Ok, might be a bit of a long post. I’m trying to get into Audiobook recording, and bought an AT2035 mic and Scarlett 2i2 audio interface. I’ve been trying for about a week to record but I’m getting some serious hiss on my recordings. Not subtle background hiss I can get rid of. I wondered whether it was because I bought a cheap usb lead to connect my interface to my laptop, so I bought a better lead with ferrite chokes and better shielding - this actually made the hiss worse! After consulting chatgpt for a while, I figured I’d try getting a powered USB hub to run through, but this hasn’t really made any difference. I’m running my laptop off the battery to rule out grounding loop and there are no other electrical devices at all running in or near my recording space. I’m completely at my wits end…any suggestions?
Hiss usually comes from the mic preamp inside the interface. ALL amplifiers/preamps generate SOME hiss but the Focusrite should be as good as most of them…
“Whine” is usually noise from the USB power (getting into the preamp). USB power is notoriously noisy (which is no problem for the digital) and some computers have more than others.
A powered USB hub with its own power supply might help (if that’s the problem). There are some USB isolators that “re-generate” the power and that may be another solution. (Make sure it isolates the power, not just the data.)
A different computer may also be better or worse.
Beyond that, getting relatively close to the mic and speaking with a strong-confident voice will improve the signal-to-noise ratio.
Thanks- I bought a powered USB hub but it didn’t make many difference, and I tried it on another laptop but it also didn’t help.
It might help to do a Google search for the term: USB clock tolerance
Let’s get a number on that.
Run the Audiobook Mastering Macro to get your levels set.
Then ACX Check to get the noise level.
Most “home studios” don’t pass without some noise reduction but you should be able to get “close” to the -60dB spec.
What happens when you unplug the microphone? Condenser mics have a built-in “head amp” (1) but usually they are better than the preamp. That shouldn’t be the problem. But maybe your mic has a defect. (It’s not a high-end mic but it’s also not the cheap junk they sell on Amazon… It should be OK.)
Or it may be acoustic noise. If you don’t have a soundproof studio, room noise usually dominates. Maybe stuff the mic under a pillow and if the hiss gets muffled, it’s room noise. Noise always sounds worse on a recording than “live”.
A lot of people record audiobooks with these Focusrite interfaces, but there is also some chance that it’s defective.
(1) Dynamic mics don’t have any internal active electronics so they don’t generate noise but the output is 20-30dB lower and you usually end-up with a WORSE signal-to-noise ratio. And a lot of people end-up using a Cloudlifter to boost the signal.
There is a MYTH that dynamic mics pick-up less room noise but they also pick-up less signal so after amplifying, you’re back to where you started, or worse.
Thanks, I’ll give that a look
Ok, for some reason when I tried to use that macro it did absolutely nothing… but I recorded a five second clip without the mic plugged in to my interface, then just applied loudness normalization (-18.0dB) and I got CRAZY static. It wasn’t just like a hiss it was overwhelming… like an old fashioed TV that wasn’t tuned into a channel. I looked at the frequency analysis and I got this back:
As the mic wasn’t even plugged in but I got this over the top interference is it safe to say that it’s actuallyt an issue with my interface?
That’s pretty BAD!
The recording that you ran the macro on did have some silence (noise only) AND your voice, right?
Other than high-pass filtering (which should have reduced that low-frequency noise) ** it mostly just adjusts the levels** and it’s sort-of a way of getting the signal-to-noise ratio.
The low-frequency noise looks a lot like room noise but you can’t get that with the mic unplugged! Unless… You are accidently using your laptop’s built-in mic and that would explain EVERYGHING.
Otherwise, I assume the hiss goes up and down when you adjust the knob, and it WILL go up and down if you adjust the volume in Audacity after recording… A noise measurement by itself is meaningless. Running the macro on a recording of your voice “calibrates” the levels.
Probably… "You never know what the problem is until it’s solved. "
If your mic is “weak” you might just be turning it up more than normal and turning up the noise… When you crank up the recording level do you get a clipping indication (usually a red LED). Speaking loudly into a condenser mic with it cranked up should get you into clipping (distortion).
If you think the mic might be weak make sure phantom power is on. Without phantom power it will be VERY weak or it might not work at all. Or turn phantom power off to see if it’s doing anything.
When I recorded this it there was no voice, but I’ve tried he macro before and it didn’t seem to do anything. But it’s definitely not the computer mic, all I’m doing is recording with the interface selected as the recording input but with no mic plugged in. So whatever all that mess is, it’s literally just coming from the interface. So yeah… I’m guessing it’s defective.
Running the macro with no voice is going to turn the volume WAY UP as it tries to hit the target (voice) loudness of -18 to -23dB RMS with a peak of less than -3dB.
Which Audacity? The Mastering Macro runs and applies some Audacity built-in tools and filters. Unfortunately, as Audacity has advanced, the called tools changed and moved, so it’s been a little “Chase each other around the barn.”
