How to record in a 'noisy' household? Help!

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love2write
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Post by love2write »

Hey all, I love doing recordings for Librivox! I use a Blue Yeti on my iMac, I love this mic and its quality. I bought this mic for podcasting and recording audio for LV. As much as I love it, and I am still learning as time goes on, I have a problem and don't know how to overcome it. I have limited time on my hands for things like recording podcasts and audio for LV. Being new, I view my recording time as "the house must be completely quiet" before I can record. This is not easy, even though I am downstairs, each noise upstairs seems to be to "the recording part of myself" as thunderous explosions and I can't record during those times (I do exaggerate here - the noises are just that, noises, but the mic picks them up). Some entire evenings the mic sits alone as I don't believe that I can record with any noises going on upstairs. I know this may all sound ridiculous, but I simply can't believe that I am the only one with this 'problem.' Certainly there must be a way that I can still record, either blanking out the sounds, removing them later - or by software or hardware, keep the noises out.

Anyone out there have similar issues? How do you overcome them? I could do allot more recording if I could record even at times when others are home, I just need to know how to do this. I use:

Software - Sound Recorder
Mic - Blue Yeti
computer - iMac

Thanks for any and all suggestions!

Jerry
chocoholic
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Post by chocoholic »

I record after the kids are in bed (my husband is much quieter than they are, haha) or when no one else is at home, which isn't often. My recording output went down dramatically when my first child started going to bed later in the evening. When the kids are old enough to stay up as long as I do, I have no idea what I'll do. The room where I record is right off the kitchen, and even with the door closed you can hear everything that goes on in there.

No, I haven't found any way to edit household noises out of a recording unless they conveniently occur during pauses. Some readers have set up mini recording studios with sound deadening material propped up around the mic, or record in closets etc (clothes are a great sound dampener); you might try something like that.
Laurie Anne
philchenevert
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Post by philchenevert »

Hi Love2write ,

Ah .. the search for silence! or at least less noise. we all go through it. My wife laughs at my 'studio', which is a a nook made by thick blankets suspended from wires that run across the room. (It actually looks much better than it sounds). (the blankets can slide neatly against the wall when not needed to protect me from noise). (OK, it does look kinda funny :? )

my only suggestion is an obvious one: be sure the Yeti is set on cardoid and not omnidirection or bi.

best of luck and don't let a little noise stop you from recording. That's what editing software is made for !!!!

:D
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love2write
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Post by love2write »

Thanks all for the input and suggestions, I really appreciate hearing about your experience!

Jerry
Starlite
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Post by Starlite »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTzX4QZDog0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viKzGKbR6hI&feature=related

Put it with the foam (closed) side towards the noise with the mic facing away from noise.

If I hear a noise through my recording, I repeat the phrase and edit out the offending noise.

Esther :)
"Reasonable people adapt themselves to the world. Unreasonable
people attempt to adapt the world to themselves. All progress,
therefore, depends on unreasonable people." George Bernard Shaw
catchpenny
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Post by catchpenny »

Well, another way to look at it is the sounds could be endearing. One of our readers has birds chiming in now and again, and another has a chair squeaking ever so subtly. In my opinion, it gives it a rather homey feel, as if an older relative is reading to you. Though I myself tend to be more particular (and have contemplated gagging certain members of the household, what do they think this is, a place to live and play?) I don't mind little things like that in other people's recordings. I try to record at night, but when I have an "awake" sound, if you know what I mean.
Anyone can read accurately. [i]I[/i] read with great expression.
annise
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Post by annise »

You might get some ideas here - http://forum.librivox.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=25965&hilit=porta+booth though as people say a little background noise isn't a problem - just friendly. Though I must confess that one recording I PLed had these sounds that I kept going to investigate the house until I finally realised that they stopped when I pressed pause :D

Anne
Samanem
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Post by Samanem »

I record in a closet with clothes all over and hanging blankets and coats, but with three kids and three dogs and a cat it still is just hit or miss as to whether it's going to be quiet enough. I used to have a cone of foam wrapped around the mic stand from back to front to help with sound coming from the back of the mic, but that got in the way of reading too much.

Hence the responses over on the "You Know You're Addicted to Librivox When..." thread where people sheepishly admit they look forward to being alone in the house for various reasons!

Dennis
"I ask to be allowed to have a lamp in the evening;
it is indeed wearisome sitting alone in the dark." ~ William Tyndale (1494-1536)
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Cori
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Post by Cori »

Yeah, I'm in the closet too -- main problem being I have to whoosh the door open and closed a few times every 15 mins, to re-oxygenate the area. :shock:

Currently, it's working very well, apart from occasional planes which drone overhead so steadily I don't notice them while recording, only later when I'm editing. The software I'm using (an anciente version of Adobe Soundbooth) lets me edit certain frequencies, whilst leaving the timing / most of my voice intact, which performs absolute miracles on sirens going past, but isn't so good with the plane noise (it tends to take some of the bass out of my already trebley voice). It also takes a long time to tinker with it -- so although it's handy occasionally, I wouldn't recommend software as a great route for fixing the problem.

A sound-dampening place to record / mini-mic-booth as suggested above, would be good ... and, if all else fails, cultivate a taste for recording poetry -- if you do 3-4 takes of each stanza / verse, at least ONE of each has to come out bump-crash-bang free. :lol:




[Edited to add: also, it's worth recording even if you think it's noisy, partly for the practice, and partly because my Yeti's very sensitive to some noise, and seems to completely ignore other things that I can hear quite clearly while inside the cupboard, so it might be honestly not that bad on listening back.

And, it's also worth recording as much as you reasonably can when it's quiet, and save up lots of audio to edit when the house is in its normal sound-state.

Or, you might consider helping out with a drama project, which is a heap of editing work! Not for the faint-hearted, or inexperienced, but if you're a whizz with your editor, or interested in becoming so -- that's an awesome way to contribute time and energy to LibriVoxing, without wanting to wrap everyone within a 100m radius in a large, duvet-strait-jacket.]
There's honestly no such thing as a stupid question -- but I'm afraid I can't rule out giving a stupid answer : : To Posterity and Beyond!
catchpenny
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Post by catchpenny »

Cori wrote: without wanting to wrap everyone within a 100m radius in a large, duvet-strait-jacket.]
Do they sell those on ebay?
Anyone can read accurately. [i]I[/i] read with great expression.
CalmDragon
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Post by CalmDragon »

catchpenny wrote:
Cori wrote: without wanting to wrap everyone within a 100m radius in a large, duvet-strait-jacket.]
Do they sell those on ebay?
If only. Afraid that they are seperate categories. Duvet or strait jackets, but not combined.

Simple dampening can be done with the forementioned blankets, old thick curtains, pillows and cushions surrounding your microphone and the area directly behind you. I also have heard cars driving by, children and animal noise through the ear buds while recording that were so faint on playback that I did not even bother to use noise reduction.
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