Constant Ringing at Multiple Frequencies

Y

youthful1

New member
Hello!

I'm recording in a basement and am trying to figure out what's making this awful noise when I record from any microphone. I have a Behringer UMC404HD USB Interface and this is what happens with any mic I record with. Anyone know typically what makes these noises? Any tips on removing them before they get to my DAW or am I stuck using noise reduction/eq?

Here's the spectral view so you can see for yourself, along with how it sounds:



RINGING EXAMPLE.png
 
I don't hear anything either, but on your graph, you clearly have a series of harmonics. If the base frequency is about 2.6k, you have the 2nd 3rd 4th 5th and 6th harmonics visible. The level must be incredibly low, and at the level of the recording, it isn't apparent to me. I don't have a way to do it since I don't have the raw file, but if you boost the signal a bunch, does the level increase? If you plot it on a frequency vs level line graph, what levels are you seeing? -50dB? -90dB? You should see something like this:

iu


What happens if you record without a mic plugged into the interface. This will tell you if it is from the mic or maybe in the interface system itself. If it is ambient noise (like a buzzing light figure or computer drive whine) do you hear it if you bury the mic under a couple of pillows? That will nail down if it is sound being recorded or something induced into the system.
 
As it's embedded I've failed to download it to fiddle with - but the harmonics suggest it's bus noise - but where's the audio as a comparison.
 
TalismanRich said:
I don't hear anything either, but on your graph, you clearly have a series of harmonics. If the base frequency is about 2.6k, you have the 2nd 3rd 4th 5th and 6th harmonics visible. The level must be incredibly low, and at the level of the recording, it isn't apparent to me. I don't have a way to do it since I don't have the raw file, but if you boost the signal a bunch, does the level increase? If you plot it on a frequency vs level line graph, what levels are you seeing? -50dB? -90dB? You should see something like this:

iu


What happens if you record without a mic plugged into the interface. This will tell you if it is from the mic or maybe in the interface system itself. If it is ambient noise (like a buzzing light figure or computer drive whine) do you hear it if you bury the mic under a couple of pillows? That will nail down if it is sound being recorded or something induced into the system.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the details here, I'll look into it! I'm finding it strange that nobody can hear the ringing, though. I'm even listening to it on my phone and can hear it in the clip I linked. Almost sound like a high "E" note. Any reason why I'd hear it but others can't?
 
youthful1 said:
Thanks for the details here, I'll look into it! I'm finding it strange that nobody can hear the ringing, though. I'm even listening to it on my phone and can hear it in the clip I linked. Almost sound like a high "E" note. Any reason why I'd hear it but others can't?
Click to expand...
TalismanRich said:
I don't hear anything either, but on your graph, you clearly have a series of harmonics. If the base frequency is about 2.6k, you have the 2nd 3rd 4th 5th and 6th harmonics visible. The level must be incredibly low, and at the level of the recording, it isn't apparent to me. I don't have a way to do it since I don't have the raw file, but if you boost the signal a bunch, does the level increase? If you plot it on a frequency vs level line graph, what levels are you seeing? -50dB? -90dB? You should see something like this:

iu


What happens if you record without a mic plugged into the interface. This will tell you if it is from the mic or maybe in the interface system itself. If it is ambient noise (like a buzzing light figure or computer drive whine) do you hear it if you bury the mic under a couple of pillows? That will nail down if it is sound being recorded or something induced into the system.
Click to expand...
So here's a visual representation of my test. From left to right it's 1) Mic unplugged, 2) mic plugged in, and 3) mic plugged in under a couch cushion. 1649351511387.png
 
Update: The ringing seems to get much louder the closer the mic is to the USB interface. Anyone have any ideas why this would be?
 
The trouble with all things audio is that they radiate all kinds of rubbish, and while with screened cables and a decent mic design, some combinations just allow a route in for this radiated rubbish. My computer monitor on one machine makes different noises via my interface depending on what is on the screen - digital noises usually has these characteristic harmonic displays at multiples of the source, and at the sum and difference frequencies. I assume you sorted it now?
 
Glad to hear you found the culprit. I've had a few computers make all kinds of spurious sounds. Sometimes it's really hard to figure out what's doing it.

I downloaded the wav file just to look at it and the level is down about 85dB. Since I was just listening on a laptop speaker which doesn't get very loud anyway, I'm sure it was just a case of being below all the other noise going on. Once I pulled it into Reaper and listened with my headphones, it was very obvious.

RInging.jpg
 
Communication signal noise? Listen to this example and see if it similar?



BTW the idea of breaking the ground loop via an optical conversion is good, however this doesn't look like a high quality conversion.

Cheers,

Tom
 
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