Bleeding & Excess Noise

[mgoldstein.]

Hey there hope someone can help - I'm real new to all this.

OK, I know, if I want perfect recording I should go to a studio, but I really just want to get the gist of my tracks down without a lot of crackle and hiss.

I'm using n-track studio, just feeding a Shure SM-58 direct into my RealTek AC97 onboard soundcard on my laptop.

Results: Rubbish. Loads of 'noise' or hiss or whatever you call it, and more annoyingly the tracks seem to bleed over into each other, so there's e.g. more than just a little of the guitar part on the vocal track etc.

I've tried using a different laptop/soundcard, but problem remains the same so I wondered if anyone had any advice?

Thanks in advance,

Marc

 

[boogieman481]

Hmm.. depends on how bad the hiss is. It may be a bad cable, but that will usually result in more of a popping or clicking sound than a hiss.

 

[mgoldstein.]

Thanks boogieman. Would it help if I posted a couple of sample bits of track as an example? I'll try a different cable, but, like you say, it sounds too consistent to be a screwy connection...

 

[RAK]

Hey there hope someone can help - I'm real new to all this.

OK, I know, if I want perfect recording I should go to a studio, but I really just want to get the gist of my tracks down without a lot of crackle and hiss.

I'm using n-track studio, just feeding a Shure SM-58 direct into my RealTek AC97 onboard soundcard on my laptop.

Results: Rubbish. Loads of 'noise' or hiss or whatever you call it, and more annoyingly the tracks seem to bleed over into each other, so there's e.g. more than just a little of the guitar part on the vocal track etc.

I've tried using a different laptop/soundcard, but problem remains the same so I wondered if anyone had any advice?

Thanks in advance,

Marc

The hiss/noise could easily be the onboard soundcard. They're not the greatest for recording.

I'm assuming you have a setup like this:
Guitar ->Soundcard Line In (1/4" - 1/8" adapter)
SM58 ->Soundcard Mic In (XLR - 1/8" adapter).
If you're finding the guitar (this would be an acoustic then?) is bleeding too much into the vocal mic, try adjusting your mic placement to get optimal rejection of the guitar.

 

[mgoldstein.]

Thanks RAK - you're right about my setup. However, guitar and vocal are being recorded separately, not simultaneously, so the bleed can't (I don't suppose?) just be the mic picking something up thats too close. I think you may well be right about the soundcard - is it worth buying an external soundcard unit?

Thanks,

Marc

 

[RAK]

Thanks RAK - you're right about my setup. However, guitar and vocal are being recorded separately, not simultaneously, so the bleed can't (I don't suppose?) just be the mic picking something up thats too close. I think you may well be right about the soundcard - is it worth buying an external soundcard unit?

Thanks,

Marc

If you record the guitar first (and don't sing), and then record the vocal (listening to the guitar you just recorded, not playing), then you should be okay. You could even use the SM58 to record the guitar if you wanted, instead of plugging it in directly to your soundcard.

In terms of getting an external soundcard, that sort of depends on your budget and needs. It will definetly be a quality improvement over the stock sound card, and you can get a pretty basic USB interface with 2 mic inputs. Then if you got a second mic, you could record the guitar and vocal at the same time (or plug guitar in direct). I guess it depends if you want to take things to the next level.

 

[mgoldstein.]

Actually RAK, that's what I am doing (think I misread your last post a bit). Guitar first (through SM58 into soundcard), stop, 'rewind', record vocal through SM58. Still bleeds though. I'm going to try your suggestion of an external soundcard hoping that it will do the trick. Can you recommend any (up to, lets say, $400/£200)?

Thanks,

Marc

 

[RAK]

Actually RAK, that's what I am doing (think I misread your last post a bit). Guitar first (through SM58 into soundcard), stop, 'rewind', record vocal through SM58. Still bleeds though. I'm going to try your suggestion of an external soundcard hoping that it will do the trick. Can you recommend any (up to, lets say, $400/£200)?

Thanks,

Marc

Aha! Are you listening back on monitors or headphones? The likely explanation is when you playback the acoustic guitar, that playback is bleeding into the microphone when you sing. A new soundcard won't fix that. If you are listening on monitors, my advice is to move to headphones while tracking. If you are listening on headphones already, then maybe your headphones are too loud, and/or you need a tighter seal.

 

[mgoldstein.]

RAK,

I bought a Creative Soundblaster LIVE external soundcard and that has eliminated all bleeding and 70% of the noise, which, for my purposes, means its fixed.

I guess I can live with an $80 solution, but I'm sad that my (high spec) laptop comes with inadequate facilities!

Thanks for your help.

Marc