Whether you’re recording at home, in a studio, or on location, you are sure to pick up some background noise on your microphone. These noises can reduce the quality of your recordings and are annoying to hear.
Thankfully, there are some steps you can take to reduce ambient noise and ensure that you’re heard as clearly as possible.
In this article, we will look at the types of background noise and how they can be reduced on microphones.
What Types Of Background Noises Are There?
Before we can look to eliminate ambient noise, we need to identify the different types of background noise that we are likely to encounter. By identifying the types of background noise that can interfere with recording, we can plan to eliminate them.
Impulse Noise
These are sharp sounds such as pops and clicks. Typically, they are high frequency but do not last long and are quick to disappear.
Broadband Noise
This is a continuous sound that is carried over a wide range of frequencies. It includes common problem sounds such as buzzing and hissing.
Narrow Band Noise
Unlike broadband noise, narrow band noise is carried over only a narrow range of frequencies. The sounds are steady and consistent and are often signal noises that can be caused by issues such as the cables connected to your mic or wires that have been incorrectly grounded.
Irregular Noise
These are unwanted external noises that are difficult to control. They can vary greatly in volume, length, and frequency, and this category covers noises such as traffic, rain, speech, and thunder.
Electrical Noise
This type of ambient noise is provided by the technology that you’re using to record your sounds. A lot of technology emits a noise that is often ignored or not picked up by human ears.
Tips on Ambient Noise Reduction
Here are some tips on how to reduce background noise on your microphone.
Check Your Environment
Look around for any electrical devices that could cause noise. Some of these, such as televisions and fans, are obvious, but there is no need to have any electrical devices running unless they’re contributing directly to your recording.
You should also consider when and where you are recording. It can be near impossible to eliminate irregular noise, but if you’re picking up traffic noises on your microphone, consider recording at a time when traffic is at its lightest.
Check the weather forecast and plan so that you aren’t recording during rain and thunderstorms.
Check Your Cables
You should also check all of the cables, power socket, and couplings that you are using for recording. Audio input cables can create electromagnetic forces that interfere with the cables.
These forces can cause audible static noise interference and add unwanted background noise to your recordings.
In some cases, you might want to use a ground lift adapter as these will remove the equipment’s sound and shielding conductors and reduce the number of electric hums and buzzes that are produced. Using these incorrectly can be dangerous, however, so be careful.
Speak Clearly
This tip doesn’t impact ambient noise reduction directly, but it makes removing background noise later on much easier. You should always speak into your microphone as directly and clearly as you can.
By doing this, you will get a crisp, better audio quality track and it will be easier to reduce background noise in an editing program later.
Consider Mic Accessories
There is some additional equipment you can buy for your mic that will help improve sound quality to reduce microphone background noise. A mic windshield is a foam or fur cover that goes over the mic and helps to cancel out noise that is produced by heavy breathing or wind.
This is essential if you are a naturally heavy breather or will need to record some audio outdoors.
You should also consider buying a pop filter to improve sound quality. Some microphones have a pop filter built-in but you will probably have to buy one separately. A pop filter is a screen that helps to prevent the mic from picking up impulse noise such as plosives and other sudden unwanted sounds. (Also see, ‘What Does A Pop Filter Do?‘)
Another item to consider is a shock mount. Some microphones are very sensitive to being knocked and can even pick up background noise from the vibrations of people walking around near them.
A shock filter is a great way to prevent the mic background noise that comes from these shocks and vibrations and will help keep your recordings cleaner. (Also see, ‘Best Podcast Starter Kit‘)
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Try A Higher Quality Mic
Unfortunately, not all microphones are created equal and some cheaper models are just more prone to picking up microphone background noise than higher quality ones are. Look for microphones that have a low self-noise rating as this is a sign that the mic will be effective at canceling out mic noise. (Also see, ‘How To Make Your Mic Sound Better.‘)
You should also consider the type of mic that you have bought as dynamic mics are typically less sensitive to background noise than condenser microphones, for example. (Also see, ‘Best Dynamic Microphones‘)
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Use A Noise Reduction Program
Sometimes, no matter how many steps you take there will still be unwanted background noises on your recording. You can try and suppress intermittent background noise as possible but removing it all might prove impossible. This is where noise reduction apps, programs, and editing software will help.
ALSO SEE: Best Podcast Editing Software
There are many different noise suppression programs that you can use and the best one will depend on your operating system and budget. If you’re on iOS, GarageBand is a good free noise suppression option to choose and Audacity is one of the most popular free programs available across all platforms.
There are also some noise suppression programs such as Krisp and NoiseGate that work at the point of recording to try and prevent any background noises from being captured at all.
Final Thoughts On How To Remove Background Noise
Many different types of unwanted noise can be picked up by a mic and just as many ways to try and reduce it. We hope that the hints and tips in this article will help make your recordings clearer!
