Silence is golden - but difficult to record

815C · #1 09-23-2010, 09:48 AM

I'm wanting to do some acoustic guitar recording in my home studio. However, even if I string the mics into another room (so as to not pick up the noise of the computer fan), and turn off the A/C, I still seem to record a bit of white noise.

Is the trick to create a 100% silent environment for recording, or is there a tech-method of getting rid of that faint white noise in the post-recording process?

thx!!

Bob Womack · #2 09-23-2010, 10:06 AM

There are several noise reducing plug-ins for DAWs. Waves Restoration X-Noise is excellent. Izotope RX DeNoiser is also good.

There is a question that needs to be answered, however: Is there any chance that your noise is coming from either noisy mics or preamps? You could possibly spend as much getting rid of the noise via plugs as you would if you find that it is a noisy piece of hardware.

Bob

rick-slo · #3 09-23-2010, 10:56 AM

It is probably mike self noise you are noticing. A half way decent preamp should be pretty quite in and of itself. I have very quiet mikes but I used higher self noise mikes on this recording in which you can hear a slight background white noise:
http://dcoombsguitar.com/CDFour/KissDemo.mp3

If such a low level noise bothers you the best bet is to close mike record so the volume of the guitar is greater relative to the mike noise. Noise removal software treatment takes out some of the good sound with the bad IMO.

815C · #4 09-23-2010, 01:24 PM

Thanks guys!

I'm using a pair of Rode NT5 mics going straight into an old Digi001 audio interface using the built in pre-amps.

Think I should spring for a good pre-amp?

Bob Womack · #5 09-23-2010, 01:30 PM

I haven't worked with either your interface or mics, so I'll let someone with more experience reply for you.

Have fun!

Bob

rick-slo · #6 09-23-2010, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 815C

Thanks guys!

I'm using a pair of Rode NT5 mics going straight into an old Digi001 audio interface using the built in pre-amps.

Think I should spring for a good pre-amp?

Hard to say. The NT5 are pretty quiet mikes if they are working properly. I don't know anything about the Digi001. Post a sound clip of the noise, part of it with no guitar playing

ferg · #7 09-23-2010, 01:56 PM

My experience is that there is almost always some amount of room noise, unless you've built some sort of silent booth or something. I've found that the best method for avoiding it is to simply mic closer. This works in some cases, but in others, you want the sound you'd get from a more distant mic.

I've personally given up trying to right room noise that isn't terribly obvious when the song is going on. I trim my recordings to the point where the music starts, and do most of my recordings as close to the mics as is reasonable for what I'm doing. I've found that by doing things, even though all noise isn't eliminated, it's not a distraction.

If you listen careful to some professional recordings, you can hear the room noise in them, too.

815C · #8 09-24-2010, 06:51 PM

Thanks!

I'll give the close mic and post-recording trim a try.

I appreciate the advice!

Ty Ford · #9 09-25-2010, 08:54 AM

I agree with Ferg. Distance is not your friend. The NT5 is OK, but here's the deal. It's simple physics.

The white noise you're hearing is a combination of the self-noise of the mic and the preamp noise. All things being equal, mic self-noise varies directly by the size of the diaphragm. Bigger diaphragms move more and generate more voltage than smaller diaphragms. More voltage, less noise.

The NT5 is a small diaphragm mic. Larger diaphragm mics don't HAVE to be quieter, but the CAN be quieter. The Rode NT1-a and Neumann TLM 103 are the quietest mics I know of.

It was after I got my pair of TLM 103, that I was able to hear the computer in the next room..THROUGH THE WALL.

Regards,

Ty Ford

lw216316 · #10 09-25-2010, 09:59 AM

The sounds of silence must NOT be too difficult to record
...Simon and Garfunkel recorded the sounds of silence way back in the 60s

paulchevin · #11 09-26-2010, 01:56 AM

The NT5's are certainly pretty quiet by the standards of most SDC's, but any noise, either from the mics or the preamps, will be amplified if you need to use a high gain. So close miking should certainly help.

Ultimately, though, there will always be some noise............. it's really just a question of whether the amount you're getting is unusual or unacceptable, which we can only tell by listening to the file or importing it into an audio editor.

I have found that noise reduction software of the type used in Audition and Audacity is very effective at removing low-level noise, but artefacts start to creep into the audio if the noise level gets too high.

Paul

SkunkTree · #12 09-29-2010, 04:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 815C

I'm wanting to do some acoustic guitar recording in my home studio. However, even if I string the mics into another room (so as to not pick up the noise of the computer fan), and turn off the A/C, I still seem to record a bit of white noise.

Is the trick to create a 100% silent environment for recording, or is there a tech-method of getting rid of that faint white noise in the post-recording process?

thx!!

"Is the trick to create a 100% silent environment for recording"....in my experience this is very unpractical...isolate as best you can...close mic,will help a great deal...but for the most part your music will come together in the edit...capture as clean a performance as you can..then get rid of what you don't want in edit including mic/preamp hiss...a well played clean recording will in most cases be easyr to edit than a noisy recording...if its the puter fan try building a gobo between the mic and the noise source ie a wall of blankets...what you want is the audio you intend to capture/keep to be of a better quality and louder than the audio you dont want...that way the "bad stuff" can get "lost" underneath the good "stuff"... you would be surprised to find out how much "noise" there is in recordings most people think of as clean...and most people will never notice the "bad stuff" anyway...so...your golden....lol

hope that helps...

Ty Ford · #13 09-29-2010, 06:32 AM

Studios have spent a great deal of money over the years to keep noise out. They build rooms within rooms and isolate the two. I get a few questions a year from people in apartments asking for ways to keep their studio sounds out of the neighbors through the next wall. That's very expensive, especially if you're just renting.

The last house we bought took a year to find because I wanted one with a really quiet space for the studio. I found one. A 1954 rancher. The studio is 7/8 below ground, very little traffic. I sealed the window wells. It's very quiet down there. I don't have sessions after 9:30PM because my wife gets up at 4:30AM for work, but limiting my time there probably added a few years to my life.

sarNz · #14 10-01-2010, 10:36 PM

From what I read, studios don't want a dead room. Because then they will get dead recordings! They want noise isolated yes, but they want to have a room that is suitable for recording. So a suitable room, compared to a dead room.

I record in my bedroom and have been using guitar cases with blankets over them to block some of the sound, and i have one of those soft, fat, foam bed pads that i will put on the floor and sit on, sort of box myself in. It definitely helps a lot, since I have wooden floors.

So just try to get creative with some heavy blankets and what not. Try to block reflections from the side, from the back, and then maybe if you have space behind you. I have very limited space in my room so my setup is a bit claustrophobic lol.

Also, things like computer noise or A/C, you could pretty easily cut that out with a low pass filter, probably between like 40-80 hz or something. I never keep those ranges on my guitar tracks anyways. Those frequencies are more for the kick drum / bass.

Also, check out these little video clips from Jack Johnson's newest album. Blankets and all sorts of other things. You can be sure it isn't 100% silent in there

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HsqE...eature=channel

KevWind · #15 10-04-2010, 09:03 AM

if memory serves correctly the Digi 001 may have had low end Focusrite manufactured or designed mic pres. most likely the noise is from the pre, especially if the mic is needing a lot gain to get a good signal.

However the question is, do you still hear the nosie on a recorded track, as opposed to just hearing it with track armed for record ?