Best mics for picking ONLY voice, with no or minimum background noise?

  • Thread starter Thread starter TrafalgarLaw
  • Start date Start date
T

TrafalgarLaw

New member
Hi there, first post here.

I've been using Shure SM58 dynamic mic for my home recording for years. It was good, but it's time for upgrading.

My recordings are at home, mixed between recording tutorials on laptop and interviews by dslr. I need only 1 mic so all of my recordings will have similar warmth voice. An XRL connector mic preferred since I've already have an XLR-USB preamp interface. I need something that pick up ONLY my voice in a very narrow radius from the mic, and don't pick up background noise such as air conditioning, CFL light hums, keyboard typing, mouse clicks, or someone snoring a few feet away. My budget is $300.

The category I'm looking into right now is the lavs mic. Maybe the Rode lav or Sennheiser ME2. Are they good for my uses? Or is there anything better in my aplications than the lavs? Any recommendations are welcomed. Thanks in advance :thumbs up:
 
You think elton?
Sm58 let's you get much closer to the cartridge. I'd guess it'd be better for the job than the 7b.
 
Thanks both for quick reply. Shure SM58 is good, but it still picking CLF hums and snoring. The worst part is, the snoring noise was from me, while others are recording. :facepalm:
 
Unfortunately the only real solution is to deal with the noise.
The lighting and aircon are easy. You just have to turn them off during recording. I know..i know...that's not what you asked, but it really is the best advice.

As far as keyboard tapping and that kind of thing, I'm not sure I've ever seen a happy conclusion to a thread about that.
It's just not an easy thing to completely eliminate.
For commentaries and the likes a headset is probably a good idea, but the real best bet is not to type while you're recording, if at all possible.


Have a look at the related threads at the bottom, or do a search for keyboard tapping noise.
There were a few detailed threads quite recently.

PS. The closer you are to any mic, the louder your voice will be relative to the background noises.
Half and inch or an inch really does make a massive difference. The low end will probably boom a little but that's what a HPF is for. :)
 
Thanks. So you're recommending that I would spend the budget into upgrading the studio than buying new mic? That is a lot harder than buying a new mic because there are scenes that I need to record video and audio from DSLR at the same time. When doing this, I will need sufficient lighting. My primary lighting is from CFL bulbs, and the closer they are to the talent, the softer they are. The conflict part is, the closer they are, the louder they hum. Or, maybe I need a low noise lightning such as LED lights?
 
If it's feasible and you think it's a worthwhile investment, I'd definitely work on the studio rather than buying new equipment.

LED lighting isn't a bad suggestion at all. Maybe you could look into that?

I have tubes in my place and they are SOOO loud it's unreal. :( I just fitted a few old style bulbs for when I'm working, but of course lighting isn't important to me for video.
 
Thanks all for quick responses. I'm impressed with you all. The software I'm currently using is Sony Vegas, but I'm looking for hardware that basically gives high quality and doesn't need much post processing. I don't think that I'll stick with only Sony Vegas for a long time.

I'm doing a research about Shure SM7B and shocking that the local sole distributor in my country is selling it for $990. Holy $hit!
 
The best mic. for picking up voice with minimal background noise is THIS:-

4104commentatorsribbon.webp

I would not use it for singing though. :D
 
The SM58 is designed to be a live stage mic that can reject as much "stage wash" as possible. Although I might recommend better sounding mics, it's going to be hard to suggest anything with better rejection of background sounds. Some room treatment is probably a better bet than a new mic.

However, a few things:

1. Use the mics pickup pattern. When recording, position the vocalist (or whatever) in such a way that the back of the mic (the XLR connector) is facing the source of the unwanted noise. This should make the noise quite a few dB lower in the recording than the voice.

2. In lieu of proper acoustic treatment, something soft (duvet, movers blanket) placed directly behind the vocalist helps stop the reflections of the unwanted noise.

3. Sound follows the "inverse square law" Don't worry about the boring math but, every time you double the distance from the noise source you quarter the amount of noise hitting the mic. Get as far from noise sources as possible.
 
John: No thanks. It looks like a centipede rather than a microphone.


