Computer Recording?

[johnf]

I've been trying to record an acoustic guitar and vocals onto my computer via a microphone and a lexicon lambda audio interface and cubase.

What I'm noticing now, however, is that my computer itself makes a LOT of noise - partially from the fan, I think, but mostly the hard-drive making whirring noises. Is there any way to reduce this noise, either by altering settings on my computer, reducing the workload on the harddrive somehow, or conceal the noise with some kind of sound-reducing box I could build around it?

I'd appreciate any ideas or experiences you could share.

[bennychico11]

get a long cable and record in a different place
put the computer somewhere else
play louder so you don't have to turn up the gain as much
switch out the fans with noiseless ones
buy an expensive isolation box
or build something like this:


(it's just rigid fiberglass/absorbent material wrapped in fabric...it can help reduce the noise)

Buy some extension cables to put the case outside the room, that's what I had to do. There are also wireless systems you can buy for the monitor, keyboard, and mouse that I wish I had gotten instead, they go for about $100-$120. I spent about $50 on the cables for my monitor, keyboard, and mouse.

It's dead quiet in here now.

[Ben Logan]

Originally Posted by johnf

I've been trying to record an acoustic guitar and vocals onto my computer via a microphone and a lexicon lambda audio interface and cubase.

What I'm noticing now, however, is that my computer itself makes a LOT of noise - partially from the fan, I think, but mostly the hard-drive making whirring noises. Is there any way to reduce this noise, either by altering settings on my computer, reducing the workload on the harddrive somehow, or conceal the noise with some kind of sound-reducing box I could build around it?

I'd appreciate any ideas or experiences you could share.

What kind of mic are you using? Some mics are omnidirectional and pick up the sound of the room in 360 degrees. Others have a tighter pattern of focus (cardioid, for example), and will do a better job of rejecting sounds at the rear of the mic.

Welcome to computer recording! You've opened a real pandora's box my friend!

[johnf]

i'd like to start by apologizing for posting this thread so many times. it must have been a computer glitch. if there's a moderator kicking around, i'd appreciate it if he/she deleted the other three posts, but not this one.

as far as microphones go, right now i'm using a cheap behringer microphone. since i have a little bit of money right now, though, i'm also planning on upgrading my microphones. i was originally going to get an SM58, but right now i'm leaning towards this sucker:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...unt?sku=273158

since it seems like a bargain to be getting a $400 mic for abou $120, shipped to my door. i'd love to hear your thoughts on this choice of mics, however.

as far as moving the mics further away from the computer, the problem is that my basement is an open design, so there really still won't be any barriers to stop sound from reaching the other end of my basement, which is why i was hoping for some details on some kind of sound reducing box. that fibreglass example seems really interesting. is there anywhere on the internet i can find plans on how to build one? how well do they work?

as always, thanks so much for your input.

[fuzzrhythm]

just a word of advice regarding recording/music gear....list price is BS. Don't even pay attention to list price.

[bennychico11]

Originally Posted by johnf

that fibreglass example seems really interesting. is there anywhere on the internet i can find plans on how to build one? how well do they work?

can't comment on how well it will work, but it will reduce it some...and for cheap.
And it's extremely easy to make. Just buy a few panels of 703 (here's some places to buy), wrap 'em in fabric and mount them around your computer
You just want to be careful with the build up of heat...those fans need circulation.

My computer overheats too easily for that kind of configuration. It's actually so bad that I have to keep one side-panel of the case off or it gets pretty hot. That just makes it even more noisier.

www.atsacoustics.com has good pre-built panels for cheap, but shipping is what you'll be paying for mostly, maybe not-so much on the smaller, 2" thick ones.

Just make sure it's an almost air-tight enclosure and that you only use it while tracking, and keep track of the temperature. You won't want to leave it in there for long at all since it will overheat.

Also, replacing the power supply and fans with quiet ones will help even more, in addition to moving it as far away as possible from your microphones.