Recording as clean a signal as possible ...?

[kflow77]

Hello,

Is there a way to set a recording threshold, so that any noise at a certain volume will not be recorded. For example quiet sounds in the background like breathing , or the sound of your hand on your lyrics sheet, etc.

 

[lpdeluxe]

Experiment. Try different levels and see what happens. Every situation is different.

 

[MadAudio]

The most common way to do this is to use a noise gate, although I prefer to gate after recording, not during.

 

[lpdeluxe]

Gain staging is really the answer. Noise gates are hell on signals that have a long decay or a slow attack. They work really well on recorded signals (as Madaudio pointed out) because you have a constant noise you're dealing with. But you have to learn your gear and where it's happy, as far as levels. There are no shortcuts that I know of, except sitting down with it and trying different things.

 

[mixsit]

...breathing , or the sound of your hand on your lyrics sheet, etc..

... Vs the desired signal level is your natural signal to noise difference, and has nothing to do with record level. As you turn the gain up or down, both move up or down together.
Minimize the noise, maximize the signal volume and/or mic closer to put more distance between the two.
wayne