"Reducing Noise" in my recording

[Elementcole037]

Hi, I am a newbie to this forum.

I don't exactly have all the hi-tech equipment that professionals have but I do have the basic stuff like....

Cool Edit Pro 2.0
Behringer 2 channel Compressor
Behringer 2 channel, 31 Band Equalizer
Behringer 4 Mic, 2 input Mixer
1 MXL 993 (Instrumental Mic'in)
1 MXL 990 (Vocals)


I record in a basement,
I was wondering how to reduce the noise in the background in my recording....It isn't horribly bad or anything but still noticable..
Im wondering if there is something I can do that really isn't gonna cost me a whole lot of money.
Is there something in Cool Edit Pro 2.0 that I can do to reduce the noise?

Any help would be most appreciated,

Cole

[littledog]

Could you specify if you are talking about external noise (furnace, air conditioner, noisy neighbors, etc.) or electronic noise (hiss, hum, radio stations, etc.)

Please be as specific as possible.

[Elementcole037]

I get alot of hiss in the background...it is probably comming from the ac/furnace......computer and other electronic devices..

[Elementcole037]

Here is an example of my work, feel free to tear it to shreds on its "quality" because i could sure use some pointers....thanks

http://www.lightningmp3.com/live/file.php?fid=4170

[littledog]

OK - if you are pretty sure it is external noise, and not the internal electronics of your recording chain, then the best way to deal with it is to remove it at the source.

That means, while you are recording, turn off your furnace and air conditioning. Build an enclosure around the noisy parts of your computer to keep it from getting into mic. And you can also put some portable barriers around the mic itself (called gobos) to block some of the sound from reaching the mic. Also, assuming the mic is cardioid, aim the mic directly away from the noisiest part of the room.

[studiomaster]

Get the Behringer outta the chain and get a preamp.

[studiomaster]

Also, compress the vocals. EQ it up a bit.

[Sloan]

I just got done tracking a band where they insisted on recording the guitars Direct. I wasn't all about it, but it didn't turn out bad at all. There was some noise though, and I spent some time editing the guitar tracks where they made stops in their playing so that that the noise was hardly noticeable. It helped out quite a bit!

[Tim Brown]

Originally Posted by studiomaster

Get the Behringer outta the chain and get a preamp.

+1,000%!

Cheap mixers tend to add noise to recordings.
Also, it could be whatever your sound card is, and most likely it is the combination of the two (mixer+soundcard). Hiss isn't caused by "external" sound sources, like an air conditioner.


Tim

[gecko zzed]

I would suggest that you not react to the instant diagnoses presented.

Instead, I would suggest that you work systematically through the signal path to see if there is some part that is primarily responsible for the noise.

Maybe the mixer is noisy, maybe it is the interface. Don't leap into solutions before you've identified the problem.

[Tim Brown]

Originally Posted by gecko zzed

I would suggest that you not react to the instant diagnoses presented.

Instead, I would suggest that you work systematically through the signal path to see if there is some part that is primarily responsible for the noise.

Maybe the mixer is noisy, maybe it is the interface. Don't leap into solutions before you've identified the problem.

Gecko zzed,

True - he does need to work through his signal chain.
It could be simply a matter of his volume too high on his soundcard, and not sending enough signal from the mixer.

I've got a Mackie 1604-VLZ pro mixer, and we went through everything trying to get rid of the hiss I was getting recording onto my computer, but there was always a little bit of noise present. My brother and I were trying to record live to stereo, and then he was going to layer tracks over top of our Rhythm section tracks.
No matter what we did, there was always a little bit of audible noise in the recording, so I chalked it up to a combination of the mixer and the soundcard.




Tim

[Tim Brown]

Originally Posted by gecko zzed

I would suggest that you not react to the instant diagnoses presented.

Instead, I would suggest that you work systematically through the signal path to see if there is some part that is primarily responsible for the noise.

Maybe the mixer is noisy, maybe it is the interface. Don't leap into solutions before you've identified the problem.

Gecko zzed,

True - he does need to work through his signal chain.
It could be simply a matter of his volume too high on his soundcard, and not sending enough signal from the mixer.

I've got a Mackie 1604-VLZ pro mixer, and we went through everything trying to get rid of the hiss I was getting recording onto my computer, but there was always a little bit of noise present. My brother and I were trying to record live to stereo, and then he was going to layer tracks over top of our Rhythm section tracks.
No matter what we did, there was always a little bit of audible noise in the recording, so I chalked it up to a combination of the mixer and the soundcard.




Tim

[Tim Brown]

Originally Posted by gecko zzed

I would suggest that you not react to the instant diagnoses presented.

Instead, I would suggest that you work systematically through the signal path to see if there is some part that is primarily responsible for the noise.

Maybe the mixer is noisy, maybe it is the interface. Don't leap into solutions before you've identified the problem.

Gecko zzed,

True - he does need to work through his signal chain.
It could be simply a matter of his volume too high on his soundcard, and not sending enough signal from the mixer.

I've got a Mackie 1604-VLZ pro mixer, and we went through everything trying to get rid of the hiss I was getting recording onto my computer, but there was always a little bit of noise present. My brother and I were trying to record live to stereo, and then he was going to layer tracks over top of our Rhythm section tracks.
No matter what we did, there was always a little bit of audible noise in the recording, so I chalked it up to a combination of the mixer and the soundcard.




Tim

[Chibi Nappa]

Modern gear, even the cheapest of the cheap, should be quiet enough that noise is not an issue. It is most likely the environment or mis-use of the equipment. Turn off everything: The airconditioner, the heat, the 'fridge, the TV, the ice maker, etc. That's most likely the problem. What your everyday untrained ear chalks up as "quiet" is not nessicarily quiet to a microphone.

Barring enviromnetal issues, check your gain structure. For instance, if one bit of gear is turned down way too low and the next bit of gear in the chain is turned up way too loud to compensate, you'll get noise.

So check that gain structure, but my bet is the environment.