When you are on stage or in the studio or playing some musical instrument one thing that goes through your mind is how to reduce background noise on mic, your audio engineer is there to save your life. As every microphone is not similar, all the surroundings or rooms are not the same. Every artist has his vocal sound that can differ. Here are some simple but effective ways to reduce background noise on the microphone. They can be used for a live concert or for any closed room recording. Frankly speaking, it is not feasible every time to remove the surrounding sound entirely. But it can be reduced by doing various things.
Various Kinds Of Unwanted Sounds
There are three types of noise. We will discuss them in brief here.
- Broadband Noise or Continous Sound
Consider sounds like the hiss and the static noise comes under this category. It has a vast array of frequencies and it is caught up by the mic.
- Narrow Band Noise
This type of noise is caused due to poor grounding and poor cables used for microphones. It has a very limited range and this signal is unwanted which remains steady for a time.
- Impulse Noise
This type of noise included sharp noise which is high in frequency but its duration is small. Here consider the click and the pop sound in the mic.
The other types of unwanted background sound are such as rain showers, traffic noise, someone speaking in the background, or speech, etc. It is very difficult to remove these kinds of sounds as they different sounds that have different frequencies and volumes. Make sure that the microphone cable is kept at a distance from the electricity cables.
Here is some method that can be used to reduce the background noise of the mic we would discuss some the method is brief.
- Microphone Sensitivity And Gain Setup
- Microphone Windshield (Windscreen) to Reduce Outdoor Sounds
- Pop Filter to Eliminate Unwanted Sounds
- Reduce Background Sounds with a Microphone Shoch mount
- Filter for Mic Statick Hiss and Other Sounds
- Equalization to Remove Unwanted Audio
- How to cancel Unwanted Sound with a Noise Gate
- Noise Reduction Software
- Adaptive Noise Reduction and Cancellation Technology
- Rode Shotgun Mic
- Pop Filter
- Rode NT1 Mic and pop Shield
- Acoustic Noise Panels
- Microphone Sensitivity And Gain Setup
Microphone sensitivity plays an important role when selecting the correct mic for your performance. It is imperative to know that the mics are very sensitive if they are exposed to a different set of background noise they would react differently as the output audio levels vary. The more sensitive microphone will require less “before the amp”. The preamp is the control unit in the home studio. It has always to be kept in mind that your end result would depend upon the quality of the mic used. If we end up using poor quality mic then no matter
What kind of filter you use would not be helpful in any way to reduce the background noise.
Dynamic microphones carry less sensitivity while the condenser microphone carries more sensitivity. Also, the audio engineer has to keep a tab on the gain level, if it is in control it would not allow the noise to corrupt the audio signal. Here if a good setup of the microphone is available then the gain setup will do wonders and give excellent out audio quality.
- Microphone Windshield To Reduce Outdoor Sounds
If fur or foam is used then it works as a natural shield from blocking the noise. It has to be placed correctly over the head of the mic. It will act as a deterrent for the wind noise, help in controlling heavy breathing and pop noises. They can obstruct up to 12db noise rejection. Any microphone using them will deliver a clear sound.
- Reduce Background Sounds With A Microphone Shock Mount
All the current microphones are sensitive and pick up the background noise. The shock mount is a very good option to defend your microphone from the shocks and the vibrations. This will produce a good result and the sound quality will be excellent. It can reduce the handling noise as well. If suppose people are walking across the stage and also the noise created by the mic stand that is the vibration and tremors this all can be reduced by using the shock mount.
Conclusion:
The above method can be very useful for reducing background noise, using the right kind of instrument for the desired result. The windshield has become very popular nowadays, also usage of the software to reduce the background in the alternate method used. In this system, they take out the noisy signal and give clear signal output. Some of them are DSP Sounware, SoliCall, Adobe Audition, NoiseGator, Andrea PC Audio Software, Samson Sound Deck Windows. So choose your option wisely and get the best result.
