reducing outside noise ex "Cars"

  • Thread starter Thread starter Hani2e
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First off, are you using an XLR to XLR mic cable? If you are using the supplied cable as shown above that is unbalanced * and you will have to crank the LINE gain on the mixer very high to get a signal. This will result in a lot of noise and hum most likely and you could be confusing that for traffic noise.

Yes, get in close, wrap a hanky round the mic and get your lips touching it. The X 502 has a bass , roll that right off and maybe give a touch of mid boost.

Recording is an anti-social activity that also makes you poor so yes, record at 2-4am you can't afford to go out anyway!

*The mic might not be balanced out anyway, you can check this with an Ohm meter.

AND! WHO said "go up a mountain"!!?? We have no bloody mountains here and even if I could get to the top of one I should be too knackered to speak!

Dave.

Yes, I am using XLR to XLR mic cable, so if that's wrong what should I do?, and by the way, am not sure that I quite understand what you are saying here "wrap a hanky round the mic and get your lips touching it", also for the bass control, i don't have it in 502 mixer. I hope if there is an image demonstrating the right way to setup the Behringer XENYX502 5-Channel Mixer with the Behringer UCA222 U-Control and the 33-3043 Radioshack mic, however i did it according to the manual!

Thx again for all of you!
HAS
 
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Do I have to invest in a better mic, do you think that we help reducing the problem?...

till now 3 days am trying really hard to record anything, but I have to repeat time after time after time:cursing:.
 
No, the 502 does not have a low cut filter as do the larger models but it does have an LF EQ pot, turn that pretty much all the way anti- clockwise.

The constant "re-does" are the price you pay for recording in a noisy environment!

Dave.
 

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If moving in closer fails to bring the noise level down from outside, then it MUST be really loud, because as others have said, just a small movement towards the mic with a resetting of the gain lowers the background sounds every time. If yours doesn't, then something is wrong.

Details - how close are you to the mic?
Stupid question, are you sure your mic isn't a side fire, and you are talking into the wrong bit of it?

Anything in between the mic and the unwanted sound MUST reduce the level, so if these things are not working, something odd is happening. I don't know your recording setup, but if it's a laptop, is there any chance the laptop mics are still connected - because this could be what is picking up the outside noise.

Moving closer and re-tweaking the EQ, adding absorption, making sure the mic nulls point at the unwanted sound should all have pretty big impacts on the recording, and if they don't - then the problem is elsewhere.
 
Hani. You are only a few posts away from being able to post clips. Or PM me and we can chat and exchange clips via email.

Dave.
 
Hi guys,

am a pod-caster, and i use a Dynamic Mic - raidoshack 33-3043 and behringer mixer - xenyx 502, to be honest i have a lot of problems when recording time, starting with adjusting my small mixer to add the proper effect to the truck. but really my major issue is the noise coming from the street specially the cars, and i don't know what to do about it, sometimes i keep recording for a loooong time, cause i have to pause it from time to time, so is there any way to reduce such kind of noise and is there anyway to reduce it using the gain...

Please try to reduce the technical terms :)


thx,
HAS

Build or buy a recording booth. You won't kill outside noise any other way.
 
If moving in closer fails to bring the noise level down from outside, then it MUST be really loud, because as others have said, just a small movement towards the mic with a resetting of the gain lowers the background sounds every time. If yours doesn't, then something is wrong.

Details - how close are you to the mic?
Stupid question, are you sure your mic isn't a side fire, and you are talking into the wrong bit of it?

Anything in between the mic and the unwanted sound MUST reduce the level, so if these things are not working, something odd is happening. I don't know your recording setup, but if it's a laptop, is there any chance the laptop mics are still connected - because this could be what is picking up the outside noise.

Moving closer and re-tweaking the EQ, adding absorption, making sure the mic nulls point at the unwanted sound should all have pretty big impacts on the recording, and if they don't - then the problem is elsewhere.
This.

Remaining questions;
Are you actually right up on the mic?
Speaking loud (enough'? i.e not quietly I hope
And given that, how much noise are you still getting/are you expecting maybe too much perfection?
Bottom line it should come down to the loudest thing at the mic is what you get.
Consider a band situation- A vocalist singing reasonably strong gets decent signal to noise/bleed on a live bandstand with amps and drums around. Not perfectly isolated, but usable.
 
Consider a band situation- A vocalist singing reasonably strong gets decent signal to noise/bleed on a live bandstand with amps and drums around. Not perfectly isolated, but usable.
You'd never want to use that for an acapella mix, though. Not even close.

I'm starting to wonder if you might actually be best off just getting a noise cancelling microphone. There are a number out there in a very wide price range from practically free on up. This basically accomplishes the "second mike out of phase thing" for you, and most seem to be designed for damn near exactly what you're trying to do.

Or, what happened to my idea of adding music to mask the noise?
 
How about building a mini mic booth, similar to the one in this link? onefromtheroad.com/?p=160

Forgive the lack of clickiness of that link, as this is only my second post.
 
How about building a mini mic booth, similar to the one in this link? onefromtheroad.com/?p=160

Forgive the lack of clickiness of that link, as this is only my second post.

That is not a "mic (aka vocal) booth" SG! It is a Poor Man's attempt at a reflection filter and, for what it cost, I dare say it does a fair job of keep room ambiance out of the mic.

Vocal booths are really not a good idea for singing in. Unless they are pretty big, 1000cuft min and lined with serious amounts of absorbent so they become in effect an an-echoic chamber, they sound worse than the room they are in!
In any case, the OP's sound intrusion seems SO horrendous* that such a booth would have to be made of at least one course of concrete blocks and thoroughly airtight (and we don't want to lose the customers do we?) . VBs can be useful for voice overs where you want extra isolation in an already quiet place and produce totally "dead" recordings.

*I, and I suspect some others here do not think the OP's problems are all about external noise ingress. The measures so far suggested should produce a very decent signal to noise ratio. So, either there is some other source of noise or there is an expectation of a perfectly silent background. That last is not possible within the constraints of normal homes and projjy recordist's budgets.

Dave.
 
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