S
SG1965
New member
What is an effective but cheap way to limit noise entering through the cables going to the sound card?
N
notbradsohner
Compression Addict
ummmm, but a limiter? or a compressor
bennychico11
...
balanced cables
N
notbradsohner
Compression Addict
I dont understand your question. They sell things called limiters, which do just that, limit the signal output and peaks. You can also find this in a compressor, which gives a little more control.
L
LRosario
New member
probably the best thing is balanced inputs. Compression, is out of the question, all it will do is amplify the noise.
An eq could be useful to isolate some of the noise you might be getting, depending on what kind it is (buzz, hum, clipping, hiss, etc). You just have to experiment until you've found the culprit.
An eq could be useful to isolate some of the noise you might be getting, depending on what kind it is (buzz, hum, clipping, hiss, etc). You just have to experiment until you've found the culprit.
lpdeluxe
The Precision Bass Guy
Troubleshoot your rig: any bad connections, solder joints, AC parallel to signal?
M
mixsit
Well-known member
Keep them away from those wall-plug-transformers (most have dodo for shielding) and large power supplies (power amps) and try not to run them parallel to power cords.
Wayne's World
Wayne's World
J
jtienhaara
New member
Apart from the limiter/compressor suggestions, I agree with the above.
However an expander will help. It will also reduce noise that is NOT caused by RFI / EMI. For example, if your computer is whining in the background as you record your voice, an expander will get help reduce the "noise".
Of course if you're lazy you can also skip the balanced cables and just get an expander...
Johann
EDIT: Just so this is clear (I hope): unbalanced cables carry a shield which is attached to the "ground" or "earth" of the gear you use. The ground channel is used as the reference point for all audio signals. Therefore, when the ground channel has NO alternating current on it, and the "hot" channel has AC, the audio waveform is the difference in voltage between the hot and ground channels.
Now suppose you introduce an AC waveform (such as radio interference, or magnetic interference) into the ground channel. Then the reference channel for your gear is no longer a constant voltage, causing your waveforms to wobble and become mis-shapen. Noise.
Balanced cables eliminate this problem because each wire (hot and cold) in the balanced cable carries the same signal, but with opposite (+ / -) voltages. The amplitude of the waveform is taken by subtracting the 2 (hot and cold) signals. The ground channel / shield is ignored. Also, if you add voltage to both the hot and cold channels, it cancels out. (HOT + NOISE) - (COLD + NOISE) = HOT + NOISE - COLD - NOISE = HOT + COLD.
Now supposing you're stuck with all unbalanced cables. A few noise sources have been mentioned above, but there are other noise sources in the studio that you should keep your unbalanced cables well clear of:
- AC adapters (or any large transformers, for that matter), as mentioned above
- AC cords, as mentioned above
- CRT monitors
- fluorescent lights
- try to minimize proximity of mic and line cables -- line-level is *much* higher voltage than mic-level.
Also it's generally a good idea to plug all your gear into a single circuit, and make sure it's all properly grounded! (Three prong plugs etc in North America.) This avoids ground loops, i.e. two or more paths to "earth", which act like antennae for RFI.
Hope this helps!
However an expander will help. It will also reduce noise that is NOT caused by RFI / EMI. For example, if your computer is whining in the background as you record your voice, an expander will get help reduce the "noise".
Of course if you're lazy you can also skip the balanced cables and just get an expander...
Johann
EDIT: Just so this is clear (I hope): unbalanced cables carry a shield which is attached to the "ground" or "earth" of the gear you use. The ground channel is used as the reference point for all audio signals. Therefore, when the ground channel has NO alternating current on it, and the "hot" channel has AC, the audio waveform is the difference in voltage between the hot and ground channels.
Now suppose you introduce an AC waveform (such as radio interference, or magnetic interference) into the ground channel. Then the reference channel for your gear is no longer a constant voltage, causing your waveforms to wobble and become mis-shapen. Noise.
Balanced cables eliminate this problem because each wire (hot and cold) in the balanced cable carries the same signal, but with opposite (+ / -) voltages. The amplitude of the waveform is taken by subtracting the 2 (hot and cold) signals. The ground channel / shield is ignored. Also, if you add voltage to both the hot and cold channels, it cancels out. (HOT + NOISE) - (COLD + NOISE) = HOT + NOISE - COLD - NOISE = HOT + COLD.
Now supposing you're stuck with all unbalanced cables. A few noise sources have been mentioned above, but there are other noise sources in the studio that you should keep your unbalanced cables well clear of:
- AC adapters (or any large transformers, for that matter), as mentioned above
- AC cords, as mentioned above
- CRT monitors
- fluorescent lights
- try to minimize proximity of mic and line cables -- line-level is *much* higher voltage than mic-level.
Also it's generally a good idea to plug all your gear into a single circuit, and make sure it's all properly grounded! (Three prong plugs etc in North America.) This avoids ground loops, i.e. two or more paths to "earth", which act like antennae for RFI.
Hope this helps!
Last edited:
ecktronic
Mixing and Mastering.
as last resort use a plug in. Wavelab has a good noise reducer, but use it as little as you can as it could deteriorate your sound.
I
In Tune Audio
Member
The above suggestion about balanced cables are bang on. But don't skimp and buy cheep ones. The most effective upgrade I made in my studio was purchasing higher end cables. I now only use mogami cables (Line level- model 2552, and mic cable- model 2549), with neutrik connectors. There are other makes that are great, and have been discussed on this forum before.
Cables are the best bang for the buck upgrade I've made. I've done some comparisons, where I use a keyboard, plug a cheeper cable into the left output, and a higher end cable in the right output. Plug direct into the board, and set the levels identical. The difference is substantial. The cheep cables sound kind of like they are under water, or have been filtered. When recording a whole song, multiply that effect by however many tracks you have, and the difference is incredible, for a relatively small amount of money.
Cables are the best bang for the buck upgrade I've made. I've done some comparisons, where I use a keyboard, plug a cheeper cable into the left output, and a higher end cable in the right output. Plug direct into the board, and set the levels identical. The difference is substantial. The cheep cables sound kind of like they are under water, or have been filtered. When recording a whole song, multiply that effect by however many tracks you have, and the difference is incredible, for a relatively small amount of money.