Mic is on in the Studio. All is quiet. What is the dB level?

[JeffLancaster]

This thread got me wondering about my own setup so I tested a couple things. With my main audio interface (Seasound Solo) I am getting a level reading hovering around -56db in Sonar. This is with the pres off but the track armed for record. I wondered why this was so high compared to the other readings here, particularly before I introduced a mic to the chain. I then tried switching the input of the track to my auxilary soundcard (m-audio audiophile 24/96). This resulted in a reading which hovered around -85db. Comparing that to the results others have posted here, this seemed much more acceptable. So can anyone tell me why I may be getting such high readings from the Solo? Would it be the converters in this unit? Is this something I should even be concerned with?

 

[studiomaster]

thanks brother!

 

[JeffLancaster]

This thread got me wondering about my own setup so I tested a couple things. With my main audio interface (Seasound Solo) I am getting a level reading hovering around -56db in Sonar. This is with the pres off but the track armed for record. I wondered why this was so high compared to the other readings here, particularly before I introduced a mic to the chain. I then tried switching the input of the track to my auxilary soundcard (m-audio audiophile 24/96). This resulted in a reading which hovered around -85db. Comparing that to the results others have posted here, this seemed much more acceptable. So can anyone tell me why I may be getting such high readings from the Solo? Would it be the converters in this unit? Is this something I should even be concerned with?

Bump...Still wondering about this. Anyone have any thoughts?

 

[rudibass2]

Close mic set up on drums with 2 overhead condensers with all gains at about unity on a Mackie 1604vlz . The two hottest mic's are the room condensers set at -10dbl gain . From Mackie thru a Tascam US -122 into a Dell 3.4 ghtz P4 set to optimum audio processing ( more processor noise ) .Adobe Audition 1.5 .

Carpeted 30 x 15 converter basement family room

-72dbl armed but idling ( left room channel bouncing to -65
when boiler in next room kicks in !! )

-85dbl armed and recording with no signal introduced*

target -12 with a few peeks in the -6 range


* seems strange that there is more noise on the meter when it's not actually recording .

 

[Chibi Nappa]

I don't really see the value of knowing what the level of the noisefloor in my home recording environment is...
-I'm already making everything as quiet as I can. If I saw I was hitting -45 or something all I could do would be shrug my shoulders and go "oh well".

-The noise floor has to be so frikken' high to be heard in rock/pop that it doesn't matter anyway. I don't think I could get the noise floor high enough to peak out over a rock drum set if I tried using modern digital recording equipment.

 

[punkin]

Just set your gate at that level and be done with it. I could be wrong though.

 

[LemonTree]

Just set your gate at that level and be done with it. I could be wrong though.

as soon as you make a noise over the gate threshold it opens and you hear all the noise again. If you can, find it and kill it at the source.

 

[crosstudio]

the noise floor also matters because you are recording it along with your source. even if the source is louder the noise is there and cumulative. everytime you add another track, the noise get recorded too.

before i started using a laptop to record, i was averaging around -70db with an AT4033 mic and a mackie 1604vlz pro with the gain loud enough to get my vocals (i'm not a loud singer) up to around -6db. I had the desktop in an adjacent closet.

i assumed that the laptop was causing more noise because the laptop fan seems louder than the desktop, but it has't affected the noise floor, because the mic doesn't seem to hear it (off axis) when it is at least 6 feet away. i guess i hear it more because its right next to my ears when i'm using it.

speaking of which, i see a frontier designs tranzport in my future, so i can stop walking over to the laptop to press record.

 

[rudibass2]

i guess i hear it more because its right next to my ears when i'm using it.

speaking of which, i see a frontier designs tranzport in my future, so i can stop walking over to the laptop to press record.

I hear that !! I'm behind my kit on the other side of a 30 foot room . I usually set up 2 playback takes just so I can do two takes without having to climb around my kit again to get at the PC . Either that of getting a super powered remote board and mouse !!!

 

[Psuper]

I'm averaging about -65 in my upstairs home studio which is virtually untreated, thin walls, a windows sitting about 30 yards from a semi-busy street, a K2000 and laptop on, and a creaky chair.

With everything equal, my K2000 keyboard is louder than everything else (minus the creaky chair of course). I never even noticed it until recording with a laptop (and turn up the volume so I can actually hear the background). Physical key presses while playing the synth is even louder, so I'm pretty happy with the "silence" of the room.

My next project is to silence the walls for less outside ambiance, but it only comes into play if there's some noisy vehicle scraping along the road.

If the hum of a Synth and the keypresses are the most obvious background noise, I'd think it's more than workable.

Still, I'm kinda hot now to eliminate every spec of noise. A few more rearrangements and separations I should be able to knock it down a bit more.

Thanks for all the replies, and keep em comin if you test your setup.

Psuper!

 

[studiomaster]

I'm averaging about -65 in my upstairs home studio which is virtually untreated, thin walls, a windows sitting about 30 yards from a semi-busy street, a K2000 and laptop on, and a creaky chair.

With everything equal, my K2000 keyboard is louder than everything else (minus the creaky chair of course). I never even noticed it until recording with a laptop (and turn up the volume so I can actually hear the background). Physical key presses while playing the synth is even louder, so I'm pretty happy with the "silence" of the room.

My next project is to silence the walls for less outside ambiance, but it only comes into play if there's some noisy vehicle scraping along the road.

If the hum of a Synth and the keypresses are the most obvious background noise, I'd think it's more than workable.

Still, I'm kinda hot now to eliminate every spec of noise. A few more rearrangements and separations I should be able to knock it down a bit more.

Thanks for all the replies, and keep em comin if you test your setup.

Psuper!

Yea man...same with my yamaha synth. it makes an hiss/hum noise at even in an idle state without any keys pressed. The phone/output from the keyboard is connected onto my mixer as line in...

 

[Psuper]

I better clarify,

The keyboard noise is being picked up by my microphone. It has a small fan underneath that always runs and is quiet, but since the room is so silent it's the most audible sound in my room with the "mic on in the studio".

The K2000 LineIN is virtually silent, and this is on the Analog outs. However the noisiest plugged in instrument is my old Korg M1. Wish I wouldda kept the Poly800 and CZ1, they'd probably sound like jet airplanes. I really wish I'd kept the poly though, never knew I'd be trying to "emulate" that analog sound 20 some years later...

Getting off subject looking down memory lane. What a long strange trip it has been...