N
NYMorningstar
Recording Modus Operandi
Could someone please tell exactly what is a noise floor and what is it's relevance to recording?
DigitMus
Member
Noise floor really refers to 2 different phenomena: 1) the ambient or background noise in the room you are recording in, & 2) the cumulative noise produced by all the electronics in the chain you are using. Both of these will add together to produce the 'noise floor' which will be heard in the quiet parts of the material you are recording. Minimizing both kinds of noise is important, because each track you record will add that much more noise to the final mix. Ambient noise can be trated by soundproofing, by turning off air conditioning/ventilation systems, & removing anything with a fan or motor or hard drive or tape transport from the tracking room. Electrical noise can be reduced by using proper gain structure, grounding schemes, power conditioning (or even balanced power), balanced & shielded cables between equipment as well as expanders and gates during mixdown. More extreme measures like Faraday cages and "room within a room" construction are sometimes needed to get a low enough noise floor for professional recording. It's a very big & complex subject - I'm sure someone here can point you to online resources for further reading.
Does that answer your question?
Scott
Does that answer your question?
Scott
N
NYMorningstar
Recording Modus Operandi
DigitMus said:
Does that answer your question?
Scott
Yes it does, thank you sooo much. It helps in understanding all this technical stuff. Sometimes here I feel like I did when I was doing all this required reading for Freshman high school. I read with a clear understanding until I get to a word or phrase I never heard before then I need to skip over it and guess at an implied meaning. Well you can't be guessing at this clinic for sure. Did I mention how greatful I am for all the loose lipped unselfish engineers around here? THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU...
Forever Greatful
DigitMus
Member
You're Welcome