Can't fix white noise!

Special Interest Groups Audiobook Production
1

Hey everyone,

I desperately need help with this issue. I’m fairly confident that the room I’m recording in is sound proof enough. I’m in my closet, wool blankets on the walls, I use a mixer and an audio recorder. I keep getting the room’s normal white noise in my recording. When I use noise reduction (with the sensitivity set to zero, then nothing changes on the recording. When I use noise reduction (with the sensitivity above zero) then it ruins my recording. It will make certain vowels sound muted, it ruins my ‘s’ sounds, etc. What should I do!?!

Thanks!

2

Firstly, it is essential that when you make the “Noise Profile”, ONLY background noise is selected (see: http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/noise_reduction.html)

Once you have a good “noise profile”, for gentle noise reduction, try settings of 6, 6, 3.

3

I keep getting the room’s normal white noise in my recording.

No. Probably not. Rooms generally don’t make rain-in-the-trees white noise. Hissssss generally comes from your recording system.

Which Audacity do you have? Audacity versions before 2.1.0 can’t deal with white noise.

Windows?
http://audacityteam.org/download/windows

As above. Hold your breath for two seconds and use that for the Noise Reduction Profile. Do Not Move.

My favorite starting reduction is the Noise Reduction of the Beast. 6, 6, 6, if only for the name.

Koz

4

If you just can’t make it work, create a forum test clip and post it here. There are some microphone systems that can have very difficult sound problems.

http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/TestClip/Record_A_Clip.html

You might consider what would happen if you don’t make a very quick deadline. The forum elves do a very good job, but it can take a day or two…or more.

This is a brand new system, right? You haven’t been using it OK for months? Do tell us what kind of computer and which Windows you have.

Koz

5

@steve.

Isn’t the last value, smoothing of 3, more likely to produce wineglass voices? Values over 6 risk sloppy correction?

Koz