hiss sound at DVinfo.net

Jim Stamos · June 2nd, 2016, 02:18 PM

i recorded someone with a mic but they were talking too low, i can raise it in post, but now there is a hiss,
its not overmodulated.
any way to minimize that hiss or remove??

Marco Leavitt · June 2nd, 2016, 02:25 PM

I don't think so. That's a classic mistake, and the reason it's best to record on the hot side, particularly with budget equipment which often has a higher level of internal noise (that's the hiss you're hearing). Go and sin no more!

Rick Reineke · June 2nd, 2016, 02:41 PM

Yes that's common. Usually a low talker, a low output mic + noisy preamps are the main ingredients.
Noise Reduction would likely help, as would processing with a low-pass filter x-over @ around 10k Hz (if it's dialog).
Can you post a short clip to demo the severity?

Brian P. Reynolds · June 2nd, 2016, 04:33 PM

What sort of mic was used and at what distance from the person talking?

Pete Cofrancesco · June 2nd, 2016, 06:39 PM

That hiss is the tell tail sign of cheap mics. To save money the internal components are made of snakes. Just be thankful they didn't use rattlers.

Jim Stamos · June 2nd, 2016, 07:17 PM

Low cut filter completely removed it.
The mic was a rode ntg3, decent quality
Was going thru studio 1 adaptor

Andrew Smith · June 2nd, 2016, 08:04 PM

The NTG3 is a proper broadcast grade boom mic and has very little self noise. What were you recording it in to?

Andrew

Marco Leavitt · June 2nd, 2016, 08:17 PM

Glad it worked out for you!

Brian P. Reynolds · June 2nd, 2016, 08:51 PM

? Low cut filter...... Hiss is the other end of the frequency spectrum.

Jim Stamos · June 2nd, 2016, 09:29 PM

i was using a studio 1 xlr adapter into a small sony hd camera. ive had it awhile, havent had issues before,
but i had the volume control on that channel too low by accident. i turned it up on the other interviewees. it was fine.my mistake.
on my editing system, i applied the low cut filter, made an adjustment and all the hiss was gone. the high filter didnt do squat.

Andrew Smith · June 2nd, 2016, 09:49 PM

It's probably the electronics of the camera that you were hearing when you gave it all a massive boost to get your levels up.

Very glad that it has worked for you. It's an awful thing to have sound bring apart the effort that has gone in to shooting something.

Andrew

Paul R Johnson · June 3rd, 2016, 08:59 AM

er, a low cut filter cured it? A low cut filter removes bass, leaving the HF untouched - it removes rumble and wind noise to a degree - but shouldn't have any impact on hiss whatsoever? Mysterious!

Rick Reineke · June 3rd, 2016, 10:12 AM

The NG-3 is a good mic... but the conversion from a Phantom Powered preamp to unbalanced mic level could add to the noise, and most DSRL audio just plain sucks as well.
The OP could be confused by audio filter terminology: HP = low cut; LP= high cut.

Don Palomaki · June 3rd, 2016, 01:18 PM

Hiss is often pre-amp input stage noise, but could be anywhere in the chain. It is often found in low cost consumer gear pre-amps and cheap condenser mics. Low-pass (sometimes called hiss filters) and band pass filters can remove some of it. In many cases use of noise filters such as provided in Adobe Audition and other sound editing programs can help in post production. (Hi-pass filters are often used reduce hum, wind noise, some HVAC noise, and rumble.)

Avoiding the use of audio AGC can help keep it at bay by reducing noise floor level increases during quiet portion of program material. Use of noise gating and signal compression can help intelligibility, but may add their own artifacts to the sound.

With passive audio attenuators such as in the the studio 1 it is generally better to keep its level as high as you can, and reduce gain in the camcorder input. An external mic pre-amp may be needed in some cases if the camcorder input is really noisy and the mic has a low output, as with many dynamic mics.

Andrew Taylor · June 8th, 2016, 09:09 AM

My understanding is that a low cut filter cuts out low frequency noises (low rpm electric motors, refrigerators, fans, etc.), and a high cut filter cuts out high frequency noises (high rpm electric motors, dentist drills, high speed wind, etc.).

Using different wording, a low pass filter will let the low frequencies pass, and a high pass filter will let the high frequencies pass. At least that's how I've used those labels in the past.

But I somehow get the impression that some of these posts are using the opposite interpretation. I must be missing something.

June 2nd, 2016, 02:18 PM	#1
Jim Stamos Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 563	hiss sound i recorded someone with a mic but they were talking too low, i can raise it in post, but now there is a hiss, its not overmodulated. any way to minimize that hiss or remove??

