Recording levels/noise reduction

[cheetah23]

I've been recording for a while now, and I'm starting to get anal about generic pre-recording noise. I've tried many different settings, but I just can't seem to get the noise down to what I feel is a reasonable level. I have it low enough so that you can't detect it at all when listening on a stereo system; with headphones, though, I start to notice it right away. I'm getting normal static, and I've discovered that this is related to the midrange in the room I'm recording in (pretty big room). However, I'm also getting a "hum." It sounds sort of like monitor hum but with a cyclical motion to it. I have my monitor turned off during recording.


I'm recording through an emx 660 mixer into a delta 66 soundcard into cool edit pro 2.0
I have an intel p4 3.2 Ghz chip, 1 gb ram, 80 gig harddrive, big power supply (enermax).

I need to learn different ways to increase my signal to noise ratio. hopefully someone can give me a little direction. If anyone suspects another problem, please tell me some other parameters I might want to look into. I'm totally new to computer recording, so there may be a host of factors I have overlooked.

P.S. Digital manipulation to lower noise is my last option, BTW

 

[scrubs]

If you are recording at home in a less-than-ideal environment with equipment that is not top-notch, you will always have noise in your recordings. Deal with it or fix it. Here are some thoughts:

It sounds like you are getting some electrical hum. The best solution is to figure out where it is coming from and eliminate it. Guitar pickups, for example, can be very sensitive to electromagnetic interference and will detect noise from your computer, lights, and other equipment in your recording space. Condenser mics pick up everything. Your soundcard or cables may be humming as well.

For quick removal of electrical hum, engage low-cut filters on your preamps or using a parametric eq. Parametrics are also useful for finding other problem frequencies that can be dialed out. Set it up for a deep cut of a narrow frequency range and then sweep the frequency until you find the problem (I have a crappy bass guitar with some nasty buzz at 1200 hz, that I have to remove from every recording). Adjust cut depth to taste.

Don't fear the "digital" stuff either. A well utilized noise-gate is there to help you remove any noise at the beginning/end of tracks and during quiet parts. It's not evil. Use it.

Oh, and try not to breathe while recording. That just ruins everything.