I expect that whatever you throw into the macro will come out the other end passing ACX-Check. ACX Audiobook RMS (Loudness) and Peak. Full stop. It doesn’t do much to the noise, so you still have to record in a quiet, echo-free room.
If you do have a quiet room, you can do amazing things
I took my voice as recorded on an iPhone in LossLess Voice Memo.
That’s wire is a power cable.
I mastered the voice in the Macro and then applied the smallest possible, gentle noise reduction (6, 6, 6).
That’s it. It passes noise by quieter than 65dB and is submittable just as it is.
Koz
Missed a step.
The problem with home production, aside from room noise, is the insistence of so many things trying to “help you.” Windows has its own tools and apps in the recording chain and if you use any application that has sound, you will be saddled with additional tools and settings “to help you.” A famous one
is Zoom which launches very serious voice processing in the background. If everything works OK, you can call people and it will sound just like they’re in the same room with you. That’s not easy. The problem comes if you forget and leave Zoom running in the background. The tools stay running, too. Do you like games? Multi-Player Games can add their own processing. Are you counting up?
That’s why I don’t necessarily recommend recording in the computer. Getting that working can be a career move.
This is a Zoom Recorder H1n voice recorder in full studio configuration with real-time headphones. This recorder will produce perfect quality, uncompressed, stereo WAV files (check before you buy). If you get the largest memory card, you can record for 50 hours before you run out.
I think the on-board batteries can go for about 10 hours, but you can get a wall charger.
Stereo is not recommended for storage efficiency or audiobook submission, but converting to Mono in Audacity is not that hard and it can actually reduce the system noise a little.
Plus, that gives you a hardware backup for your chapters. Your computer never crashes, right? Get a large memory card.
I tried to get a friend of mine on the east coast to buy me Piggly Wiggly paper towels. No luck so far.
Koz
I’m using Audacity 3.7.3 I think… I downloaded it just a month ago so I’m guessing I just ended up with the latest version.
As for other things in the background interfering with it, I have hardly anything on the laptop. It has a basic windows package, I don’t use it for games or anything else at all. It’s just set up for me to record. I can quite easily get my recording through the ACX check with the usual effects but the issue is that I have background hiss that’s almost impossible to get rid of. The times I’ve managed to do so I’ve had to apply so many effects and EQ tweaks and filters etc it just ends up sounding absolutely awful.
Hold on a second here… You’re telling me I could get one of these and (aside from converting it to mono in audacity and maybe one or two of the usual tweaks) it would give me a good enough recording to pass ACX quality checks? I don’t need to use a condenser mic and all that business?
Noise is an analog problem, except sometimes you get short dropouts (where the digital is interrupted for too long and buffer overflows) but that tends to make click & pops & other glitches rather than constant hiss.
The microphone in most phones is very good.! The possible downside is that they are omnidirectional so they pick-up room noise from all-around. And you might need a stand to act as a microphone holder (if the paper towels don’t give you a good mic position 
). It’s worth a try!!!
Thanks for taking the time to help out… In the end I replaced my interface and problem solved- should have known better than to buy it second hand!
The phone illustration and the paper towel illustration are different. The paper towels are holding up a stand-alone sound recorder to get it close enough to your mouth to compete with room problems. Note this is also the condition where you get to listen to yourself in real time and work out volume, projection, and theatrical problems.
The phone is running Lossless Voice Memo. I didn’t hold a whole lot of hope after Apple peeled off the high quality sound recorders, but, boy, was I surprised, There is internal processing. Voice Memo has a gentle high volume compression that prevents overload and distortions as you perform. It’s auto-leveling and I can’t hear it work.
That illustration is in Pressure Zone Configuration. The microphone is on the bottom of the phone and it’s aimed to me. Becuse the phone is lying on the desk, the volume is high quality and double. This is how many stage performance microphones work You are looking at it exactly like I shot the test.
It passes ACX-Test right out of mastering, but not by enough. That’s why I added the little noise reduction boost. I don’t use the ACX -60dB noise limit. I use the quieter -65dB. The noise reduction boost puts the performance quieter than -67db.
Obviously, you can’t have a noisy desk or floor. Don’t set the coffee cup down hard.
And it’s recording the whole room.
I got lucky. The kid in the house before me played drums and they soundproofed the bedroom.
Koz
If it helps at all … I wasted $ on the Scarlett Focusrite as it became incompatible with the Windows 10 Nvidia updates, which I was unaware of until well after purchase. Getting the same outcomes you have shared here. Made me so mad. All those wasted recordings interrupted by latency - other icks, to have both a Microsoft and Focusrite Tech tell me “sorry” - - switch to a more universal interface that won’t do this
And DID. Returned the Focusrite for a refund, and got a PreSonus… NO issues anywhere after that!