Fuzz

[stardust2003]

Hi
Im planning to do a bit of recording... reading and recording my own voice

Just did a test using a logic 3 mic which I think is a good mic

for audio digital recording.

The test result is good and prob better than I could get on say a sony recording machine

but there is a bit of fuzz.... very slight, but its there

Im thinking could nt I get a recording without ... any ... background fuzz ?


I set input at 5 and output at 7

I m just wondering are there any tweeks that could maybe cut out any trace of fuzz ?


there are 6 sockets at the back of my comp

Ive got the mic plugged into the top right socket... pink

there are no other plugs plugged in

[kozikowski]

There are two fuzzes. There is distortion which an old supervisor called putting "hair on the audio." Then there's straight noise sometimes called white or pink noise. That's ffffffffffff when you stop talking. Which one do you have?

Internal soundcards have an uphill battle. They have to work in a hot, uncomfortable environment right next to noisy, buzzy digital electronics. They warn you when you build your own computer that you can't get the video and audio cards far enough apart.

So no, nobody is shocked that you're unable to get a perfect voice from your system. Which problem do you have?

Koz

[stardust2003]

its kind of the fffff sound

not really a problem, but its there

I was just hoping there might be a tweek that would get me perfect silence when just
recording nothing .

would you say input at 5 and output at 7 are good settings for recording ?

[kozikowski]

As much as everyone would like to put little pieces of sticky tape at the right settings, you really need to use the Audacity tools designed to set sound levels.

When you record, you get a collection of blue waves and a bouncing red sound meter. The red meters should bounce in the -6 range and never go all the way up to zero. The blue waves should never go all the way up to 100% (1.0).

http://kozco.com/tech/audacity/Audacity1_record.jpg

If you go too high, the sound will get distorted, harsh and crunchy. If you record too low, the natural hiss of the sound system will be too loud. I'm guessing that's what you have.

If your meters are too small to see, you can make them bigger (highly recommended) by clicking on the right-hand edge and dragging sideways. The other tools will get out of the way.

Live recording is frequently a shock to people accustomed to highly processed professional and commercial recordings. It's a lot more wild and woolie and hard to control.

Some soundcards have a setting for weak microphones called the 20dB Boost. You might look for that and see if that makes any difference.

As a last resort, you can try gentle noise reduction, but hiss is very difficult to remove from a show. Let's get your recording levels right first. There's nothing like fighting multiple contradictory symptoms at once.

Koz

[stardust2003]

Just recorded 20 seconds with open mic
go here
http://www.mediafire.com/download/ct81b ... ++FUZZ.mp3

that fuzz sound is therefore beneath everything I record

Im just recording my own speech right now........ the results are good,
but without that fuzz they would be better

There must be some way to get rid of it !

[Gale Andrews]

Presumably you have a cheap computer mic? Decent mics cost $$$ and aren't even suitable for connecting to an unbalanced (noisy) computer mic input.

You missed out the information requested in the pink panel at the top of the page. Try going into the Windows sound control panels and see if there is a boost or AGC control for the mic that you can turn off. It may be behind an "Advanced" button. Then get closer to the mic and turn the input volume up in Audacity.


Gale

[DVDdoug]

For about $100 USD you can get a "podcast" USB mic. A popular example is the Blue Yetti. A USB mic bypasses the "useless" microphone input on your computer. (I don't own a Blue Yetti, but it has a good reputation. There are other similar mics available.)

With a mic like this, room noise, room acoustics, and the "performance" will generally be the limiting factors, rather than the quality of the mic & soundcard.

And a "podcast" or "studio style" USB mic is about the same price as a similar analog studio or stage mic, but you don't have to buy a separate audio interface with like you'd need with a studio/stage mic. So you are essentially getting the USB interface free.

[stardust2003]

I thought my logic 3 mic was ok and good for digi recording.

I went to update my audacity and thought Id downloaded and installed 2.05

but the window comes up today and its ........ audacity 1.3.14 beta

so I guess Im still on an old version.

My op system is old too.......... XP !

Just wondering, did the 20 seconds of open mic file I sent sound bad ?
is that fuzz sound exceptional ?


I just thought there might be a few tweaks I could try

a few tips to get to record on a smooth... silent ... basis !


( Ill just go and have another shot at installing 2.05 )

[stardust2003]

i DOWNLOADED the zip this time and got it into documents

I opened it and could nt see an ... install ... icon

I hit the audacity icon and the window came up...... audacity 2.05

Ive dragged that into my side panel so hopefully the 2.05 version will come up in future !

[Gale Andrews]

The only Logic 3 mic I can see online is a USB mic, so as you are connecting to the pink mic input I don't really know what mic you have. Any mic meant for connecting to the pink mic input on a computer can be safely regarded as noisy.

The noise sounded to me like microphone boost. Did you check that boost wasn't on? Look at http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Mixer ... ssues#xpcp . Press "Volume" in the "Sound recording" section, then look for your mic. Click on the "Advanced" button if there is one.

i DOWNLOADED the zip this time and got it into documents

I opened it and could nt see an ... install ... icon

A ZIP file is not an installer. What you could do is open the Windows Control Panel and uninstall Audacity 1.3.14 if it is listed there. That does not affect 2.0.5 in any way. See How to change or remove a program in Windows XP .


Gale