Hi! I've got a brand new Logitec USB desktop mic and I'm finding it makes little electronic-sounding "pops" every so often when I record. I've tried using the "Crackle Removal" (or whatever it's really called; I'm at work and don't have my Audacity with me ), but it doesn't do much good. Can anybody provide some guidance for eliminating or decreasing these pops?
You can hear it in a previous poem I recorded (see link below). I didn't think it was too bad in a short poem, but now I'm trying to record an entire Sherlock Holmes adventure and it seems irritating to me.
"The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." ~ GK Chesterton
I've dealt with the noise you are talking about before. It seems to be some sort of interference with the computer. So far I've only heard it happen on laptops (specifically Acer and Averatec) and usually with logitec usb mics (though I think one might have been something else.)
Unfortunately we haven't, that I'm aware of, come up with a good way of getting rid of the noise (I bought a new computer and that got rid of it but is a rather expensive fix.) I've tried the click removal tools on it on a couple different programs and not got anywhere with that either. High levels of noise cleaning can reduce them but is very detrimental to your voice.
Out of curiosity what type of computer is this occurring on? (Trying to keep track for when people ask for recommendations.)
Mine's a Compaq (now Hewlett Packard) Presario 16?? laptop. I think it's a 2002 model. I will say that the microphone jack is MUCH worse... that's why I got the USB mic.
A good friend of mine who's a professional audio guy is going to look at a sample and see if he can figure anything out. If not, I may try swiping one of the kid's computers!
"The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." ~ GK Chesterton
I was about to post the nightmare of my story with a very similar sound that I had on my recordings and it occured to me:
Have you tried a different mic? It might be the memebrane of your mic is loose and starting to go. I know it's brand new, but that can happen in the shipping process. If you don't have another mic, try using it on your kid's computer and see if you have the same problem.
I will withhold the solution to my problem (which you really won't like) until we know if it's the mic or not.
I use a Logitech 350 USB headset, and it's jointed on both sides above the ear muffs. That joint pops, and the popping appears in my recordings. It happens when my reading gets too dramatic or I move my head around too awful much. Very annoying!
I have tried to muffle it with cotton shoved in the joints, and am actually planning to duct tape the joints shut in hopes that it will alleviate the problem. Meanwhile, I am on the lookout for another USB mic that will work well with my iMac. All the others I have tried (non-Logitech) have sounded horrendous.
Good luck!
Michelle
My first novella is NOW available!
https://www.amazon.com/Souls-Fire-Memoirs-Flame-Journey-ebook/dp/B088P5LSVB
I've been having lots of problems with my Logitech USB 350 headset, and am in the process of replacing it with a Samson Q1U USB desktop mic. It's not a headset, but I think I'm going to be happier with it. In the past two weeks, I've tested Cyber Acoustics headsets (no) and Logitech desktop USB mics (no, again), and just wasn't happy with either of them.
The popping sound of the Logitech 350 was driving me crazy, and the headset was too small for my head (it crushed my ears, very uncomfortable) so I started wearing the earpads on my cheeks (I wasn't listening to the playback as I recorded anyway). I think the popping got worse when I did that.
It would be best to test the microphone on another computer to tell if it's interference or a faulty membrane. The membrane on mine was fine when it was making that sound and worked just fine on another computer. That's not going to help it work on your computer of course but at least you'll know what the problem is. I don't know specifically what the difference is between the Compaq and the HP laptops but I have 2 HP laptops and mine works on both of them just not on my Averatec.
My HP's are both Pavilions, one bought early 2002, one I got last October. I occasionally got some similar clicks on the older one but only in about 4 minute intervals along with an occasional slight dropping out of dialogue. I decided those were caused by the computer having to write to the hard drive too frequently. But I don't think that is the problem here, though it's something that may come up in longer recordings.
mcrandall wrote:
I have tried to muffle it with cotton shoved in the joints, and am actually planning to duct tape the joints shut in hopes that it will alleviate the problem. Meanwhile, I am on the lookout for another USB mic that will work well with my iMac. All the others I have tried (non-Logitech) have sounded horrendous.
I knitted myself a medium to bulky headband about 3-4 inches wide, with about an inch band at the back so I didn't get so hot, which I put over my ears then put the headset to the tops of my ears. It didn't get rid of the joint popping completely but it kept the earphones from moving quite so much because of my movement when talking. I found duct taping the 350 difficult because of the design.
mcrandall wrote:
I have tried to muffle it with cotton shoved in the joints, and am actually planning to duct tape the joints shut in hopes that it will alleviate the problem. Meanwhile, I am on the lookout for another USB mic that will work well with my iMac. All the others I have tried (non-Logitech) have sounded horrendous.
I knitted myself a medium to bulky headband about 3-4 inches wide, with about an inch band at the back so I didn't get so hot, which I put over my ears then put the headset to the tops of my ears. It didn't get rid of the joint popping completely but it kept the earphones from moving quite so much because of my movement when talking. I found duct taping the 350 difficult because of the design.
Hmm...that's an idea. I currently put one of my son's yellow rubber duckies on top of my head and under the headset band to keep the headphones up above where my jawbone attaches...since that's what seems to be my major culprit. This duck perches in addition, of course, to the cotton shoved in the joints. My husband gets a grand laugh out of my LibriVoxing regalia. Admittedly, it does look like some sort of twisted post-futuristic crown.
The Duck Solution works passably well, but I still get a few pops and have to be very vigilant about keeping the duck in just one particular flat place on the top of my skull or it's all over. I am going to look into my yarn stash and see if I can knit up something similar to what you describe. Thanks for the tip, kristin!
-Michelle
My first novella is NOW available!
https://www.amazon.com/Souls-Fire-Memoirs-Flame-Journey-ebook/dp/B088P5LSVB
I had a comfort problem with my old USB headset, so I knitted a thick wooly tube around the top of the headband. :)
Kara http://kayray.org/
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"Mary wished to say something very sensible into her Zoom H2 Handy Recorder, but knew not how." -- Jane Austen (& Kara)
Mine's just a desktop mic, so at least I don't have the headset popping problems (My kids don't have their rubber duckies anymore!).
I've discovered my mic works just fine on our old, decrepit EMachine desktop so I'll probably have to use that for recording. I can get the popping to stop momentarily on my laptop by moving the USB plug around but it won't stay stopped and I can't replicate it. The plug seems a little loose and I suspect the connecters inside aren't touching as precisely as they should. And I thought they were supposed to be, you know, universal!
"The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." ~ GK Chesterton
Okay the fact that you don't get the popping sound with the same mic on the other computer and combine it with a non usb mic that was much worse, and I think your problem is not the connection.
It is most likely what I had trouble with: the processor. I got a new hard drive and the crackling popping noises have pretty much stopped so I think it may your problem too.
See the USB converts the sound into data, it does not get processed through your sound card but it does go through the hard drive, so if you have the crackling on both mics and not on the other computer, it's an indication of a problem with the laptop.
"The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected." ~ GK Chesterton
), but it doesn't do much good. Can anybody provide some guidance for eliminating or decreasing these pops?