low volume and hum using mic

Post by **kozikowski** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 6:59 pm

If you post, the thread will bubble up to the forum top.
Koz

suttlemyre · Post by **suttlemyre** » Sat Jan 03, 2015 8:32 pm

sound check.mp3: (1.1 MiB) Downloaded 165 times

I have the same problem, from what I understand. The sound cards in cheap laptops are noisey and you need to bypass the sound card with an external audio interface into a usb port, correct? With adapters and a lot of tweaking this is the best I can do straight into the soundcard with a sure mike used on vocals and guitar.

Post by **kozikowski** » Sun Jan 04, 2015 2:45 am

You should gather all this up and start a new topic. I don't remember how to do it with the administrator tools. Trying to talk you both through in the same topic would be a nightmare and if I don't try, you're going to get buried. When you get settled, come back and delete this segment.
Thanx,
Koz

Xerlome · Post by **Xerlome** » Fri Jan 09, 2015 6:27 pm

News that may change the direction I ought to take. The mic does make noise in the shop computer, once I used head phones. Does this eliminate anything? What is the next appropriate test? I will take the mic and cable back to the seller asap, but I'm not sure what they could do. I may be dense, but I need to be clear on whether the audio problem could be solved by a preamp, or if it may not because of USB issues. Is there a better internal sound card that would handle this and the usual things too? I'm only asking your thoughts, as I realize I need to make these decisions.

Xerlome · Post by **Xerlome** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 5:33 pm

I borrowed a USB mic and it also produces noise in Audacity on my computer, although voice volume is good.
Add to this that the Shure with USB cable also produces noise and low volume on other computers.

Xerlome · Post by **Xerlome** » Wed Jan 28, 2015 10:27 pm

I bought the ART USB Dual Pre. It raises the low voice volume fine, but there is still a low level white noise (not ambient, doesn't change with mic location). At whatever level the volume is set when recording, even all the way down, the Audacity meter registers a wavering reading in the -40 range.

Post by **kozikowski** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:25 am

I need to go look up the Dual Pre.
Koz

Post by **kozikowski** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 1:35 am

I think that's too noisy. The Art stuff is usually well behaved.
It's possible in Windows for more than one sound device to be selected by accident, making the show far noisier than you think. It's also possible for Windows to change the volume of a USB sound device independent of anything else going on.

I don't know of any good definitive way to test for this. Do you use Skype? Do you really close it or just leave it running in the background? That can cause all sorts of problems.

I think you're at the mercy of the Windows people who know where those settings are.

Koz

Xerlome · Post by **Xerlome** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 5:08 pm

Thanks, Koz. I don't have Skype or any extra program running. Back to analog vs USB mic, I read elsewhere, "USB mics are filtered to only respond in the vocal range, cutting out most of the white noise." In another post on this forum, someone mentioned going to enhancements and turning on noise suppression. I'd like to try this, but I don't know what or where it is. Do you? Also, is there a way to cut noise in Audacity while recording?

Post by **kozikowski** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 9:07 pm

is there a way to cut noise in Audacity while recording?

The entire civilized world wants Audacity to apply effects and filters in real time. But it doesn't. Sorry. The best we can do is filters in Post Production, and you are warned against relying on Noise Removal. Noise Removal is a Greek Siren. Luring audio producers onto the rocks with its sweet but elusive song.

Microphone Hiss is a particularly serious problem. Many household noises can be isolated by the pitch tones that make them and Noise Removal tries to delete these tones from the show. Hiss can contain most audible tones, so Noise Removal tries to remove the whole show.

"USB mics are filtered to only respond in the vocal range, cutting out most of the white noise."

USB Gaming mics. Regular USB microphones are expected to record anything: musical performances, vocal soliloquies. They can't filer anything out.

By "analog systems" I generally mean an analog microphone connected to a well behaved analog mixer connected to a well behaved analog to digital converter. Yes, it's involved and complex, but it allows me to change parts of the system as needed, and the parts of the system have to stand on their own. There can be no shortchanging sound quality because the product is so darn small or convenient.

If I use my Mac, I can split off the analog to digital converter because my Mac has a terrific one built-in.

This is a field job I did in somebody's film edit room. The microphone is off-screen. The tiny mixer is plugged directly into the side of the Mac, just visible over the black felt. I've since found even better and more well-behaved ways to shoot this kind of show (this one is entirely battery operated, however).

We normally go gunning for the Windows filters and effects as being inappropriate, but you may be a candidate for turning them on. Their job is to try and isolate your voice to the exclusion of everything else like a cellphone does. It usually also makes you sound like a cellphone, but it's worth a shot.

It hates music.

http://manual.audacityteam.org/o/man/fa ... hancements

Koz

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