For the last almost four months, I’ve been using my Blue Yeti USB mic with absolutely no problem, but when I went to record the other day there was an obvious hissing noise. The noise is the same on everything single recording and so I’m not sure if it is an Audacity problem or a mic problem.
I’ve tried raising and lower the gain on the mic, raising and lowering the mic levels on the computer, moving the mic to various parts of the room (increasing the distance between the mic and computer), switching USB ports, unplugging the laptop, recording in a different room, plugging the mic in with a different cord, uninstalling the mic drivers then re-installing, and recording on two different computers (another laptop and a desktop). When I set the mic to ‘listen’ through the Properties menu I don’t hear any hiss, but as soon as I record it appears. The only thing that hasn’t changed in Audacity. I don’t have any other recording software, aside from the Windows Sound Recorder, which I tried and I think it is picking up the same hissing but I’m not completely sure.
I’m using a Dell Inspiron N5110 with Audacity 1.3.13 Beta. Basically I’m wondering if there is something in my settings for either the computer or Audacity that may be causing the problem. Like I said, I’ve had no problems before, simply plugged and recorded. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
*I have contacted Blue Microphones, but have yet to receive a reply.
Check in windows recording devices that you are only recording from the USB microphone: i.e. disable all the other recording devices (as they could add hiss if not disabled).
The most conspicuous noise I can hear is mains hum, (rather than hiss), which shows up as clear peaks on the frequency analysis …
You could try recording on battery power, rather than with the laptop connected to the mains electricity.
The Blue instructions have the microphone following the volume controls in Windows Control Panels. If the USB Microphone setting got adjusted down, that will give you very noisy performances.
You can get surprising automatic adjustments if you use Skype or other voice or conferencing software. Newer Windows installations also sometimes have built-in auto volume controls.
You hit all the common remedies for this problem. Either the computer or the microphone thinks you want it to do that. It’s also possible that the microphone is broken. Does it work OK on your mom’s PC?
Given the spectrum picture above, did you try recording on top of your old tube-type TV set, microwave oven, or other electrically noisy appliance? This is sometimes a little magic but appliances that generate radiation (and they’re surprisingly common) can get into a recording with buzz and hum. Sometimes laptop computers sitting atop a “real” computer can hear the large, powerful hard drive spinning up.
Did you or neighbors get anything new? I can tell when the old refrigerator next door-east starts up because my FM reception takes a dive.
I can destroy any recording by making a cellphone call next to the computer.
