OT: Re: FLASH: sound recording?

[Kevin Darbro]

John Shankar wrote:


> Hi:

>

> I've been trying to record some home-made sounds/effects for use in a

> FLASH movie in ".wav" format.  For this purpose I have been using a

> (cheap) microphone and the standard win-95 recording software.  This

> has been giving me very noisy results (lots of background noise)

>

> - Could someone please tell me if this is a problem with the microphone?

>

> - If it is then is there any "noise-cancellation"

> software/shareware out there which would mitigate the

> effect of background noise in the recording?

>

> Thanks very much in advance,


Sorry John.  The problem is most likely not with your software, but with a

combination of your mic and sound card.  Garbage In, Garbage Out (GIGO)

unfortunately.  There is also the issue of where you are recording.  If you

are in a noisy room (heaters, refrigerators, etc.), that will probably

"read" in your recording.  My best guess is that the mic is the largest

contributor to your problem.  Recording is a hobby of mine, so I could talk

all day about it, but here are a few pointers that may help you out:


1) Start with a good mic.  This depends on your application, but an all

around workhorse microphone that sounds decent with most stuff is a Shure

SM57.  The SM58 is better suited to vocals.  Both pickup in a hypercardiod

fashion (that means in a 'heart' shape with the most sensitive things being

'read' at the front of the mic), and reject noise from behind the head.

They are not very expensive, and are quality 'instruments.'  $80 to $120 or

so depending on where you are.  Avoid cheaper mics.  You do get what you

pay for.  Shures are used the world over, especially for live

applications.  If you look closely on MTV, The Tonight Show, David

Letterman, etc, watch the bands and look at what they are using.  Lots of

SM57s and 58s usually.  If you really want rich sound, you'll need to look

at condenser mics which tend to be more expensive.


2) You'll need a mic cable and some way to translate the mic signal to your

sound card.  I go into a Mackie mixing board, and out to my Turtle Beach

soundcard with a 'Y' cable RCA to 1/8".  You can probably find a used

Mackie 1202 mixing board for around $200.  Mackie also makes good stuff

that a lot of folks use.


3) Use a good room.  Turn off or isolate electrical things that make subtle

buzzes and hums.  Hang blankets and towels in the room to absorb sound

reflections.  Experiment with mic position to find the right one.


4) Set a good level and don't overdrive your software inputs.  Watch the

meters (if there are any), and get as close to '0' as possible without

going over.  Sound Forge is a great piece of software, but I hear a lot of

people love Cool Edit as it is shareware and it can do most of the same

things.


5) Use a good sound card.  SoundBlasters have gotten better, but I will

never buy one again after I've heard the accuracy of the Turtle Beaches.

For an idea as to how noisy your card is, record without any output from

your mixing board into your sound card (but leave everything still plugged

in like normal). Look at the resulting waveform.  That is the noise floor

of your sound card.  I did this test with my SB 16 and my Turtle Beach

Tropez Plus, and there was a significant difference.  The Sound Blaster was

much noisier than the Turtle Beach.  If you have an OEM SoundBlaster

compatible knockoff card, chances are you have a noise machine in your

computer.


Hope that helps!


- Kevin Darbro

http://www.intrex.net/kdarbro (not flashed yet...I'll get to it!)



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