June 2nd, 2016, 02:25 PM	#2
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	Re: hiss sound I don't think so. That's a classic mistake, and the reason it's best to record on the hot side, particularly with budget equipment which often has a higher level of internal noise (that's the hiss you're hearing). Go and sin no more!

June 2nd, 2016, 02:41 PM	#3
Rick Reineke Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New York Posts: 2,038	Re: hiss sound Yes that's common. Usually a low talker, a low output mic + noisy preamps are the main ingredients. Noise Reduction would likely help, as would processing with a low-pass filter x-over @ around 10k Hz (if it's dialog). Can you post a short clip to demo the severity?

June 2nd, 2016, 04:33 PM	#4
Brian P. Reynolds Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 466	Re: hiss sound What sort of mic was used and at what distance from the person talking?

June 2nd, 2016, 06:39 PM	#5
Pete Cofrancesco Inner Circle Join Date: May 2004 Location: USA Posts: 2,995	Re: hiss sound That hiss is the tell tail sign of cheap mics. To save money the internal components are made of snakes. Just be thankful they didn't use rattlers.

June 2nd, 2016, 07:17 PM	#6
Jim Stamos Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 563	Re: hiss sound Low cut filter completely removed it. The mic was a rode ntg3, decent quality Was going thru studio 1 adaptor

June 2nd, 2016, 08:04 PM	#7
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,015	Re: hiss sound The NTG3 is a proper broadcast grade boom mic and has very little self noise. What were you recording it in to? Andrew

June 2nd, 2016, 08:17 PM	#8
Marco Leavitt Inner Circle Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Albany, NY 12210 Posts: 2,652	Re: hiss sound Glad it worked out for you!

June 2nd, 2016, 08:51 PM	#9
Brian P. Reynolds Major Player Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Adelaide, South Australia Posts: 466	Re: hiss sound ? Low cut filter...... Hiss is the other end of the frequency spectrum.

June 2nd, 2016, 09:29 PM	#10
Jim Stamos Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 563	Re: hiss sound i was using a studio 1 xlr adapter into a small sony hd camera. ive had it awhile, havent had issues before, but i had the volume control on that channel too low by accident. i turned it up on the other interviewees. it was fine.my mistake. on my editing system, i applied the low cut filter, made an adjustment and all the hiss was gone. the high filter didnt do squat.

June 2nd, 2016, 09:49 PM	#11
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,015	Re: hiss sound It's probably the electronics of the camera that you were hearing when you gave it all a massive boost to get your levels up. Very glad that it has worked for you. It's an awful thing to have sound bring apart the effort that has gone in to shooting something. Andrew

June 3rd, 2016, 08:59 AM	#12
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,015	Re: hiss sound er, a low cut filter cured it? A low cut filter removes bass, leaving the HF untouched - it removes rumble and wind noise to a degree - but shouldn't have any impact on hiss whatsoever? Mysterious!

June 3rd, 2016, 10:12 AM	#13
Rick Reineke Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: New York Posts: 2,038	Re: hiss sound The NG-3 is a good mic... but the conversion from a Phantom Powered preamp to unbalanced mic level could add to the noise, and most DSRL audio just plain sucks as well. The OP could be confused by audio filter terminology: HP = low cut; LP= high cut.

June 3rd, 2016, 01:18 PM	#14
Don Palomaki Wrangler Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Northern VA Posts: 4,487	Re: hiss sound Hiss is often pre-amp input stage noise, but could be anywhere in the chain. It is often found in low cost consumer gear pre-amps and cheap condenser mics. Low-pass (sometimes called hiss filters) and band pass filters can remove some of it. In many cases use of noise filters such as provided in Adobe Audition and other sound editing programs can help in post production. (Hi-pass filters are often used reduce hum, wind noise, some HVAC noise, and rumble.) Avoiding the use of audio AGC can help keep it at bay by reducing noise floor level increases during quiet portion of program material. Use of noise gating and signal compression can help intelligibility, but may add their own artifacts to the sound. With passive audio attenuators such as in the the studio 1 it is generally better to keep its level as high as you can, and reduce gain in the camcorder input. An external mic pre-amp may be needed in some cases if the camcorder input is really noisy and the mic has a low output, as with many dynamic mics. __________________ dpalomaki@dspalomaki.com

June 8th, 2016, 09:09 AM	#15
Andrew Taylor Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 46	Re: hiss sound My understanding is that a low cut filter cuts out low frequency noises (low rpm electric motors, refrigerators, fans, etc.), and a high cut filter cuts out high frequency noises (high rpm electric motors, dentist drills, high speed wind, etc.). Using different wording, a low pass filter will let the low frequencies pass, and a high pass filter will let the high frequencies pass. At least that's how I've used those labels in the past. But I somehow get the impression that some of these posts are using the opposite interpretation. I must be missing something.