Scratchy fuzzy noise in voice-over recording

[yeahforbes]

So the MBox has the "mix" knob which on one side gives you the direct sound of the microphone, and on the other side gives you computer playback. Put it entirely onto computer playback since the direct microphone never has noise. Now I don't know much about Sound Forge, but in Pro Tools when you hit the red "R" button on a track to record-enable it, the sound from the microphone is converted to digital, goes into the computer, and immediately* comes back out and is converted back to analog for your headphones or speakers. All this whether or not your timeline is even rolling (i.e. recording). *With some latency: it'll sound like a slap-back echo with most systems. In fact I always hit "M" on the track to mute this slapback and then do the analog mix that we're now avoiding for the sake of troubleshooting.

n-Track Studio, another DAW application, allows the same concept but calls it "Live input monitoring." If Sound Forge doesn't have it, maybe you could try what I described using Pro Tools.

Anyway, getting that to work will make troubleshooting a zillion times easier because you'll hear what would be recorded without actually dealing with rec/stop/play/stop... over and over.

[judithwest]

So the MBox has the "mix" knob which on one side gives you the direct sound of the microphone, and on the other side gives you computer playback. Put it entirely onto computer playback since the direct microphone never has noise. Now I don't know much about Sound Forge, but in Pro Tools when you hit the red "R" button on a track to record-enable it, the sound from the microphone is converted to digital, goes into the computer, and immediately* comes back out and is converted back to analog for your headphones or speakers. All this whether or not your timeline is even rolling (i.e. recording). *With some latency: it'll sound like a slap-back echo with most systems. In fact I always hit "M" on the track to mute this slapback and then do the analog mix that we're now avoiding for the sake of troubleshooting.

n-Track Studio, another DAW application, allows the same concept but calls it "Live input monitoring." If Sound Forge doesn't have it, maybe you could try what I described using Pro Tools.

Anyway, getting that to work will make troubleshooting a zillion times easier because you'll hear what would be recorded without actually dealing with rec/stop/play/stop... over and over.

Thanks, Steve. Will give that a try. - Judith

[judithwest]

Judith, I hope the "ritual" continues to ward off the gremlins. I have to say I admire your good humor, considering that this involves your livelihood.

I was thinking more about input/output cables, etc., rather than the power supply cable, but there could have been an iffy connection at the power jack, I suppose. With luck the problem goes away and never returns.

Laptops seem to have more of this kind of thing, I suppose because their power supplies are a lot less robust and probably not as well-filtered as those in desktop machines; if you haunt these forums often enough you will see the same kinds of things coming up repeatedly. You'd think for what they cost you'd get something better, but I guess the thinking is that the main function of the supply is to charge the battery - noise creeping into the system isn't an issue for typical users.

Good luck,

SF

Magical hoodoo of unplug-plug still going strong. Apparently exhausted lingering bad juju (and ill-humor) in preceding several weeks of trying to resuscitate Pro Tools 6.9. Henceforth will order only software with DNR clause in terms of use, to save wear and tear on psyche.

Thanks again for your good counsel.

- Judith