High pitched hiss in my set.

[Black Dog Bluez]

Black Dog Bluez, I don't think you're getting what I'm trying to accomplish. No mics are involved at all in the current process at all, and the mic I do have is fine.
I think we're getting a little off-topic in general; is there a way to get rid of the hiss? Or is there no other choice but change what equipment I'm using?

[trying to read that nicely! weird? symantics-you know] --oh your welcome! Just giving a little input "StrandedintheDesert" --I am NOT a professional! read the creds after the names-- but hey noise does come from the computer and my comments stand, line-in or mic. Again that's just objective conjecture, and who knows, maybe not even true if you have the right equipment or something[??]. I am not a professional. Take it all in, regroup wait for the next comment, I have nothing else. good --- luck.

[StrandedInADesert]

Sorry if that came across as abrupt, but they were honest questions. I wasn't aware people on these forums were so sensitive.

To clarify, is the equipment I'm using the best way to go about things? Or is my problem purely with the software?

[PGA]

@StrandedInADesert,
When Black Dog Bluez wrote:

...noise does come from the computer...

he was making a very sound comment (if you will pardon the pun).

Computers were never, and are not even now, designed to be high-quality recording devices. The interior of a computer casing (laptop or tower) is an extremely "hostile" environment for very low level analogue sound signals. There are lots of potential sources of low intensity, electronically generated, spurious sounds: the power stack, the cooling fan motors, the disk drive motors, the components on the circuit boards, etc. There are also several feet (metres) of unshielded cabling, any of which can act as a radio aerial, picking up these stray signals and passing them along to the soundcard's amplifier.

I would always recommend that the analogue activity take place outside the computer, that the analogue to digital conversion take place outside the computer and that the resultant file of 0s and 1s be uploaded to the computer. Computers just love those 0s and 1s!

[StrandedInADesert]

Do you have any hardware suggestions for the recording process?

[PGA]

As Black Dog Bluez has already suggested:

From a usb mic the next level, as far as I know would be a hand held portable (Tascam is a popular brand, and Zoom, there are several), some even have multi-track/dubbing recording capablility (they start at about $100). They're at music stores like Guitar Center and some Best Buys now

I gave up trying to get clean recordings through the PC back in 2007 and bought a Zoom H2 digital sound recorder. Back then there were very few options readily available in the UK and the Zoom was the cheapest (at 250-300GBP). I have since added a Rycote windjammer for a further 25-30GBP. I have used the H2 to record steam locomotives at ranges from quarter mile to "up close and personal", birdsong at 30 feet, a local brass band at fifteen feet in our village hall (that was loud!) and voice-over at about 12 inches. Every challenge I throw at it, it just eats it up and asks for more!

There are now lots of different makes on the market. I would follow Black Dog Bluez's advice and go visit your nearest supplier and have a good chat with the knowledgeable staff there.

[steve]

is my problem purely with the software?

The problem is almost certainly not software.
The problem is that your hardware is picking up interference from somewhere.
The best approach to eliminate the problem is to locate the source of the problem, that is why the answer to this question is so important:
"If you connect the UCA-222 to the laptop, with nothing else connected to the UCA-222...."

If you don't know where the noise is coming from, you could spend a lot of money on new hardware and find that the problem is still there.

is there a way to get rid of the hiss?

Attached is a before/after sample using the noise removal methods described in my second post.
There is still a little noise remaining, but the music has been virtually untouched by the cleaning process and it is a big improvement.

[Black Dog Bluez]

UPDATE ON HISS IN RECORDING (WINDOWS XP). Was ready to conclude a usb mic is just total garbage when I found this on-line review for my "First Act" USB mic:

"I had the same problem with this mic when i first bought it. the solution was the same on windows vista and seven. see, when you plug the mic in for some reason your computer sets it as the default speaker. to fix this go to control panel>hardware and sound> manage audio devices once you open that up in the playback tab select your speakers and set them as default. i did all of this right after i plugged the mic in BEFORE i opened any recording program and it works perfectly now. you could also go to the search bar in the start button and type in 'manage audio devices' to get to it. good quality mic with a 83.1dB signal to noise ratio. good luck." --author unknown

Well anyway I started checking and found playback settings wrong with my sound system (asus/realtek) playback settings had mic on and volume full (which should not be for any setting there, playback or record), I muted and put slider to -0-. Also computer operating systems control panel>>sounds and audio devices --audio and voice, and also do the way this post (previous paragraph) recommends...first plug mic in then check settings before opening audacity.

"Generic USB Audio Device" is what I get, but this doesn't appear until the mic is plugged in. --And just set this to default and others off. --then open Audacity and also set settings there if need be. Three different places where settings can make or break a recording. Operating system sound controls, computer sound controls, and recorder sound controls.

SO--for the money a usb mic can work[!] -- though, of course, sound quality is still relevant to investment.

*plus I assume this UPDATE would be just as relevant to line-in recordings as well!

[kozikowski]

Does it still do that if you click once inside the red recording meters instead of going into record? That puts the system into playthrough if that's what you have selected in Audacity Preferences.

Now disconnect everything at the output of the UCA222 and plug headphones into the UCA headphone socket -- or plug your speaker system into the UCA directly -- without going through the rest of the system.

[time passes]

Oh, yes. Mosquito digital whine. That happens when there's noise on the USB battery system and it's getting into the UCA222 -- before the audio turns to digital. Once the audio is ones and zeros, it's pretty much immune to all those problems.

Do you have all your USB connections full? Can you unplug any of them? Do you have one of those reading lights that plugs into your USB?

Do you have a USB hub that takes its power from the wall rather than the USB bus?

Koz

[Black Dog Bluez]

Does it still do that if you click once inside the red recording meters ...
Do you have a USB hub that takes its power from the wall rather than the USB bus?

Koz

No, I'm good Koz -- (If you mean me?). I was just sharing (with all) the fact that I overlooked settings (volumes, defaults) and finally figured it out and everything's as good as can be (expected) now. The only way I can improve at this point is to upgrade to better recording equipment. Thanks, I'm just passing info forward for future trouble shooters.

[agam]

Same problem, im using uca222 connected with yamaha mgx16 and shure pgx14 clip on. First, i was thinking that maybe the mic or the mixer is the problem, but then i disconnected the device from the mixer, press record, and the "ssssssssssssssshhhhhhhh" is still there. I did the same thing on different laptop, nothing change, the input monitor still moving even without any audio input. It didnt sounds like an electrical noise, electrical noise usually sounds like "dzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt". Then where did the noise come from? Frustating.

Did you guys ever watched "take away show" videos on you tube? I need a suggestion what should i use to produce a live recording video with that sounds like multitrack recording audio quality?