How To Reduce Noise In The Studio

Joe Goldmark · Post by **Joe Goldmark** » 20 Jun 2017 12:04 pm

Here's a simple trick, use a lifter. Plug your amp into the lifter and the lifter into the outlet. I've had this help in very nice and expensive studios, where you'd think everything would be totally shielded, etc. The lifter costs $2 and can be miraculous.

https://www.amazon.com/Flexzion-3-Prong ... ifter+plug

Joe

Brint Hannay · Post by **Brint Hannay** » 21 Jun 2017 11:55 am

Godfrey Arthur wrote:Again, what is the correct height for the strings off the pickup pray-tell.. ?

It's often said here that the distance should be that of two U.S. quarters stacked between the pickup and the string. Some, I think, say three quarters. (Don't know if you have access to U.S. quarters!)

As far as I can tell in your pictures, your pickup distance appears to be in that ballpark. But perhaps Basil is correct--I'm only repeating what I've often read here.

Mark Wayne · Post by **Mark Wayne** » 24 Jun 2017 3:54 pm

Being a producer, I'll put a notch filter on the problem frequencies, with a very narrow Q (the u shaped image on the EQ) to not rob other tones. Not always the answer, but it's worked many times for me.

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 25 Jun 2017 9:18 am

There is a free VST plugin done by the people at COCKOS as part of Reaper called "ReaFIR".

Used properly, it acts as a learning noise gate that should get rid of any noise while you're not playing. You set checkboxes on it, run the silent part of the steel part ( where you're not playing ) then put it in a mode to act as an intelligent noise gate/filter[1]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOh04O6p6Vw

[1] or something - waving hands for now.

It may impart artifacts - it is "single-ended noise reduction" and they do that.

I've turned on all the fans in my tracking space and recorded acoustic guitar, and ended up with a useable track.

That should be all the engineer is concerned with, although I've met few engineers who didn't know how to run mutes on tracks

The played parts will mask the noise at worst.

Mark Wayne · Post by **Mark Wayne** » 25 Jun 2017 9:37 am

Sounds good, Les.

You can have your producer do a spectral analysis of your track, too. This will give a visual image of what frequencies are problematic. He can then go in and "lasso" these areas and remove them. Producers live by cleaning things up like this. Combined with all the others posts you should get pretty close to your goal.

Les Cargill · Post by **Les Cargill** » 25 Jun 2017 9:58 am

Mark Wayne wrote:Sounds good, Les.

You can have your producer do a spectral analysis of your track, too. This will give a visual image of what frequencies are problematic. He can then go in and "lasso" these areas and remove them. Producers live by cleaning things up like this. Combined with all the others posts you should get pretty close to your goal.

ReaFir is "damage control", and sometimes it disappoints. It can be surprisingly good, though.