help need a quick solution to reduce PC noise!

rats

rats

New member
I have a session scheduled tomorrow night with our violinist and plan to record her violin on a couple of songs. Problem is my room sucks for recording anything with mics because of the noise coming from my computer. I've been planning to build a sound shield for my puter, but haven't had a chance to do it yet. Now I need something ASAP for tomorrow. Any ideas?

Problem is that it's taken my months to get her out to do these tracks (she's got 4 kids), and I need to make this session count!

Also, I wonder what some of you use to keep the noise down on the PC and still be able to let it breathe so it doesn't over heat?
 
That makes sense, sure, but I would surely have done that if possible. There's no closet in the room. I may be able to possibly move the PC out of the room. Maybe. It will be a huge pain in the ass though. That's a last resort.
 
Yeah but I have no cubby! No desk! Just two office tables! If I had a pillow that fit all the way around the tower I'd try that.
 
I used to use a temporary solution where I covered the back and sides of my desk totally and soundproofed it. Then i nailed a heavy carpet over the whole front together with some strings. When I tracked I let the carpet fall over the whole front of the desk effectively shielding the computer, when noise wasn't an issue i rolled it up and locked it with the strings. Not as good as a dedicated sealed box, but much better than nothing. With some care in the miking there was near to none pc-noise on the tracks.

I've just moved my equip into the house. So now i don't even have that. And three computers instead of one..
:(
 
There are claims that disconnecting your internal fan(s) is safe for a short (20-30 minutes) period of time. Disclaimer: I have not done this but have seen it recommended many times.

rpe
 
What I do to deaden my computer sound is to put a dooner over it... I know it isn't the best for ventilation but it does deaden the sound. I actually had the front of my PC covered for about 9 hours one day... compared to what it was without the dooner, it was great... It made a big difference when I was using my conderser mic.

Porter
 
rpe said:
There are claims that disconnecting your internal fan(s) is safe for a short (20-30 minutes) period of time. Disclaimer: I have not done this but have seen it recommended many times.

rpe
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well.. you don't wanna disconnect the cpu-fan which normally makes most of the racket..

Rats: ever tried using CEP2's noise reduction to remove computer noise? I've tried this a few times, and I've gotta say I've been quite impressed with the results, tho Ed would likely kill me for saying that... ;)
 
Meshuggah said:
Rats: ever tried using CEP2's noise reduction to remove computer noise? I've tried this a few times, and I've gotta say I've been quite impressed with the results, tho Ed would likely kill me for saying that... ;)
Click to expand...

BLASPHEMER!!!! Noise reduction is the root of all homerecording evil.



You could try putting it in a cardboard box and shutting it up during the tracking. Just make sure to give it some air in between takes.
 
How about this...

This would be for long-term as well. Use heavy duty furniture blankets, as in what movers use to cover furniture. Hang them (Velcro) from the ceiling to the floor around the area where the computer is, or around where the artist is going to be.

The heavy-duty ones run around $15-$20 each and measure around 70"X80".
 
Some good ideas here guys. Actually had the session last night and all went well. My drummer, a more logical person than myself, came up with the idea of setting up the mics in the room directly above the studio and feeding all the cords through the air vents. Sounded like a good idea so we tried but I've got an old house and basically would have ended up tearing the wall apart because the air vent in the bedroom was a very old style complete with a metal screen and it was acually connected to the wall some unknown way and we couldn't get the cords through the screen without destroying it. So I had the idea of drilling like a 2 inch diameter hole through the floor in a corner where we could pull the carpet back for easy access. Didn't have time though. So I ended up pulling out all of my shit and bringing it upstairs, setting up in the living room and feeding all the cords into the bedroom, now known as studio B!

Billisa had a good idea though, may look into that.


And tex you're right about CEP's noise reduction. Thought about the cardboard box thing too, but then you have all these wires to feed somewhere...sounds like a pain in the ass to me!

Meshy- I used to think the noise reduction was cool too until I destroyed some really good tracks using it. It's OK with a LITTLE noise, but it can also do some serious damage. I'm basically abandoning that thing.

Porter - WTF's a dooner?:confused:

Anyway, for this particular situation Emeric wins!!!

Lots of good ideas though. Thanks. This will be good stuff to keep in mind for the future.
 
rats said:
Porter - WTF's a dooner?:confused:
Click to expand...

I dooner is a thick bed blanket which you use during Winter to keep you warm.

Porter

*** appologise... spelling is doona
 
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Johnny Cash...

On Cash's latest, check out the back cover. You'll see the "vocal" booth is a living room with Persian carpets draped around! ALSO, have you considered buying one of those PC desks that have a tall cabinet with a door for the tower??? HA!! HA!!! That's It!!!! Put a bit of foam on the inside for some lining and I'll bet you can run the PC without fear of overheating AND still have quiet!
 
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