So, the Shure SM58 is already one of the best mic in rejecting background noise. What about the lavs? are they better in picking up only voice?

How about this microphone booth? I think it'll perform quite well in audio recording. However, there is a really BIG problem if I use this in the recording the video scenes.
 

Attachments

  • RWFIVE.webp
    RWFIVE.webp
    28.4 KB · Views: 4,336
Last edited:
One advantage of the SM7B is that it is said to have very good hum and RFI rejection. But you should not really have hum issues with a good balanced system?

Here's a fairly serious suggestion.
Buy another 58 and take the ball off both and gaffer tape them together but with one diaphragm about 10mm behind the other. Now splice them into one XLR but out of phase.
You have now created a close talking, noise cancelling mic! 'Twill need a pop shield.

The response will be a bit odd but some creative EQing will sort that.

Dave.
 
TrafalgarLaw said:
Thanks. So you're recommending that I would spend the budget into upgrading the studio than buying new mic? That is a lot harder than buying a new mic because there are scenes that I need to record video and audio from DSLR at the same time. When doing this, I will need sufficient lighting. My primary lighting is from CFL bulbs, and the closer they are to the talent, the softer they are. The conflict part is, the closer they are, the louder they hum. Or, maybe I need a low noise lightning such as LED lights?
Click to expand...


Just don't buy the cheapest, crappiest CFLs you can find, and you shouldn't have audible hum. Or buy an incandescent bulb or two.

If, by CFL, you actually mean old-style fluorescent tube bulbs, I'd recommend a high-speed electronic ballast with a frequency above 30 kHz.

If, by hum, you're getting electronic hum rather than audible hum, you need to fix your audio gear's grounding problems. For microphones, what often helps is soldering a bridge wire from the ground pin to the ground tab on all your XLR connectors.
 
TrafalgarLaw said:
John: No thanks. It looks like a centipede rather than a microphone.


So, the Shure SM58 is already one of the best mic in rejecting background noise. What about the lavs? are they better in picking up only voice?

How about this microphone booth? I think it'll perform quite well in audio recording. However, there is a really BIG problem if I use this in the recording the video scenes.
Click to expand...

A lot depends on where the noise is coming from in the room...

If the noise is HVAC (furnace/air conditioning), just turn it off at the thermostat while recording. Don't forget to turn it back on if you don't want your pipes to freeze!

If the noise is PC related and you are handy you could build a wooden box lined with insulation to put the PC into (don't close it up completely though, it needs cooling). The pros put all their noisy stuff in a machine room (sort of an sound-insulated closet).

Another possibility is building a vocal booth into a closet. You'd likely want some sort of remote control for your recording rig though. I use a Droid app called TouchDAW to run mine from my cellphone, so I can rewind / record / playback / punch-in, etc., without having to be in front of the PC.

I generally don't worry too much about noise when recording because the audio level is way higher than the household noise, but not everybody is so fortunate.
 
I'm essentially in Steenamaroo's camp. Trying to reduce ambient noise by mic selection is like sticking your finger in a dike (or your dick in a dyke). The results are usually less than ideal. Mics neither know nor care what they record. Their mission is to record the sound that's there, whatever it is. If your equipment is making the noise, find the source and kill it, whether it be ground loop hum, RFI, interference from power cables, or just cheap preamps. If the problem is ambient noise, kill the noise. Mics not only record the sound in a room, but they also record noise bouncing around the room. Little partial vocal booths can be helpful with sound bouncing around the room, but they can't kill ambient noise. If you are snoring in a room, and the mic can't pick it up, your mic sucks. There is no electronic or hardware solution to ambient noise. If it's a fixed frequency, you can sometimes use EQ to attenuate it. Noise gates can help, but only with the noise that exists when you're not making sound, and using them without being obvious is very tricky. They are more useful for isolating drum mics from other drum mics than anything else. The ambient noise problem is greater when you don't have a control room, because you have to deal with tracking engineer noise, whether the truly unprofessional snoring, or more subtle annoyances, such as your stomach growling, handling noise, creaky chairs, etc.

