Can a cell phone affect audio recording?

I

ivanlychkov

New member
This is kind of a silly question. I know that a cell phone placed near a microphone may cause an audible noise that spoils the recording. But could it be that it would produce sounds that are inaudible? My problem is that I've recorded some tracks today, and they I've found that a cell phone was left turned on in the next room. I'm afraid that maybe it affected the tracks in a way that I can't hear, maybe in the infra/ultra range... and I have no way to know for certain, and today I had some really good takes, and it breaks my heart to think that I may have to record them again. =(
 
Apart from the audio sound of the phone itself, I have not experienced, nor heard of, a phone being on will affect the tracks. IN fact, my phyone is on me and is nearly always on when I record . . . because I keep forgetting that it is there.

If your tracks sound ok, then they are going to be ok.
 
gecko zzed said:
If your tracks sound ok, then they are going to be ok.
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Thank you so much, this sentence is just what I needed to sleep peacefully. (it's 11:30PM here)
I'm recording an album of original songs, and I want everything to be perfect, and I'm afraid I'm going crazy a bit over it all...
 
A GSM phone sends and receives "pings" to communicate with its towers. These go out periodically just so the network knows where it is, and also come through usually just before it rings. Those transmissions can and will be induced into nearby audio equipment. If it's close to a guitar, maybe a mic, sitting on top of an amplifier or interface, you'll hear it. It happens sometimes like if you set your phone on the dashboard as your driving where it will come through the car stereo. It is a good idea to put that thing in airplane mode while recording, though honestly I never do and it's never been a problem.

If it was a problem, you'd hear it in your tracks. If you can't, then it's not.
 
I have heard a "dit-d-d-d-dit-dit" sort of noise caused by GSM phones checking in with the nearest tower. The poorer the reception the stronger the signal sent and the louder the sound. Tube amps seem especially vulnerable. If you don't hear it it's not an issue.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
I have heard a "dit-d-d-d-dit-dit" sort of noise caused by GSM phones checking in with the nearest tower. The poorer the reception the stronger the signal sent and the louder the sound. Tube amps seem especially vulnerable. If you don't hear it it's not an issue.
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That noise sounds so much warmer from a tube amp though... :D
 
Same deal as the other guys.
I've heard the interference through speakers, headphone amps, guitar amps etc but I've never actually had it recorded.

I don't turn my phone off during sessions and I've never had to ask anyone else to.
Obviously I set it to silent.....
 
bouldersoundguy said:
I have heard a "dit-d-d-d-dit-dit" sort of noise caused by GSM phones checking in with the nearest tower. The poorer the reception the stronger the signal sent and the louder the sound. Tube amps seem especially vulnerable. If you don't hear it it's not an issue.
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Cell phones work in the 800 or 1900 Mhz frequency range. it does not matter if it is GSM, UMTS, or LTE. it should not affect your recording. the tower transmits at a constant power range and can not vary the power, bandwidth yes but not power. :D
 
Atkron205 said:
Cell phones work in the 800 or 1900 Mhz frequency range. it does not matter if it is GSM, UMTS, or LTE. it should not affect your recording. the tower transmits at a constant power range and can not vary the power, bandwidth yes but not power. :D
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Yet it still happens all the damn time. There are a bunch of people on this thread alone confirming having heard it, and many more across the web. It is a real phenomenon and can be induced into certain sensitive circuits and it will come across as audible bursts.
 
ashcat_lt said:
Yet it still happens all the damn time. There are a bunch of people on this thread alone confirming having heard it, and many more across the web. It is a real phenomenon and can be induced into certain sensitive circuits and it will come across as audible bursts.
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There's a pop song based around it.
 
I've heard cellphone noise come through some PA systems. Never had an issue recording at home though. My cell phone typically is 5-6 feet away from my interface, live mic and monitors.
 
Atkron205 said:
Cell phones work in the 800 or 1900 Mhz frequency range. it does not matter if it is GSM, UMTS, or LTE. it should not affect your recording. the tower transmits at a constant power range and can not vary the power, bandwidth yes but not power. :D
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The phone varies its own transmission power based on its connection to the tower, more when reception is poor and less when it's good. Different cell signal formats may use the same part of the spectrum but they do different things with it. Whether or not the others cause interference I don't know but GSM phones are known to.
 
PS - AM and CB radio run on carrier frequencies much higher than the audio spectrum also, but they still manage to come through guitars on occassion. If the modulation of those carrier frequencies happens at audio rates...
 
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