Recording classical/flamenco guitar

[Guitarist-1977]

This is just a test file with many errors (just be easy on me lol).

Issue is (I think) baseline noise (you can hear it more at the start of the file). There were no ambient noises in the room as all vents and sounds were off and it was quite (late at night)

I have not done any processing (not even gain on the file as I figured it would amplify the noise) apart from adding reverb in audacity.

Let me know your thoughts pls

https://soundcloud.com/guitarist77/test-1

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Guitarist-1977

This is just a test file with many errors (just be easy on me lol).

Issue is (I think) baseline noise (you can hear it more at the start of the file). There were no ambient noises in the room as all vents and sounds were off and it was quite (late at night)

I have not done any processing (not even gain on the file as I figured it would amplify the noise) apart from adding reverb in audacity.

Let me know your thoughts pls

https://soundcloud.com/guitarist77/test-1

It's most likely fan noise.

Good mics WILL pick up ANY fan noise that's present in the room. Your job is to figure out where the origin of the noise is.

Since you don't provide specifics as to how you are recording it's a bit hard to speculate from a audio example.

Are you recording using a computer? Even a laptop will usually have a small cooling fan, and your mics WILL pick that up.

I used to have a website with a "home recording" section and posted my experiences with computer recording. Cooling fan noise was problematic until I actually installed a poke through in the wall behind my desk and moved my relatively quiet PC to the room on the other side of the wall. I had a demo of before/after the move posted on my website. The difference was dramatic, with "before the move" sounding a bit like a waterfall!

Another quite common source of fan noise is from central air conditioning or heating. The air handler noise will move easily through the duct work, even if it's in a part of the house far away from the recording area. I eventually resorted to shutting off the central air conditioning to totally eliminate duct noise.

You should be able to hear the noise in headphones when you are monitoring. That's the simple way to diagnose the problem. It's usually necessary to turn the headphone volume up and listen closely. If you hear the noise then you can shut suspected sources off until you find the culprit.

[Guitarist-1977]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

It's most likely fan noise.

Good mics WILL pick up ANY fan noise that's present in the room. Your job is to figure out where the origin of the noise is.

Since you don't provide specifics as to how you are recording it's a bit hard to speculate from a audio example.

Are you recording using a computer? Even a laptop will usually have a small cooling fan, and your mics WILL pick that up.

I used to have a website with a "home recording" section and posted my experiences with computer recording. Cooling fan noise was problematic until I actually installed a poke through in the wall behind my desk and moved my relatively quiet PC to the room on the other side of the wall. I had a demo of before/after the move posted on my website. The difference was dramatic, with "before the move" sounding a bit like a waterfall!

Another quite common source of fan noise is from central air conditioning or heating. The air handler noise will move easily through the duct work, even if it's in a part of the house far away from the recording area. I eventually resorted to shutting off the central air conditioning to totally eliminate duct noise.

You should be able to hear the noise in headphones when you are monitoring. That's the simple way to diagnose the problem. It's usually necessary to turn the headphone volume up and listen closely. If you hear the noise then you can shut suspected sources off until you find the culprit.

Hi and thanks for your feedback, apologies i did not give you the details as they are scattered around my replies in the thread. But here you go:
1. Using H6 zoom with two SDC condenser mics (AKG Perception 170) in AB pattern
2. Using channels 3 and 4 on the zoom H6 i set them up as a stereo pair (if that helps)
3. No PC running in the room
4. All AC/Heat vents were close. In the apt building, there are vents in the bathroom on a timer (so i record late at night after they are shut off)
5. No other devices running in my bedroom, but i can still hear a baseline hum in the headphones while monitoring - there is even a hair of green gain showing up on the mic level even when no sound is around.
6. In post, nothing was added except reverb - no gain, no compression or EQ

The other thing which i did not try is to lower the gain on the mics (to pick less ambient noise) and boost the gain in post. Will that help with the noise?

LMK if any questions and thanks again

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Guitarist-1977

This is just a test file with many errors (just be easy on me lol).

Issue is (I think) baseline noise (you can hear it more at the start of the file). There were no ambient noises in the room as all vents and sounds were off and it was quite (late at night)

I have not done any processing (not even gain on the file as I figured it would amplify the noise) apart from adding reverb in audacity.

