Need help with hum and noise on voice recording. -Sound Forge - PC

Subject:Need help with hum and noise on voice recording. Posted by: Noisy Date:1/12/2005 8:01:25 AM Hey Audio Experts, I have a problem with humming when recording audio using Audio Studio. The noise sounds like a mic. cable going over a power cable (but that doesn't seem to be the problem) or really low audio being boosted (and the audio level IS about -40dB). I've tried all the features in Audio Studio to massage the sound--no good. Normalize brings the sound level up, but the noise comes with it. I've kicked the mic. boost feature OFF in windows and that helped with the hum but the level is still really low so the hum comes right back. What should I do? I'm using and Audio Technica Pro8HE microphone, mixing through the Creative Sound Blaster PCI mixer that come with the computer. Recording levels are set about 8-9.
Subject:RE: Need help with hum and noise on voice recording. Reply by: mpd Date:1/12/2005 8:32:21 AM Have you identified the frequency of the hum? Hint, record some silence, and perform spectral analysis. If it is 60Hz, then just filter the audio with a shelving filter set to 75-100Hz or so. If it is in the voice band, then you either need to notch it out with a very narrow filter, or use the Noise Reduction plugin. I don't know if this comes with SF Audio Studio, though. The noise is probably entering from the sound card itself. The mic inputs on these tend to be pretty crappy.
Subject:RE: Need help with hum and noise on voice recording. Reply by: Rednroll Date:1/12/2005 10:24:52 AM You have a few possible problems going on here. 1. The mic you're using has an XLR Balanced connector output. The Mic IN of the Sound Card is an 1/8" unbalanced input. This can cause possible bad wiring conditions to create the hum. 2. You're using a mic input of a Sound Blaster card for your mic preamp. These are noisy due to cheap components used and the surrounding noisy environment (your PC) surrounding them. Add to that, this is a high amplified gain stage, so whatever noise is present get's amplified 50 times more. You should feel lucky that you can hear your voice over the noise floor using this type of setup for recording. 3. You're humming too loudly. :-) Here's your solution. Go buy an external mic preamp. One with an XLR input. Anything will be better than what you're using now. Goto to radio shack and pick one up if this is for budget hobby work. Make sure it has a Line Level OUTPUT. Run the Line Level out of the mic pre amp to the Line IN of your sound card. It sounds like your soundcard has one of these "Mic/Line" multi-use inputs. Make sure you turn that mic boost off in the SB mixer section. This should give you a much cleaner signal without so much hum. If you want better than this, then throw that SB card in the garbage where it belongs and get a prosumer level type of sound card. Try anything from M-audio that fits your budget. www.m-audio.com
Subject:RE: Need help with hum and noise on voice recording. Reply by: drbam Date:1/12/2005 12:13:34 PM >>If you want better than this, then throw that SB card in the garbage where it belongs and get a prosumer level type of sound card. Try anything from M-audio that fits your budget. www.m-audio.com<< This is by far the best suggestion. Unless you're primarily a gamer, ditch the SB stuff. drbam
Subject:RE: Need help with hum and noise on voice recording. Reply by: musicvid10 Date:1/14/2005 8:36:17 AM The most common source of noise in this setup, assuming the mic input is correctly wired, is open analog inputs to the sound card. Go to your SB mixer, MAKE SURE that the Record input ( the one with the red dot) is set to "Mic", NOT "What U Hear" or something similar.

Subject:Need help with hum and noise on voice recording.

Posted by: Noisy

Date:1/12/2005 8:01:25 AM

Hey Audio Experts,

I have a problem with humming when recording audio using Audio Studio. The noise sounds like a mic. cable going over a power cable (but that doesn't seem to be the problem) or really low audio being boosted (and the audio level IS about -40dB). I've tried all the features in Audio Studio to massage the sound--no good. Normalize brings the sound level up, but the noise comes with it. I've kicked the mic. boost feature OFF in windows and that helped with the hum but the level is still really low so the hum comes right back. What should I do?

I'm using and Audio Technica Pro8HE microphone, mixing through the Creative Sound Blaster PCI mixer that come with the computer. Recording levels are set about 8-9.

Subject:RE: Need help with hum and noise on voice recording.

Reply by: mpd

Date:1/12/2005 8:32:21 AM

Have you identified the frequency of the hum? Hint, record some silence, and perform spectral analysis.

If it is 60Hz, then just filter the audio with a shelving filter set to 75-100Hz or so.

If it is in the voice band, then you either need to notch it out with a very narrow filter, or use the Noise Reduction plugin. I don't know if this comes with SF Audio Studio, though.

The noise is probably entering from the sound card itself. The mic inputs on these tend to be pretty crappy.

Subject:RE: Need help with hum and noise on voice recording.

Reply by: Rednroll

Date:1/12/2005 10:24:52 AM

You have a few possible problems going on here.
1. The mic you're using has an XLR Balanced connector output. The Mic IN of the Sound Card is an 1/8" unbalanced input. This can cause possible bad wiring conditions to create the hum.

2. You're using a mic input of a Sound Blaster card for your mic preamp. These are noisy due to cheap components used and the surrounding noisy environment (your PC) surrounding them. Add to that, this is a high amplified gain stage, so whatever noise is present get's amplified 50 times more. You should feel lucky that you can hear your voice over the noise floor using this type of setup for recording.

3. You're humming too loudly. :-)

Here's your solution. Go buy an external mic preamp. One with an XLR input. Anything will be better than what you're using now. Goto to radio shack and pick one up if this is for budget hobby work. Make sure it has a Line Level OUTPUT. Run the Line Level out of the mic pre amp to the Line IN of your sound card. It sounds like your soundcard has one of these "Mic/Line" multi-use inputs. Make sure you turn that mic boost off in the SB mixer section. This should give you a much cleaner signal without so much hum. If you want better than this, then throw that SB card in the garbage where it belongs and get a prosumer level type of sound card. Try anything from M-audio that fits your budget. www.m-audio.com

Subject:RE: Need help with hum and noise on voice recording.

Reply by: drbam

Date:1/12/2005 12:13:34 PM

>>If you want better than this, then throw that SB card in the garbage where it belongs and get a prosumer level type of sound card. Try anything from M-audio that fits your budget. www.m-audio.com<<

This is by far the best suggestion. Unless you're primarily a gamer, ditch the SB stuff.

drbam

Subject:RE: Need help with hum and noise on voice recording.

Reply by: musicvid10

Date:1/14/2005 8:36:17 AM

The most common source of noise in this setup, assuming the mic input is correctly wired, is open analog inputs to the sound card.

Go to your SB mixer, MAKE SURE that the Record input ( the one with the red dot) is set to "Mic", NOT "What U Hear" or something similar.