Apr 02, 2008 10:28 am are the headphones plugged into the mobilepre or the laptop?
Pesistent HISS is frying my brain ! Ideas?
Posted on Apr 02, 2008 10:05 am
Giovangee
Member Since: Apr 02, 2008
I'm a newbie in home recording. ANY help is appreciated. Trying to record simple spoken word on VAIO desktop for a critical project.
I bought a SHURESM58 but low volume and computer noise from sound card plugin. So SHURE suggested a MOBILEPRE USB - I got somewhat better volume but a lot hiss/white noise. M-Audio advised experimenting with the gain, which I did for weeks but still didn't eliminate the hiss. I then bought SoundForge 9.0 but "volume" and "normalize" features just made it worse - now $300 into the project and still not operational.
FINALLY I simply disconnected the mic and the amp and tried recording in the software with NO input. THERE still was the hiss! So I guess I need to conclude that it's internal. Someone suggested getting a new soundcard BUT when I was using the MOBILEPRE (I was told that it bypasses the soundcard) it was hissing, how could it be the soundcard? The same problem occurs when using another VAIO PC in an office across town.
I don't know if Austin Texas has "bad electric" or my wiring needs shielding or my record settings are wrong or do I simply apply a sledgehammer and instead use a digital hand recorder (another $300 that I'd like to avoid).
Thanks.
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Apr 02, 2008 10:28 am are the headphones plugged into the mobilepre or the laptop?
Apr 02, 2008 10:34 am Have you been able to determine if the hiss is actually recorded? How are you monitoring the playback?
To me it sounds like it could be a couple of things. One, it sounds like a problem with the gain stage somewhere. You are bringing up the noise floor by using too much gain somewhere in the chain. Two, it might not even be recording the hiss. It may be something in the way you are monitoring the signal.
Apr 02, 2008 12:35 pm This is where the difference between a good preamp and a cheap one really comes to the fore. A good preamp will give you the gain without the noise.
That being said and seeing that you've already spent a good amount of money, here's a way that you could spend just a little more and get away with it. buy yourself a cheap condenser. There are tons of them out there. Try MXL $80 should get you a pretty decent mic. Condensers are more sensitive than dynamics and therefore require less gain. Don't lose the sm58 though, one day it will be just the mic you need.
If you don't feel like spending the money right now, you can use a noise gate to eliminate the hiss in-between dialogue or you can go in and surgically remove the dead air space manually(this is probably better but very time consuming).
Apr 02, 2008 04:30 pm Thanks. When I recorded voice, I burned a CD and played it back on a standalone player - the hiss is real.
As far as good vs. bad preamp, I've recorded dead air with the software WITHOUT a mic OR preamp - no input, just "record" in the software (tried both SoundForge software and the XP onboard sound recorder) and it still has white noise when played back at medium volume.
I'm able to filter out most of the hiss using the software, but the tonality of the voice really changes, became bassy, with the sparkle/treble gone. Tried many different filters and settings with similar results.
Apr 02, 2008 04:57 pm Is this on a laptop with a built in mic? Make sure that you've disabled "what u hear" as a recording option in the audio options. I'm assuming you're using windows. You have to set the mobile pre as the default audio record and playback device.
Apr 03, 2008 10:50 am No. This is a PC. XP SP2
I've muted all the other inputs in the options and established MobilePre as the default.
In the software background noise level
is low-bouncing green :
a) when the Mic is plugged in (greatest)
software shows ~70
b) when just the MobilePre is plugged in (slightly less)software shows ~64
Interestingly, however, when I unplug the MobilePre from the USB for a second and plug it back in, the record level drops to nothing - but when I record in this state and normalize with the software, the HISS is there, although much less.
Apr 03, 2008 12:00 pm Are there any flourescent lights around?
Are there any dimmer switches for the lights around?
Any neon lights around?
Are there power cables running near your microphone cable? (this one is probably not relevant, if you get the hiss with stuff unplugged).
Something you can try: plug all devices' power plug into a power strip, then plug the strip into a wall socket. This will put all items on the same ground plane.
Quote:
with NO input. THERE still was the hiss!
This tidbit shows that it's not the other devices, although they possibly may add noise.
To be honest, my rig creates some low level hiss, but it's never a problem with normal level recordings, even quiet ones. Now that you have a preamp (the mobilepre) you should be in good shape for signal strength. Be sure the gain us up on the mobilepre, so you're getting the most audio compared to the background signal (SNR).
Hiss could still be coming from the internal soundcard. Probably a low chance, but worth a try. See if you can go into bios on the PC, and disable the onboard sound.
hth, good luck.
Apr 03, 2008 01:06 pm You are going to get hiss. As BeerHunter pointed out the more gain you add, the more hiss. If you normalize and the overall amplitude increases, you will boost the hiss. What kind of monitors are you using? The amplifiers in cheap monitors will produce a lot of hiss at higher volumes.
Electrical ground problems will result in the dreaded 60 cycle hum. Not hiss.
Apr 03, 2008 01:18 pm Yeah, buzz is different than hiss, but it's worth a shot. Try anything, I figure. well, anything free, anyway.
Apr 09, 2008 11:25 am Tried all suggestions, but in moderating the hiss (all extraneous devices off, gain low (9-10 oclock on the MobilePre), no amplitude increase, no normalization, isolated cords, grounding checked) the recording volume is simply too low as to be usuable.
Thanks for all your help.
I think I will dispense with trying to record on the PC and just get a handheld digital battery operated unit.
Apr 09, 2008 12:20 pm It doesn't matter what you get to record on. It's the mic preamp that makes the difference. The hiss is due to having to push the gain. If you're preamp is not particularly good, you will get hiss. If you try this with a stand alone, you will still get hiss.
Dec 08, 2008 11:02 am maybe it's a SONY problem... did you ever solve this??? I have a Sony Vaio PCVRS720G and i have this same problem. NOTHING is connected to the inputs, all devices are turned ALL THE WAY DOWN, i record for a few seconds with the system basically MUTE, stop recording, turn my output volume up, press play, only to keep hearing a HISS. Why is it doing this? Only from the HD Audio Rear Input Line In/Microphone inputs does this happen. I used to rig up the RCA Jacks with my GigaPocket software (CD Player input) to record, but now my GIGAPOCKET QUIT WORKING. i'm done with Sony and am saving up to customize my own PC, but right now i would love a solution...
Dec 08, 2008 11:50 am here is a link from my last post, if this forum thread isn't dead...
URL:
www.esnips.com/doc/fa8908...blem-screenshot
Dec 24, 2009 03:02 pm Okay I just figured out your problem. I had the same exact problem. I'm using a laptop and I would get the hissing in the back ground when I was recording my voice over work. So I did what the previous poster said and I moved away the cables from my laptop but still had the hissing. So, I thought..hmmm what IF it's my desktop lamp...so I turned it off and it worked..no more hissing. Although it LOOKS like it's recording hissing when I play it back, there is no hissing...try it. It worked for me...and let me know!
Dec 25, 2009 06:16 pm was there a florescent light in the lamp?
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