Filtering background noise

[ensoniq]

Hi Reaper people. I'm a new user of this interesting software, although not a complete beginner in the area of songwriting/recording with computers.

I'm trying to find a decent compromise for my home studio's acoustic problems. My mic picks up everything, even my neighbour's most intimate thoughts, almost. I've tried using a gate, but the noise from the pc's fans, the fridge and whatnot comes through a bit too much when the gate is open.

Is there a vst filter plug that creates some kind of noise profile of the signal from the mic that could be saved as a preset and used on an audio channel?

Would this work for good vocal recordings or would it probably filter out too much of the voice character? I've already done what I can with the room itself.

...
Updated, I found the Reafir plug which seems to do this. No idea how well it works compared to others on the market. It doesn't seem to do it when monitoring, only on already recorded audio.

[ashcat_lt]

ReaFIR does that, and there are any number of other plugs out there that will do it, too. None of them can do it without creating artifacts of one sort or another. Whether it works well enough for your purposes depends on just about everything. You just have to try it and see if you can find a compromise/balance between the noise you're trying to remove and the artifacts that it adds.

I personally won't even bother because it almost always just makes things worse. I guess I just find a bit of noise to be easier to tolerate than the weird, synthy, watery warble that this kind of re-synthesis invariably creates.

It is MUCH better to reduce the noise at the source. If you can't make the room quieter, then make the source itself louder at the microphone. If you can't make the source itself louder, then move the mic closer to it. Do of course try to position the microphone in a such a way that the worst of your noise is rejected by its polar pattern.

[ensoniq]

Thanks for the advice, ashcat. I'll try to figure out if there's an optimal position for the mic (Rode NT-2A) in relation to the pc's case where the fans are. I wish it didn't pick stuff up from behind, but it does regardless of how I set the settings on the mic.

Originally Posted by ashcat_lt

ReaFIR does that, and there are any number of other plugs out there that will do it, too. None of them can do it without creating artifacts of one sort or another. Whether it works well enough for your purposes depends on just about everything. You just have to try it and see if you can find a compromise/balance between the noise you're trying to remove and the artifacts that it adds.

I personally won't even bother because it almost always just makes things worse. I guess I just find a bit of noise to be easier to tolerate than the weird, synthy, watery warble that this kind of re-synthesis invariably creates.

It is MUCH better to reduce the noise at the source. If you can't make the room quieter, then make the source itself louder at the microphone. If you can't make the source itself louder, then move the mic closer to it. Do of course try to position the microphone in a such a way that the worst of your noise is rejected by its polar pattern.

[Juan D'Fall]

You could try one of those reflection screen thingies if you have the room for it. That should stop some of the noise from behind the mic. Also try cleaning the dust out your pc fan and the cpu heatsink. My started getting noisy in the summer until I did that. It was well choked with dust.

[serr]

Originally Posted by ensoniq

Hi Reaper people. I'm a new user of this interesting software, although not a complete beginner in the area of songwriting/recording with computers.

I'm trying to find a decent compromise for my home studio's acoustic problems. My mic picks up everything, even my neighbour's most intimate thoughts, almost. I've tried using a gate, but the noise from the pc's fans, the fridge and whatnot comes through a bit too much when the gate is open.

Is there a vst filter plug that creates some kind of noise profile of the signal from the mic that could be saved as a preset and used on an audio channel?

Would this work for good vocal recordings or would it probably filter out too much of the voice character? I've already done what I can with the room itself.

...
Updated, I found the Reafir plug which seems to do this. No idea how well it works compared to others on the market. It doesn't seem to do it when monitoring, only on already recorded audio.

Short answer: no.

Yes, there are noise reduction plugins available. Izotope RX is actually quite good when used with finesse. ReaFIR can't really be used with finesse for this kind of work.

But you'll be spending more time screwing around and have mangled audio to show for it. At the very least, get the computer out of the recording room! Invest in some longer cables if you need them. They will be much cheaper than Izotope RX. Building an isolation box would also be a boatload more work and expense than a few cables. Get that thing out of the recording room. No exceptions!

Now find quiet hours to record.

[ensoniq]

Thanks, I've been thinking of it before. Still a bit hesitant to pay 200 euros or so for a bit of foam . Could be worth it though, I guess. The pc I've gone through and cleaned, installed a fanless gpu, more effective cpu cooler and put in acoustic dampeners inside the case etc. Also learned how to control the fans so it's easy to drag the cpu fan to just 50% speed or so if I use the mic. That helps a bit. I'll probably settle for just slight noise/hum removal on certain frequencies to take care of the worst, then leave the recording as it is.

Originally Posted by Juan D'Fall

You could try one of those reflection screen thingies if you have the room for it. That should stop some of the noise from behind the mic. Also try cleaning the dust out your pc fan and the cpu heatsink. My started getting noisy in the summer until I did that. It was well choked with dust.

[ensoniq]

Agreed, getting it out of the room would be the ideal. It's not going to work here though. Perhaps building a box is the best solution in the end. Does anyone know where to get decent acoustic foam for a reasonable price on the net?

Originally Posted by serr

Short answer: no.