Regarding ambient noise, you need to first identify the sources, and eliminate the ones you are making yourself, right down to your own noisy breathing. Yes, you can breathe more quietly, but you have to be aware of it, and control it. Then you need to isolate or eliminate the other sources- refrigerators, furnaces, sump pumps, pets, babies, fluorescent lamps, all of it, right down to your damned ticking watch. Then you need to deal with the noises you don't make, and can't control- traffic noise, sirens, etc. You can't record in my studio at 3:57 PM, because the 3:57 freight train out of Chicago will blow that damned whistle, and produces tons of low frequency rumble! In some cases, like that freight train, sound is predictable. In many cases, like police sirens, it isn't. There's really no such thing as sound proofing, but there is isolation. The hard part is that isolation comes from mass, and mass costs money, whether it be wood, earth, concrete, rock wool, or whatever. You can absorb higher frequencies up to a point with fabric or acoustic foam. You can only stop low frequencies with mass. If you have ambient noise issues, start studying isolation booths, and prepare to pay for mass, or find a better room to record in. Often the time of day can be critical. In most populated areas, there's a hell of a lot less ambient noise at 04:00 AM than there is at 04:00 PM. Good luck. You are dealing with one of the top 5 noob problems. Everybody thinks, at first, that there is a magic bullet, a mic or software program or something, that knows the difference between music and noise. Here's your sad reality check- there isn't. First, stop making noise. Second, avoid noise that you can't stop. Third, find a way to put *mass* between you and noise you can't stop or avoid.
 
Dude, I am telling you right now, you do NOT know enough to go picking out mics. This is why. Your original question; Your statement that all your recordings will have similar warmth voice; and your comment on the XLR connection. You need to go to a book store and sit down and read through the guidebooks; subscribe to a recording magazine and read it, and get with someone who really knows mics and let them help you.
1- Your original question. There is no such thing. A mic will always pick up other sounds. The placement and the isolation affects what it hears. You need top nitch closed headphones and do everything in isolation, one track at a time to avoid anything else being on a track. There's a lot more involved than even this.
2- Using one mic is not what makes everything have a similar warmth voice. There are different mics for a reason. But to know which one is your go-to mic for a starter, you need to know everything you can about all of them. For a good one single go-to mic I suggest a studio large diaphragm mic. (see, you're lost already).
3- The third is the connection. XLR does not do anything but make a good connection. The real issue is phantom power for condenser mics. (lost again?)
If you don't know what I'm talking about, using what I gave you will not be enough. You need to get with a professional and study those books until you know what sound waves and mics are all about. Sorry, but it's the only way.
NewYorkRod

TrafalgarLaw said:
Hi there, first post here.

I've been using Shure SM58 dynamic mic for my home recording for years. It was good, but it's time for upgrading.

My recordings are at home, mixed between recording tutorials on laptop and interviews by dslr. I need only 1 mic so all of my recordings will have similar warmth voice. An XRL connector mic preferred since I've already have an XLR-USB preamp interface. I need something that pick up ONLY my voice in a very narrow radius from the mic, and don't pick up background noise such as air conditioning, CFL light hums, keyboard typing, mouse clicks, or someone snoring a few feet away. My budget is $300.

The category I'm looking into right now is the lavs mic. Maybe the Rode lav or Sennheiser ME2. Are they good for my uses? Or is there anything better in my aplications than the lavs? Any recommendations are welcomed. Thanks in advance :thumbs up:
Click to expand...
 
don't have a model, but check out something with a hypercardiod pattern. It's designed to reject sound more than cardiods. You might be able to find point placement and find an angle to point it in that minimizes noise. (this can matter alot, but I'd guess you've already tried that w/ the 58).
 
Hypercardioids reject feedback better than ambient noise. If sound is bouncing all over a room, a supercardioid or hypercardioid mic won't stop it. They are also trickier to use, because the proximity effect is more abrupt than a cardioid, so you have to really, really, be careful about moving when you're using one. I like them for things that don't move, like pianos. One of my favorites is the discontinued AKG D3800 tripower. Meant to be a $400 mic, they didn't sell that well, and you can find them for about $100 these days, often new in the flight case.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top