Background Noise!!!

[zapacoman]

Here is my situation:

I'm recording singing/acoustic guitar to my factory soundcard on an HP Pavilion (2.8 Ghz 512 mb) ram using Audiocity or SoundForge. I have a Sony mic from Best Buy Approx $50. I try recording using two settings, one w/ and one w/out the mic boost enabled. I also have tried recording with the speakers on and off and it makes no difference. The problem is:

There is a low bass & high pitched interference when recording. A pitch and a squeel @ same time. Its not so bad when boost is off, but then my voice is barely audible...when boost is on my voice is a good volume but the background noise is ridiculous. What can I do to fix the problem???? I would greatly appreciate any good advice.


Thanks,
Derek

 

[Phyl]

I'm not sure what the mic boost does but it probabaly adds some gain to the signal. It might be a nice feature to have in some situations but I can see where it could also be a drawback:

1) Your cheap mic may have a somewhat hyped response (exaggerated highs and/or lows) so the mic boost might make these more evident.

2) If you are recording with the speakers on, you are setting up a feedback loop. When the mic gain and speaker volume are high enough, you'll get an ear piercing, high frequency shreak like you described.

The low frequency boominess could be mic positioning. If you point the mic at the guitar's sound hole you'll get a very bassy, boomy sound. Try pointing it somewhere behind the bridge, or at the point where the neck meets the body - usually around the 12th fret. Another solution could be moving the mic back, about 4 feet from the guitar. If you are singing and playing at the same time, use these ideas to position the mic horizontally, then move it up vertically until the volume balance between your voice and the guitar is what you want.

Some mics also exhibit what's called a proximity effect - the closer they get to the source, the more low and mid freqs are exaggerated.

A few other ideas:

1) Make sure your mic does not require phantom power (it probably doesn't)

2) Be aware that what you're currently using is a rather minimalist set up, not bad, but certainly has pleny of problems as far as fidelity goes.

3) Using a stock computer sound card can cause plenty of problems - poor A/D converters, poor noise shielding, and in general poor audio quality. For a few hundred dollars, you can get a substantially better setup.

Keep working at it and let us know how it goes.

 

[zapacoman]

impedance-matching transformer

I've been reading up on this thing, and wondered if it might help in my situation???

https://homerecording.com/impedance.html

Oh and by the way... i'm a really cheap S.O.B. :-D

And I really appreciated the advice as well.

 

[guitarboi89]

i think the problem is the on board preamps in your computer. a preamp is a electrical circuit that boosts the signal created by the microphone to a larger signal, this means that you can record the signal with less noise etc.
so what you need is a preamp (im pretty sure this is the problem). what you could do if you dont really want to spend money is if you have a small pratice guitar amp plug the microphone into the input and then get a cable from the headphone out of the amp that goes into the line in of your pc soundcard.

 

[Phyl]

I'm assuming his soundcard mic in jack already has a preamp but I could be wrong. Adding another external gain stage, especially a guitar amp, will only induce more problems, noise the biggest amongst them. There is also the possibility that it will overload whatever computer input he/she is using, and possibly burn it up.

I don't think impedance mismatch is your problem either, assuming you are connecting your mic into the computer's mic in jack.

Try the obvious things I suggested then get back to us.

Speaking of cheap, you can get USB interfaces for under $200.

 

[guitarboi89]

what i was trying to say was the pre's in standard pc soundcard are very noisy (hence when he selects "microphone boost" the built in pre's turn on making the noise). i was suggesting bypassing the on board pres (by going into the line in) not adding another to the mic input

 

[zapacoman]

not to sound completely retarded....

but what are these USB interfaces of which you speak?

 

[Phyl]

what i was trying to say was the pre's in standard pc soundcard are very noisy (hence when he selects "microphone boost" the built in pre's turn on making the noise). i was suggesting bypassing the on board pres (by going into the line in) not adding another to the mic input

I understand now - good answer

The USB interface is a little box that you connect to your computer using a USB cable. The USB cable supplies the power to the box, and also gets the audio to/from the computer.

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/prodsearch?form=prodsearch&q=usb


You plug your noise maker (synth, guitar, etc) into the USB box, and use whatever tracking software you buy (SONAR, etc) to record your sounds.

 

[zapacoman]

Thanks!

My last question: Does this USB audio interface produce relatively high sound quality ( i guess it obviously must be a step up from my current setup.)

But in the grand scheme of things - it will make my vocals/guitar louder without an equal increase in background buzz/hum?

will this model be sufficient for what you think i'm looking to do?
http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--MDOMOBILEPRE

You have been very helpful and i greatly appreciate it.

 

[Phyl]

Yes, it should produce adequate volume with a significant drop in noise, rattle & hum, etc...

I say should, because I'm assuming the problems you currently have are related to a cheap, noisy, generic sound card and a cheap microphone. Those are the most likely culprits, but here's some other things (not common) that can also cause problems:

1 - RF interference from nearby radio transmitters
2 - crappy grounding in your home's wiring
3 - Recording in a noisy environment, i.e., noisy computer fans, refrigerator compressors that suddenly start up during a session, HVAC noise (furnace, A/C)
4 - bad mic cables

I'll think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how much better your recordings sound when you upgrade to a new interface and replace that sony microphone. You can get a used Shure SM57 on eBay for around $50-70. It's a dynamic mic and is a real work horse. You could also start out with a condenser microphone, just make sure your USB interface has phantom power for it.

Check the mic forum for more info on various mics.

My comments on the product you linked to:

1) It only produces 16 bit recordings. This is okay to start out with but you may wish later that you had bought a 24 bit interface. 24 bits gives you more dynamic range, and is more forgiving when it comes to setting levels.

2) No MIDI input/output. This will become very important if you want to control any kind of external synth from your computer. Not important now, just another 'growth' issue.

Other than that, it looks like a fine choice.

 

[thane1200]

but what are these USB interfaces of which you speak?

I just got this one off eBay for $200. I've been waiting a long time.....I'm a cheap/poor bastard as well.

Tascam US428

It accepts line level and mic level signals and transfers the audio digitally into my computer recording program at 24bit. This is a higher sample rate than the standard 16bit, and uses higher quality pres, jacks and wiring than a "factory" soundcard. Plus, this one allows for external control of my recording software.

 

[daav]

I just got this one off eBay for $200. I've been waiting a long time.....I'm a cheap/poor bastard as well.

Tascam US428

It accepts line level and mic level signals and transfers the audio digitally into my computer recording program at 24bit. This is a higher sample rate than the standard 16bit, and uses higher quality pres, jacks and wiring than a "factory" soundcard. Plus, this one allows for external control of my recording software.

i used to have one of these, they are pretty nice for a PC recording controller. I remember being a bit confused on how to use it at first, but then agian i didn' tknow shit, and now i barely know shit, so i would be much better off.

$200 is a pretty damn good price too, as i recall,.

Daav

 

[thane1200]

i used to have one of these, they are pretty nice for a PC recording controller. I remember being a bit confused on how to use it at first, but then agian i didn' tknow shit, and now i barely know shit, so i would be much better off.

$200 is a pretty damn good price too, as i recall,.

Daav

I'm glad you were happy with the Tascam, I've been super anxious to get mine; I've done a ton of research and shopping. I'm stoked that it's on the way.