What the Hissssss is going on?

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GT

GT

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I don't think it's possible to get rid of all the hiss on a quiet acoustic song, aside from some type of noise reduction device, or eq, and we all know the side effects are liver damage.

If someone knows how to get rid of hiss without getting rid of high end, please share with the rest of the class.

I think if you can reduce hiss down to residual noise, that's as good as you are going to get. After that any further reduction may be to the point of deminishing returns.

What are your thoughts Hobsen?

GT
 
try this:

try moving the mic placement of the guitar mic so that it will sound good without you having to use a eq (but if you want use a little) by not using the eq that will help get the hiss out.

get a pre-amp. some pre-amps are good and some are not. the good ones will take care of the hiss but the bad ones will add hiss.


try all of the above and see what happens.




zeke
 
wait a minute, hiss is bad? damn, nobody ever tells me these things!

dtb
 
"Hum is a poor mans hiss" Ben Frranklin

I don't have much of a problem with hiss.

This thread was in respnse to reading the latest threads in the clinic, that now include having to worry about how much hiss is on ones recording.

I just recently got rid of a pesky hum problem, a send wire that I never used was the culprit.

This is where headphones are invaluable, not for mixing, but for tracing noise problems.

I do think that trying to make a quiet recording is a very noble effort!!

God wouldn't it be cool to have your recordings emerge from dead silence.

With digital recorders, who would have ever thought that the recording device would ever be the quietest part of the chain.

The weakest link in my setup noise wise, is my Pod. perhaps the price of tube emulation?

This is a good subject, let's hear more!!

GT
 
CoolEdit. Dig up the OLD ONE, Cool Edit 96.

Then start it, load your track.

Find a section of ONLY HISS. Select it.

go to Transform->Filtering->Nosie Reduction

Pick "Get noise profile from selection"

Hit "Close"

Select the ENTIRE track

go to Transform->Filtering->Noise Reduction

Pick "Go" (or "OK" or whatever the button is labeled)

Enjoy the track without hiss, but with all high end completely intact. Your mileage WILL vary depending on the spectral content of your hiss. It can vary from being *completely* transparent (most hum-reduction is completely inaudible) to be slightly destructive to the same frequency range being removed *at low levels*.

The theory is that it makes a multispectral analysis of the audio (like slicing it in 1 few thousand frequency bands), and every time a frequency band goes below the level of the "hiss" measured earlier in that same frequency band, that band is removed gently. As soon as its level goes above the hiss level in that band, it's kept as-is (untouched).

I use this on every one of my tracks.

/Z
 
Welcome aboar, Master Zap!!

Very interesting, so what you're saying is that you can make a recording, that emerges from a dead silent background, without any side effects (liver damage)?

There has to be some side effects, fes up!!

GT
 
It really depends on the spectral content of the recording vs. the spectral content of the noise.

I have removed hum from vocals with *no* side effects.

I've removed hum, hiss, and computer fan noise from vocals w. slight sound effects in the low level sounds (breath noises and such, stuff you edit out anyeay).

I've removed the entire space-ship rumble and breath noise behind the "I'm sorry dave, I'm afraid I cant do that" line from the movie 2001.... with pretty destructive results to the audio (a cool phlangy result which just made it cooler for my particular purpouse) but the background noise is just *gone*.

I removed a sustained synth chord behind sung vocals with similar sideffects (phlangy/wierd) but still "partially useful" in the particular context (a techno remix).

E.t.c.

I remove my mixer/equipment hiss (not much, mind you, registers at about -60dB on the meters) on every track I record, and I sure done hear any sideffect at ALL from that...... but I make loud banging techno. Any heard sideffects are in the LOOOOW levels. Banging techno doesnt have any :)

/Z
 
I tried to up this to four stars, because of what Master Zap had to say, he's a new guy, and seems very astute, but it wouldn't let me!

What I said actually deserves minus three stars, but there's no such rating.

Sorry about the one star rating Master Zap, as the value of this thread deserves much higher, thanks to your input.

Don't judge us all, because a few bad apples don't know a good thread when they see one.

Here's how I would rate this thread on what you said alone ***** I know there're not real, but it's the thought that counts.

Now Rock On wit your astute self!!

GT
 
GT, I'd try a gate for that Pod...

Zap, good info... Welcome!:D
 
caretaker9,

What's wrong with the noise gate that's built into the Pod?

GT
 
GT...
I don't own one, so I can't comment on how the onboard gate works... I use a J-Station occasionally, and the gate is pretty good on it. I figured if the Pod's gate wasn't enough, as you indicated, you could try a nice outboard noisegate. Sorry to mislead!:)
 
GT said:
>>>
God wouldn't it be cool to have your recordings emerge from dead silence.
>>>>
This is a good subject, let's hear more!!

GT
Click to expand...

you can't do that?? paper leader tape on an analog tape machine?? editing on a DAW? .....'proper' use of noise reduction in lead in passages? fade ins???:confused:

I must confess Watson, you've got me confused. I remember when I first got my DAT. Blew my ears off if I wasn't careful. Ah...16 bit...how the ears have advanced since then!!
 
I'm not complaining, I'm just saying that even at it's most ideal, I think most setups have a little noise, be it Pod, mixer, ambient room noise, pickups. That's just the nature of the beast.

I agree that you can edit in dead silence at the beggining of a recording, creating your own custom noise gate, thanks to digital recording, this ain't bad.

When I said emerge from dead silence, I meant real dead silence, not edited in, or noise gated in, I meant actual uninduced dead silence.

We may or may not be as close to this ideal as we will ever get.

For my money, were're close enough, like I said I have no complaints.

The signal to noise that I get with my less than perfect setup, actually blows me away.

I think we homerecors are living in amazing times, with the latest epuiptment, and I am very thankfull!!

GT
 
GT said:

I think we homerecors are living in amazing times, with the latest epuiptment, and I am very thankfull!!

GT
Click to expand...

amen, brother
 
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