I’m recording with an electro-acoustic piano through an audio jack, and for some reason I get this odd background sound when I hit the spacebar. Any way I could cure this?
You’re going to have to post a sample of the buzz. Use two seconds of WAV format because we’re going to need to take it apart.
https://forum.audacityteam.org/t/how-to-post-an-audio-sample/29851/1
Koz
Here’s the audio, please let me know what you can do with it.
Cool.
an electro-acoustic piano through an audio jack
Now you should tell us details about the connection between the piano and the computer. Do you use one of these:
http://www.kozco.com/tech/audacity/pix/stereoJumper.jpg
That connection is ripe with possible problems. Older computers came with a selection of different sound connections to suit your needs. Newer ones don’t but people keep using computers as if they did and it can lead to serous sound problems.
A computer isn’t a very good sound recorder. It’s insides are very noisy and it appears that may be what you’re hearing. I had a very old computer that would put a whine or buzz in my sound every time the hard drive changed speeds. I trashed several perfectly good mazurkas that way.
Is this a laptop?
Koz
The computer I’m using is a Dell Inspiron530S desktop, and the jack I’m using is thinner than the one pictured, with green connections. Not sure who made it, but it has been around for a while.
Do you have the piano plugged into the same power outlet as the computer? That’s usually desirable to help with noise problems. Many people use a power strip and plug everything into that. See if you can improve the noise if you move the piano power to that strip.
OK, another test. Play a couple of notes at normal volume and then stop playing to get the background noise. You don’t need WAV for this. You can use a very good quality (256) MP3 or a FLAC export.
Turn the speakers off and unplug the sound cable. Clean both ends with alcohol or vodka and a paper towel and dry thoroughly. Plug them back in – twice. Any dirt, grease or skin oil on the ground connection can cause noise problems.
Koz