Removing noise floor from spoken word via SM7
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- audio school graduate
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Removing noise floor from spoken word via SM7
I know the SM7s need juice and I usually can minimize the noise floor with louder vocals. This time, I had a client who was doing a mellow spoken word thing and liked the sound of the SM7.
I have the SM7 going through an Avalon 737 cranked to almost full input and output. To combat the noise between spoken parts, I threw a gate on there. It helps but there still is some upper frequency noise on the parts which I tried to take out with some EQing.
I can still hear it but it's not as bad. Am I moron for choosing this mic for this style or just a moron for not finding the right tool to remove the noise? Help please.
I have the SM7 going through an Avalon 737 cranked to almost full input and output. To combat the noise between spoken parts, I threw a gate on there. It helps but there still is some upper frequency noise on the parts which I tried to take out with some EQing.
I can still hear it but it's not as bad. Am I moron for choosing this mic for this style or just a moron for not finding the right tool to remove the noise? Help please.
- Gregg Juke
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Assuming, as vvv did, that you are in the digital domain, you can also get _real labor intensive_ and edit (fade in and fade out) all of the heads and tails of each word (I mean tight, like on a near pixel/granular level), and then manually mute/insert silence between words, rather than use the noise gate. If it seems a little unnatural, you can play with just an infinitesimal amount of the tiniest little bit of reverb or room reflection, to give your word endings a little tail (you might even try that with the noise gate if things are a bit choppy).
There's always a way around; how bad do you want it? I just used the same process tonight (very successfully) on some very short (one sentence) voice promos that had a lot of room sound/background noise, and it took a couple of hours (well, maybe an hour and a half). A whole spoken word piece? Better make some coffee, and maybe a bag of popcorn...
GJ
There's always a way around; how bad do you want it? I just used the same process tonight (very successfully) on some very short (one sentence) voice promos that had a lot of room sound/background noise, and it took a couple of hours (well, maybe an hour and a half). A whole spoken word piece? Better make some coffee, and maybe a bag of popcorn...
GJ
Gregg Juke
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
Drum! Magazine Contributor
http://MightyNoStars.com
"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
Drum! Magazine Contributor
http://MightyNoStars.com
"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "
- Snarl 12/8
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Record the mic cranked in the room and flip phase.
j/k
Edit: I just realized something. If you record the mic alone, or use a stretch where there's no voice you could find the shallowest, narrowest eq setting the makes the noise disappear and then apply that to the track.
Or, just send it to VVV. That's a hell of an offer.
j/k
Edit: I just realized something. If you record the mic alone, or use a stretch where there's no voice you could find the shallowest, narrowest eq setting the makes the noise disappear and then apply that to the track.
Or, just send it to VVV. That's a hell of an offer.
- Gregg Juke
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Problem is the noise is often "multi-band;" you could try a notch filter or a bunch of them or maybe multi-band compression?? Phase-flipping and EQ (graphic or parametric) only does so much, and then you wind-up with not-quite-good-enough-of-a-fix, but terrible EQ settings for the actual program audio.
Tough spot to be in...
GJ
Tough spot to be in...
GJ
Gregg Juke
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
Drum! Magazine Contributor
http://MightyNoStars.com
"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "
Nocturnal Productions Music Group
Drum! Magazine Contributor
http://MightyNoStars.com
"He's about to learn the most important lesson in the music business-- 'Never trust people in the music business.' "
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- zen recordist
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The 737 is a nice channel strip, but it wouldnt be my choice with that particular mic. Sm7s definitely benefit from high output mic pres like the high gain Grace 101, Neve VR and 88R type preamps, AEA ribbon mic pres etc. Or maybe try a Cloudlifter in-line.The 737 definitely sounds great with Hi Output mics like condensers, but with just a touch under 60 dB of gain when open all the way, I dont think it has enough gain for the Sm7s low output...........
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