a mic, but also a mic preamp and a A/D converter all in the same package; each of these things tend to cost more than the whole package alone when bought separately (and it's not uncommon to have a $2k price tag on any of these alone, but that's the real high-end tag not many of us can or need to be able to afford). I'm not trying to put down what you've bought, and nowadays USB mics can be relatively ok-ish. Just offering a sobering perspective that this is well in the low-end of audio hardware, and you can't really expect a high-end performance from that thing. All that said, you should be able to get decent recordings with some understanding of how things work and with the fine tips provided by ponkapog above.
 
As pointed-out above, you have to define "noise;" or, distinguish between electronic self-noise/high noise-floor issues, and acoustic noise (what's in your room, what's outside that the microphone can "hear").

If it's cars and dogs barking down the street, I can tell you that in the mix, it will rarely be a problem; you only hear that stuff for the most part when a track is solo'd. Obviously, if it's really egregious, then you have to try to mitigate the issue somehow. "Room sound," or, the tone quality and reverb quality of your room, will also have an affect (see the many threads here at FP regarding room treatment). But usually, that stuff can be dealt with and isn't too bad.

If it's self-noise from your microphone itself, you may have more of a problem. The two most important things in a live recording chain are the source itself (voice or instrument quality), and the microphone used, followed by placement (where you put the microphone to get the best sound). If the mike in-question has lots of self-noise before any other sound goes into it...

We might be able to help better if you can get that sound example posted.

GJ
 
Thank you for the replies! That's great info. I did try recording in two different rooms in the house. Here they are:

View attachment Piano Raw.mp3
View attachment Piano noise reduction applied (audacity).mp3
View attachment guitar raw.mp3
View attachment guitar noise reduction applied (audacity).mp3

The piano was recorded in the living room and the guitar was recorded in a quiet bedroom. It seems that the noise in the living room has a higher pitch than the one in the bedroom. So could it be that most of the noise is caused by the environment? I tried removing the noise which I think I did successfully (your comments on the results?).

Note:
What's annoying is that the reviews in youtube on this mic have minimal noise in it even in the raw recording. Might have I been fooled by false reviews? Noise reduced samples also sound great there - something I am still trying to replicate.

Room treatment - that's next on my list.

Any comments?

Thanks!
 
Yeah, something doesn't sound right. On the raw piano track, can hear you breathing, moving around, normal stuff. But, there's also a discernible hum/buzz that just shouldn't be there. Perhaps try different USB ports, changing cable positions, stay away from fluorescent lighting, etc - or if on a laptop try disconnecting from AC power.

btw - noise reduction techniques are really just for use in desperation - imho, one of the best tools for this is ReaFir, and I tried it on the raw piano.
To me, it sounds not much different than your results with Audacity.
 
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I see. The piano track was recorded where the mic and computer was about 1.5 meters from a CFL (on top of an upright grand). The guitar track was at about 2 (was near the floor). I think you're right. It's the light that caused that hum.

I listened to that link. Yeah, no distortions, I like it. I'll try that program out, see if it works for me.

"noise reduction techniques are really just for use in desperation" - this is new info to me. As a photographer, we always have to reduce noise be it for commercial or editorial use though we try to limit its use too. Though I think I understand why, the sound degrades with every pass of noise reduction (I sometimes do multiple applications when I don't get it the first one... is that something other people also do or is it just not good? Sometimes the sound improves sometimes it gets distorted)

I'll try those tips in the coming week and post it here. Also, do you think cable length has an effect? or cable quality? Since the output is digital I would think not. It's on a 2m stock usb cable btw.

Thanks for the response!
 
If you pull up the noise to more audible levels, the piano one sounds much more mechanical - I'm guessing it's something like an air conditioning unit. The guitar one just sounds more like, well, noise.
 
Hmmm. Caveats/Disclaimers upfront-- I don't have decent headphones available right now, and I'm listening to these examples on some cheap 1-inch "Leading Edge" speakers, so YMMV.

BUT... I don't really hear any "noise" or "hum." They may be there on closer inspection, just saying I can't track it right now. What I am hearing on the raw piano, and especially the raw guitar track (and the "noise reduced" one as well), is what I'm pretty sure is clipping/digital distortion. Do you hear how the piano track (both versions) completely cuts out at about 00:11 secs., and there's that little "burp" (glitch) at 00:17 and again at 00:20? That sounds like you blew out the condenser mike a little bit there. Where are you placing the microphone? What input level shows when you look at your meters? What does the file look like? (Is there a big volume "spike" at the previously mentioned second marks?). I think you're over-driving the condenser element, which is pretty easy to do. Mike placement on guitar and piano are very important. Did you put the microphone directly in front of the sound hole? (a big recording "no-no," generally speaking). The raw piano also seems to be clipping on the left side of my stereo image.

Check out some tutorials on live recording and mike placement, back-off the input level a bit, and see if that helps. If there's still an issue or issues, post again and we'll re-evaluate. I will also try to listen to the samples on a better system and/or with headphones at some point; I'm not hearing what Krushing and ponkapog hear if there is hum there, it's quite possible. But the other problems I mentioned are more egregious, IMHO. Also, the guitars a bit out-of-tune, bruh. The usual suspects? A string, B string, and/or high E; check it out again and/or use an electronic tuner.

BTW-- "noise reduction techniques are really just for use in desperation"-- Absolutely correct! Getting a good recording of the source sound, with good microphone placement, no clipping or distortion, plenty of volume (but not too much!) are where it's at; 90-99.9 percent of recording issues can be tackled there. Next would be inspecting your signal chain for any real "noise." Then of course, room treatment. After those are taken care of, you will probably almost never have any issues with your raw tracks. Once we start looking at noise reduction or noise gating, we are travelling down a deep dark hole of never-ending tweaking, and never really being satisfied with the sound anyway. Don't try to "fix it in the mix," get it right at the source!

GJ
 
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rhythmgj said:
BUT... I don't really hear any "noise" or "hum." They may be there on closer inspection, just saying I can't track it right now.
Click to expand...

I couldn't hear it very well either (at work with standard Apple earbuds), but I pulled up the levels and there's clearly a mechanical throbbing noise on the piano recording.
 
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