Is this a "normal" practice?

[chava]

Hi guys,

I record mainly vocals and in my DAW, I ALWAYS apply noise-reduction and noise-gate to the vocals before applying compression (yes, ALWAYS...even when it's arguably unnecessary, I will do it as a formality just so I can sleep at night). I do this because I feel that compressing without noise reduction also amplifyies whatever little noise is in the recording. Is this a good practice? If it is, I would like to add an outboard compressor to my signal chain and hence would like to do noise-reduction before the vocal signal hits the compressor. Is there a dedicated noise-reduction/gate unit that anyone can recommend?

Thanks.

 

[ez_willis]

it's pretty damn easy to cut and silence the sections between vocals.

 

[chava]

it's pretty damn easy to cut and silence the sections between vocals.

Hey ez...my main problem is not the "sections between vocals" but some of the noise that might have been recorded IN the vocals. On my former DAW (cool edit pro 2.0) you could remove this noise by getting a sample of the noise you want to get rid of and "giving" it to the "noise-reducer" which will then take care of the rest. I was hoping there was a hardware unit that could do this in real-time.

 

[ez_willis]

Hey ez...my main problem is not the "sections between vocals" but some of the noise that might have been recorded IN the vocals. On my former DAW (cool edit pro 2.0) you could remove this noise by getting a sample of the noise you want to get rid of and "giving" it to the "noise-reducer" which will then take care of the rest. I was hoping there was a hardware unit that could do this in real-time.

ah! not sure about that. is it THAT obvious? And if it's happening consistantly, is there a way to limit outside noise when tracking?

 

[Kingofpain678]

Step 1). get a good recording environment (no ambient noise)
Step 2). Use proper gain staging
Step 3). Don't use noisy equipment unless you have to or you feel it's incredibly necessary
Step 4). get a good monitoring environment (no ambient noise)

End result: No noise.



TADA!

 

[Yonce N Mild]

I don't think there is anything I ALWAYS do to a mix.
I guess I always hit the stop button when I am done recording.


I don't think this sounds like a good idea. Especially if your ears don't tell you it is necessary. Noise reduction like you are describing will almost always leave some type of artifact or remove some of the sound that you don't want removed.

 

[Farview]

I will gate vocals occasionally, but I haven't used noise reduction in eons. If there actually is noise, you should get rid of it at the source instead of trying to get rid of it after the fact.

Are you doing this for a technical reason or an emotional one?

 

[Kingofpain678]

I will gate vocals occasionally, but I haven't used noise reduction in eons. If there actually is noise, you should get rid of it at the source instead of trying to get rid of it after the fact.

Are you doing this for a technical reason or an emotional one?

(yes, ALWAYS...even when it's arguably unnecessary, I will do it as a formality just so I can sleep at night).

Emotional?

 

[chava]

ah! not sure about that. is it THAT obvious? And if it's happening consistantly, is there a way to limit outside noise when tracking?

No it's not "THAT" obvious (at least not to the ear) but I fear it might get THAT obvious after compression and stacking (more that six vocals).

Step 1). get a good recording environment (no ambient noise)

Unfortunately, my recording environment is as quiet as it can ever get in the foreseeble (is that a word?) future.

Noise reduction like you are describing will almost always leave some type of artifact or remove some of the sound that you don't want removed

yes it will, if done unsparingly...I liked what I could achieve with it in the DAW when I used it, reduced noise and no to VERY minimal artefacts.

Are you doing this for a technical reason or an emotional one?

unfortunately, more of emotional than technical. But technical too...see explaination above in response to "ez"...

 

[dintymoore]

I don't do what you're asking about. Whenever I tried noise gates, other than for a drum effect, they always screwed up the sound more than they made it better.

I just chop out the noisy parts if they bother me. It takes a bit of time, but at least I can scrutinize each cut compared to using a noise gate, which is kind of an instant fix.

 

[tewfus]

Step 1). get a good recording environment (no ambient noise)
Step 2). Use proper gain staging
Step 3). Don't use noisy equipment unless you have to or you feel it's incredibly necessary
Step 4). get a good monitoring environment (no ambient noise)

End result: No noise.



TADA!

Solid advice.

Chava I can't remember the last time i did a noise reduction to vocals and I tend to get skeptical anytime someone says they "always" do something like noise reduction.

 

[chava]

Step 2). Use proper gain staging

Thanks for the pieces of advice guys. Quick question though, what exactly is "gain staging" and what is the "proper" way to do it?

 

[Kingofpain678]

Thanks for the pieces of advice guys. Quick question though, what exactly is "gain staging" and what is the "proper" way to do it?

Million dollar question!

http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/ (look on the right for "metering and gain structure" and click on it.)

http://www.massivemastering.com/blog/index_files/Proper_Audio_Recording_Levels.php

Non technical answer is: Keep your signal at line level throughout your chain whether it be -10dbv or +4DbU

 

[chava]

Million dollar question!

http://www.independentrecording.net/irn/ (look on the right for "metering and gain structure" and click on it.)

http://www.massivemastering.com/blog/index_files/Proper_Audio_Recording_Levels.php

Non technical answer is: Keep your signal at line level throughout your chain whether it be -10dbv or +4DbU

Wow...ton of information. Thanks kingofpain!

 

[Kingofpain678]

Wow...ton of information. Thanks kingofpain!

No problem bud!
Good luck to you!