Getting rid of hiss / noise

NTK88

NTK88

New member
Even though we are recording digital, when I amplify our tracks, there is hiss / noise with it.

What should I buy to get rid of this noise?
 
That noise could be coming from a host of different things... is it on particular tracks, i.e. only guitars or vocal mics or drums, etc? If so, then it is probably either the mic+pre was noisy, or on guitars perhaps the amp was buzzing and you didn't notice until you cranked the recorded track up... just the couple things I can think of off the top of my head at the moment :)
 
First off, try to get rid of the source of the noise, then re-record.

Now, if the noise is part of a track that cannot be re-recorded for what ever reason. I recommend an old app that might be hard to find . Cool Edit 2000 has a noise reduction that is very very good. I might say it can't be beat, but I have only used that one and one other i believe made by Dart, but I digress. The people that made Cool Edit stopped making it. but if you can find it, that is what I would do. :cool:
 
It is on all of them.

I am not sure if it is supposed to be like that or what. Its not that noticable in the drums but when there is silence you can hear it.

In the guitars, bass and electric, it is highly evident. I am sure if the drums RMS were louder (due to spikes from snare drum there is a lower RMS) the hiss would be more evident.
 
As with most things, the answer is to get this fixed at the source - because any noise reduction done after the event will remove more than just the noise you want removed.

The mic or the preamp are the likely source. Check your gain levels to see if you can reduce it (hiss) as far as possible. Are you tracking too hot?

For any hiss that remains, the best results I have had are with Reafir. There are expensive noise reduction tools out there (and other cheap/free options such as those in Audacity or CEP 96 if you can get it.. also the JS Noise Filtre can work).

However, I would try Reafir. Get it here (it's free) http://reaper.fm/files/reaplugs.zip

Load up Reafir. Set it to subtract mode and record some silence (i.e. hiss) while the "automatically build noise profile box" is checked.

Now save that as a patch file.

Load Reafir on any track using that signal chain and load that patch file. It will remove the noise. You can adjust the level of noise reduction using ctrl/right-click on the red line and moving it up or down until you get the best compromise possible. If you want to lower it further just change the -90 in the bottom right corner to -150 or so.

EDIT: What I like about this approach is that it is non-destructive. It is an effect rather than a destructive edit.
 
HangDawg said:
Huh!!.....
Click to expand...

Yea... well at another board I told people we tracked at about -13db and they were like WOAH THATS TOO HIGH GO WAY LOWER!

So we tried!
 
Shouldnt there be something to remove it from even being recorded in the 1st place?

It usually ends up being around -30 db on the guitars, the drums peak at maybe -24, and then I boost them during editing.
 
Amnesia Vivace said:
First off, try to get rid of the source of the noise, then re-record.
Click to expand...
Yep. Try and find out where the noise is coming from to begin with. Is it the computer fan, fridge fan. etc? Is it bad gain staging (gaining something too hot somehwere on the analog side of the chain?) Is it a noisy preamp or mic? Are you recording through a cheapo laptop sound card? You really should nail that down as best as you can, because frangly you should not be getting that much hiss on your recordings to begin with.

But if you *have* to attack the hiss after the fact - which should be a plan B only - in quality and effacacy I'd first recommend the Wave Restoration utilities. Second might be either the CEP/Adobe NR (Noise Reduction) that Amnesia mentioned or the Sony/Sonic Foundry NR utilities.

But frankly they are all poor substitutes for getting rid of the noise before you record it.

G.
 
Ok how do you suggest testing?
Is there a certain db level to test at?

Our gain level is only at 3/10 on our mixer.
 
What is the signal path from mic to computer? I know you said you are recording to separate tracks, but are you running through an analog mixer first? If so, what kind, and are you using the preamps on this mixer?
 
NTK88 said:
Ok how do you suggest testing?
Is there a certain db level to test at?

Our gain level is only at 3/10 on our mixer.
Click to expand...
Start by recording dead tracks on your computer, first with nothing plugged into your converter. Then with your mixer plugged in, and so forth down your signal path in reverse from your computer on down to the microphone. At what point in the chain does the nose come in? Does it all come in at once or in stages? That'll tell you where your problems are located.

But I have suspcions that maybe either you're coming in through a cheap computer soundcard that's adding the noise, and/or that you're running the outputs from your mixer into the Mic in instead of the Line in on a computer sound card. If it's not that simple, then troubleshoot the signal chain as described above.

G.
 
For drums we use the mixer and then to the recorder, for guitars we go sm-57 directly to the recorder.
 
SouthSIDE Glen said:
Start by recording dead tracks on your computer, first with nothing plugged into your converter. Then with your mixer plugged in, and so forth down your signal path in reverse from your computer on down to the microphone. At what point in the chain does the nose come in? Does it all come in at once or in stages? That'll tell you where your problems are located.

But I have suspcions that maybe either you're coming in through a cheap computer soundcard that's adding the noise, and/or that you're running the outputs from your mixer into the Mic in instead of the Line in on a computer sound card. If it's not that simple, then troubleshoot the signal chain as described above.

G.
Click to expand...


We use a DAW :confused:
 
NTK88 said:
We use a DAW :confused:
Click to expand...
Yeah, and....????

What is your definition of DAW? That could mean almost anything from a copy of SoundForge 2 to an entire project studio desk.

You still gotta isolate the source of the noise and you still gotta do it through good old fashoned troubleshooting as described.

G.
 
Looks like good old-fashioned detective work is gonna be needed, as has been mentioned. However, if it is on every track you record, then it may not be the mixer... it might be the mics, or the DAW is set up incorrectly (input gain is not up high enough, so you are overcompensating after the fact by cranking up the recorded track's volume), or perhaps there is something in the space you are recording in producing that hiss...

Again, try recording dead silence with the mics configured the way you've been working, and then see if that noise persists, and go from there.
 
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