Hissing

[Diffusion]

everytime i hit the record button and i begin recording to cool edit pro, i can always hear a hissing or bussing noise in the background and i have no idea why? is it self noise? i have no air conditioners or anything in my room that makes that noise and it is a constant sound throughout my entire recordings... can anyone tell me why this might be happening? bad cable perhaps? maybe because of my adapter? i use two cables... one is a mogami xlr to xlr, the other is a musiciansfriend brand xlr to 1/4" trs... the TRS then goes into a 1/4" stereo mini and into my PC... my mic is a MXL V63M.. help anyone?

 

[travelin travis]

i don't see how you're getting any signal thru that mic without phantom power. condensors require phantom power to work. also, you need to be running thru a preamp before going into the sound card to get a good low noise signal level.

 

[Diffusion]

i do use a preamp with phantom power... a behringer mic200... my mogami cable goes from my v63m to my mic200 and the musiciansfriend cable goes from the mic200 to my PC through an adapter...

 

[travelin travis]

are you shure it is hissing or could it maybe be room noise like pc fans, ac, etc.

 

[Diffusion]

i just said there is nothing in my room making a noise... it almost sounds like white noise only much softer...

 

[travelin travis]

maybe it's that p.o.s. behringer pre?

 

[travelin travis]

why are you running into a 1/4" stereo mini adapter?

 

[Diffusion]

to connect it into my pc... im still just using the standard audio card that came wit the computer

 

[travelin travis]

you are running a balanced output (1/4" trs cable) to a stereo input (1/8" stereo mini). that trs cable is'nt for a stereo signal. the signal coming out of your pre is mono.

 

[Diffusion]

uh.. is that bad?

 

[travelin travis]

yes, i think so,

you are going into the line in of the sound card? you will need an adapter that splits the stereo jack into two mono jacks.

 

[Diffusion]

really? why? ive been recording for a while and everything seems fine... other than the hissing sound...

 

[travelin travis]

i thought you were getting hissing? that does'nt sound fine to me.

 

[Diffusion]

ive been recording for a while and everything seems fine... other than the hissing sound...

OTHER THAN THE HISSING SOUND...

 

[Diffusion]

so can anyone give me a possible explination?

 

[travelin travis]

a balanced cable has a hot, a ground, and a cold. a stereo jack has two hots and a ground.

 

[Diffusion]

u think that could be why im getting this noise?

 

[travelin travis]

i would'nt think that it could cause hissing. i'm really not sure though. but, it would probably be best to have all the correct connections before looking else where for any problems.

after you get all the right connections made, i'd look at your preamp. i have a little art tube mp, which is pretty similar, and it is pretty noisy when using a mic thru it.

 

[mrface2112]

so can anyone give me a possible explination?

welcome to the world of condensers inside a house. they pick up EVERYTHING. especially computer fans. however, it could be self noise from the mic. it could be noise from the pre. it could be the ultra-high noisefloor of the cheap onboard sound card you're using--NONE of them are fit for "decent" recording. it could be the various connectors or any of the other very real "possibilities" that travis very thoughtfully noted.

and it could be not one thing in particular....but it could be a whole bunch of little things added together.

however, i'd suspect it really IS noise in the room, and you've just never heard the room through a condenser mic (which, of course, is considerably more sensitive than the ear--especially with a good bit of gain running through it). a condenser mic in a room will run you ragged trying to silence everything else in the *house*, let alone the room.

FWIW, i record in our basement, and my mics will pick up the tv when the wife is watching it in our bedroom, 2 floors up (and this is a brand new house with pretty durn good construction), and she doesn't turn it up much. i certainly can't hear it myself......but turn on the mics, and i can hear every arguement that Taylor and Ridge are having on Y&R.


cheers,
wade

 

[Diffusion]

i just dont understand... honestly i just dont believe if it is noise from the room or house... sorry if i am sounding ignorant or somethin but i have been recording for a few months now... and i only ever record when i am home alone... tvs off, no washing machines, im pretty sure my computer fan doesnt even operate... and just the noise it makes doesnt seem like anything in a house it is like a subtle white noise type sound... would it help if i just recorded somethin and give you a link to it so you can listen to it yourself?