Yes, there are noise reduction plugins available. Izotope RX is actually quite good when used with finesse. ReaFIR can't really be used with finesse for this kind of work.

But you'll be spending more time screwing around and have mangled audio to show for it. At the very least, get the computer out of the recording room! Invest in some longer cables if you need them. They will be much cheaper than Izotope RX. Building an isolation box would also be a boatload more work and expense than a few cables. Get that thing out of the recording room. No exceptions!

Now find quiet hours to record.

[drumphil]

What is still making noticeable noise in your PC?

With a good cooler, and fan speed control, it should be possible to make it nearly silent.

How low can you set the fan speeds without things getting too hot?

Try setting the QFAN options in your bios to "silent" for the CPU, and "%60" for the chassis fan.

Use something like OCCT that can stress test the CPU, and show you temperatures and fan speeds at the same time.

If the temperatures look good, then leave the settings at that. If you do it through the bios you don't need to use the Asus fan speed utility thing.

I have a heatpipe cooler on my DAW rig, with a 12cm fan. It is basically silent, while keeping the cpu below 60c. If you've got the space for a cooler that size, they are an amazingly effective cheap solution.

The other thing to consider, is that if your temperatures are already fine, and the fan speed control doesn't let you make them quiet enough, you can get lower amperage fans, that will spin slower at the same fan speed controller setting.

The fans I use spin at 1000rpm max, which is handy because I can't get the RPM that low with more powerful fans. The bios options on my motherboard still run the fans too fast at minimum settings with 0.3 amp fans.

[jerome_oneil]

ReaFIR does that, but I'd start with what is wrong with your room, first. Measure the crap out of it, and treat it accordingly. Well placed treatments can do wonders for you.

[jerome_oneil]

Originally Posted by ensoniq

Thanks for the advice, ashcat. I'll try to figure out if there's an optimal position for the mic (Rode NT-2A) in relation to the pc's case where the fans are. I wish it didn't pick stuff up from behind, but it does regardless of how I set the settings on the mic.

If you are picking up sound from the PC, the simple answer is this...

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=601340 + Reaper's fancy new web interface on your phone or tablet.

Move the computer out of your recording space, or move yourself into a new recording space.

[serr]

I've seen the stubbornness to move the computer out of the control room before. There must be something that seems intuitive that it would be easier to remove noise than not record it in the first place or that the cables needed are just unobtainably expensive or something.

You're really truly going to end up putting a lot of hours into useless unreleasable garbage recordings if you fight this one.

A 25' USB or firewire cable for your interface(s) and another USB for the keyboard/mouse (or use wireless for those) and you'll have the computer in the next room or a closet.

At the very very very least, a long mic cord to move the recording space away from the noise though! Then there are a number of options for remote control. Simple remote desktop will let you click the play/rec/stop buttons on your phone or tablet. You don't even need the web interface or OSC based stuff.

[drumphil]

I've seen the stubbornness to move the computer out of the control room before. There must be something that seems intuitive that it would be easier to remove noise than not record it in the first place or that the cables needed are just unobtainably expensive or something.

You're really truly going to end up putting a lot of hours into useless unreleasable garbage recordings if you fight this one.

With respect, I'm sitting next to a computer that is inaudible. I have to look to check if it is on.

SSD, quiet PSU, and 12CM low speed fans, with a big heatpipe CPU cooler.

Heck, I even have an MSI Nvidia 1050ti that doesn't run it's fans unless you are gaming.

[vdubreeze]

I'll throw this monkey wrench in there that moving the computer isn't going to make any difference if you're grappling with the refrigerator noise etc. Unless the fridge is in the room with you, then it's either moving the fridge out or moving the mic out : ( But since you mention it picking up your neighbor we can assume your space is getting leakage from outside the room. Pretty much impossible to negate unless you do some construction. Anything else is putting bandaids on the problem. What's the point of totally eliminating the computer fan if you still have the fridge and the neighbor's sneezes? : )

If at all possible try to put another layer of walls between what you're mic'ing and the outside of the room. If you can fabricate a DIY "room within a room" just in that area, even if it's not perfect or even great, you'll probably have your best bet of improved recording ambience.

[Philbo King]

Originally Posted by ensoniq

Hi Reaper people. I'm a new user of this interesting software, although not a complete beginner in the area of songwriting/recording with computers.

I'm trying to find a decent compromise for my home studio's acoustic problems. My mic picks up everything, even my neighbour's most intimate thoughts, almost. I've tried using a gate, but the noise from the pc's fans, the fridge and whatnot comes through a bit too much when the gate is open.

Is there a vst filter plug that creates some kind of noise profile of the signal from the mic that could be saved as a preset and used on an audio channel?

Would this work for good vocal recordings or would it probably filter out too much of the voice character? I've already done what I can with the room itself.

...
Updated, I found the Reafir plug which seems to do this. No idea how well it works compared to others on the market. It doesn't seem to do it when monitoring, only on already recorded audio.

One possibility is to unplug the refrigerator while using the mic.

[zacki]

Next to avoiding noise, this is the next best tip (at least for me): https://forum.cockos.com/showpost.ph...13&postcount=4