Let me know your thoughts pls

https://soundcloud.com/guitarist77/test-1

I hear the hum. Someone is running an air conditioner or a large fan somewhere. Closing vents doesn't stop the transmission of sound via vibrations through solid materials. Can you make the soundcloud file downloadable? I can get rid of the hum in less than a minute with my sound editing software. Nice playing.

[Guitarist-1977]

Originally Posted by TBman

I hear the hum. Someone is running an air conditioner or a large fan somewhere. Closing vents doesn't stop the transmission of sound via vibrations through solid materials. Can you make the soundcloud file downloadable? I can get rid of the hum in less than a minute with my sound editing software. Nice playing.

Thanks for the nice words - very encouraging. How do i make the file downloadable on sound cloud?

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Guitarist-1977

Thanks for the nice words - very encouraging. How do i make the file downloadable on sound cloud?

"Edit" then on the "permissions" tab "enable direct downloads."

[Guitarist-1977]

Originally Posted by TBman

"Edit" then on the "permissions" tab "enable direct downloads."

Done. thx a lot

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Guitarist-1977

Done. thx a lot

Here it is. Spectral De-Noise (level B), some added gain and gain balancing using Izotope's Rx 10:

"De-hummed" and edited version:


Original sound file:

[Guitarist-1977]

Originally Posted by TBman

Here it is. Spectral De-Noise (level B), some added gain and gain balancing using Izotope's Rx 10:

"De-hummed" and edited version:


Original sound file:

WOWWW! That is an overhaul. Thanks a lot for taking the time and sharing your knowledge.
I bet this Spectral De-Noise is NOT free, right?

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Guitarist-1977

WOWWW! That is an overhaul. Thanks a lot for taking the time and sharing your knowledge.
I bet this Spectral De-Noise is NOT free, right?

No, but check out Izotope's Rx 10.

[Guitarist-1977]

Originally Posted by TBman

No, but check out Izotope's Rx 10.

Thanks - so Isotope RX Elements for $129 would be able to denoise (just like you did on the file)? Is Spectral Denoise a plugin within Izotope?

Thanks a ton you are giving me huge insights to audio recording

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Guitarist-1977

Thanks - so Isotope RX Elements for $129 would be able to denoise (just like you did on the file)? Is Spectral Denoise a plugin within Izotope?

Thanks a ton you are giving me huge insights to audio recording

No problem.

Spectral denoise isn't in the Elements version. I used the Elements versions for a few years, but then they moved the "de noise" features to the standard version. You can get the Elements version and then watch for an "upgrade" special and then pay a bit more and move up to the Standard version. Here's a 3rd party link listing the features of each version (Elements, Standard and Advanced). Read up on it and see what would suit you best.

https://pluginfox.com/pages/compare-rx-versions

[TBman]

Another note, I'll share some of my experiences with you.

I used to use a Zoom H5 to record. It was ok to record with. I used external mics as you do. Then I discovered that they have a 32 bit recorder - the F3 that was in my budget, so I bought one. The F3 doesn't have built in mics and it isn't as intuitive to use as the H series are, but the big thing is that you don't have to worry about input gain. There is none. All gain adjustments are done in post editing. I can experiment with mic positions and not have to remember to reset the input gain.

Also, another neat feature it has is that you can get the bluetooth connector for it and connect with your phone to control the F3.

The things I don't like is that the headphone max volume is not loud enough and it eats batteries a bit (AA). There is an AC adapter available for it though.

So yeah, you can through a few $$ at home recording without too much effort, but for me it's cheaper than golf and better for my blood pressure,

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Guitarist-1977

Thanks - so Isotope RX Elements for $129 would be able to denoise (just like you did on the file)? Is Spectral Denoise a plugin within Izotope?

Thanks a ton you are giving me huge insights to audio recording

Isotope RX can remediate a lot of problem audio, but you're MUCH better off creating clean tracks initially rather than patching up your work with bandaids. It's your choice, though.

Your goal should be creating clean tracks that you don't need to "fix". I guess there's worse ways to spend your money.

[Guitarist-1977]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Isotope RX can remediate a lot of problem audio, but you're MUCH better off creating clean tracks initially rather than patching up your work with bandaids. It's your choice, though.

Your goal should be creating clean tracks that you don't need to "fix". I guess there's worse ways to spend your money.

thx for your input - but if i still have hum even with everything turned off in my room there isn't much i can do other than fix them in post.

Any other practical suggestions are most welcome. i live in an apt building so there isn't much leverage i have here