I'm experimenting with noise removal and some PCM M10 3 recordings in Audac=
ity (beta 1.3)? now myself, as a stopgap solution till I can get some stere=
o mics.
My initial attempt, taking the noise sample from the recording, left the re=
cording full of strange little hiccups and funny noises (but no hiss). I as=
sume this was because I couldn't find anywhere where there wasn't at least =
one little bird calling faintly in the background.
I then made a recording of just hiss at the same recording level with the r=
ecorder under some cushions, and I used that for the noise sample for the n=
oise removal. After experimenting with the noise removal settings, I starte=
d getting much better results, but still not right.
At first I thought it was ok, but after listening a few times, I noticed th=
at the reverb had gone, leaving it sounding very dead. I increased the atta=
ck/decay time and got some reverb back, but now there was a little burst of=
hiss each side of each loud bird call. More fiddling with the other settin=
gs, and I've improved it a lot, but the best way to improve it seems to be =
to reduce the amount of hiss removed!
I haven't given up yet, but given the amount of time I've spent on it now, =
and the imperfect results, I can see why people just shell out for better m=
icrophones. I assume that if I come up with some settings I think sound ok,=
people here will be able to point out other noise removal artefacts I hadn=
't noticed.
That said, at this stage I still think it's worth a try if all you have is =
the recorder's internal mics. I hadn't noticed the hiss at all in other rec=
ordings I made in noisier places, so it's only in very quiet places that it=
's a problem.
Peter Shute
From: =
.com] On Behalf Of Dan Dugan
Sent: Friday, 10 February 2012 10:16 AM
To:
Subject: Re: [Nature Recordists] Sony PCM-M10 vs Zoom H4n best for outdoors=
/ capturing frogs in the jungle?
> One thing that seems important to master for now, esp when using the buil=
t-in mics, is removing microphone hiss with Audacity. Do you recommend this=
method?:
No. Noise-removing algorithms damage the sound irreparably. There are of us=
e in forensics, and in constructing mixes for film, where destroying the am=
bience of a particular clip doesn't matter because another ambience is bein=
g mixed in.
The way to avoid hiss is to get the mics closer to the source, or use quiet=
er mics.
-Dan
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