Tips For Amateur Vocalists On Reducing White Noise/"Hiss"

[Jmackles]

Howdy! I've purchased Mixcraft Pro Studio 8 recently and really liked some of the plugins that came with it. I have a condenser mic which has a power supply and I have a closet that I've put up some soundproofing foam, in addition to a microphone stand w/shield, and I'm still noticing white noise/"hissing" when I record.

Using things like Izotope essentials helps me manage it some however if I want to get clear vocals while also not making it so loud it gets distorted I have to live with the hiss.

Is there something I am missing? Why does it seem like no matter how quiet I try to make things there's always that white noise?

Is there a surefire way to eliminate it? I've tried to look up tutorials on youtube but I can only find a bunch of artists showing off their music and not really showing or demonstrating the process, or explaining why certain things are done.

Any and all input is appreciated!

Thanks! <3

[dpaterson]

Hello.

Not sure if this will help or if it's what you want to hear but I have, on very rare occasions, had to resort to the Noise Reduction plugin in MAGIX Sound Forge Pro (used to be Sony Sound Forge Pro in better days). This being said: I don't really ever have noise issues so it may be worth tracing the source as opposed to trying to fix it after the fact (yeh I know that is an obvious statement to make and far easier said than done). I suppose there's probably a noise reduction plugin to reduce the noise on the fly (there's a plugin for just about everything else let's face it!!! LOL!!!).

By the way: welcome to the (Mixcraft) club!!! You have purchased the best DAW software around let me tell ya!!!

Regards,

Dale.

[Mark Bliss]

Reducing it at the source (if possible) would always be more desirable than fixing it later IMO.

Many times specific mic's, preamps, interfaces or soundcards can be a little noisy, so thats a possibility.
"White noise" and "Hiss" being mentioned probably rules out A/C hum, so I would probably be suspicious of the previously mentioned sources.
You can remove some noise afterward in many cases, fairly successfully. but there's nearly always a cost or sacrifice. Noise reduction functions such as integrated into Mixcraft (or similar) can work fairly well. Some people use gates, but honestly, I find them fiddly and seem to always be able to hear them switching, no matter how carefully they are set.
Also, be aware that certain plug ins add hiss in an attempt to emulate "analog warmth" (Several of the 3rd party plug ins included in Mixcraft are guilty of this. The G-Sonique sourced stuff specifically.)

[Jmackles]

Thanks for the tips guys! I think I have an idea of part of the culprit. It might be the fan on my computer.

I'll investigate quietening it. In the meantime can you describe how to use the built-in noise reduction?

[MiltonRob]

What mic and interface are you using?

[Mark Bliss]

In the meantime can you describe how to use the built-in noise reduction?

A description of the noise reduction function begins at the bottom of Pg 93 of the users guide.
I found I learned it pretty quick with experimenting after reading that.

[Jmackles]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm blown away by how well the built in noise reduction works now that I know how to use it. Holy mackerel!