Way too much static

  • Thread starter Thread starter seaglass
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seaglass

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Hi everyone,
I received a Behringer C-1U today and tried it out, but there is a recurring problem (with my previous headset mic too) in that there is way too much static. It's really good at capturing voice, but the background noise is untenable even after running Noise Removal on Audacity. (Noise Removal actually lowered the vocal volume and in my opinion it made me sound more like a robot.)

The only reason I can think of is that my computer fan is too loud, or that the mic is too sensitive in some way. I can provide the recordings if necessary. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Check your cable. Are you using the right type ie balanced to balanced? That could cause a nasty ground loop if it unbalanced I would think. Also make sure phantom power is enabled and the mic, cable, or mic pre is not just broken
 
Some Behringer mics suffer from excessive noise; however if you had the same problem with a previous mic, the first place I'd be looking is at your mic pre-amp. Do you have any form of specialist sound card or are you relying on plugging into the basic installed mic input on your computer. Cheap onboard sound cards that come with computers are universally dire. Even a cheap external sound card should give you a huge jump in quality.

FYI, I'm assuming that by static you mean "noise" like the sound of an untuned TV or FM radio channel. If so, the source of this sort of thing is almost always electronics somewhere. Problems with cables tend to result in either pops and bangs or a buzz/hum (or no sound at all).

Bob
 
To clarify, the mic and USB connection arrived this morning.

Bobbsy - would it help if I moved the mic further away from my computer? I got a pretty long cable. Nothing else was turned on at the time except for my phone. As for sound card - no, I use the one in the computer. This is the first time I'm using proper sound equipment, so I'm not sure whether it really is the problem.

mikeeb - phantom power?
 
Ooops, sorry. I missed the "U" on the mic model number. You have a USB microphone so mention of sound cards and phantom power are irrelevant.

If it really is noise, then the mic you have is noisy and there's nothing you can do except return it since a USB mic is a self contained unit.

Perhaps posting a sample recording would be a good idea to make sure we're all talking about the same thing though. Moving the mic farther from the computer would help if it's fan and disk noise, though that's not really what you're describing.

The other thing to watch is that the mic has what's known as a cardioid pattern. That means that one side is very sensitive but there's practically no pick up from the other side....make sure the sensitive side is towards your voice and away from the the computer!

Bob
 
For the benefit of others who replied, Seaglass sent me a sample of her recording and it's definitely electronic noise, either in the mic itself or in the built in preamp/USB converter. The noise level on the sample itself was sitting at about -39 (the vocal peaked at about -12) so it's a long way from acceptable.

I've asked if the sample levels were as recorded or severely cranked up in software--assuming they're the original levels, it's a faulty USB mic that needs returning.

Bob
 
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