Gain is basically how sensitive your microphone is. The higher the gain, the louder the output volume of the microphone will be. If the gain is too high, the microphone will pick up background noise and amplify it into static. There is no “correct” or universal setting when it comes to gain. It all depends on the power of the microphone, the microphone’s diaphragm, and the settings on your amplifier or interface. An audio interface refers to any device that converts audio to a digital signal. If you record music at home, the audio interface is that box that your mic’s XLR cable plugs into.
If the static is in your headphones but it’s not present when you speak into the mic or record audio, the headphone jack is faulty. Just get new headphones and the static will go away.
Feedback is a result of the ambient noise being projected into the air and cycling back through the microphone. This happens over and over again until the resulting sound is the high-pitched feedback that sounds like fingernails on the blackboard. Find out the right distance away from the microphone to record. [4] X Research source
if the audio is too loud when you move the mic closer to your mouth, turn the gain down.
Just to clarify, if this works it isn’t because your wall outlets or USB ports are bad. It just means the electrical current clashed with something in your microphone or audio device.
This will reduce the overall ambient sound in the room, which may cut down on the static you’re experiencing. Usually, when you are recording vocals or something like that, you want to minimize reverberations and reflections. So you can record in a closet with a bunch of clothes that can dampen the sound or record with a pop filter. [8] X Research source
Don’t run your washer, dryer, or dishwasher, while you record. Keep noises in other rooms to a minimum. A sensitive microphone may pick up small sounds from other rooms, even if you don’t notice them yourself.
Pop filters will remove any static triggered by the words you say into the mic. If you record outdoors, get a windscreen. This is basically a big sock that goes over the microphone to filter out the sound caused by moving air.
Some popular DAWs include FL Studio, Sonus, Ableton, Reaper, and Cubase. There are a handful of solid free options. WaveForm, Cakewalk, Adobe Audition 3, and Audacity are all free. If you have a Mac, GarageBand is a free DAW that comes with your computer.
Some effect panels have a preset called “noise suppression. ” If your noise gate has this preset, use that instead. The gate basically looks at an audio clip and trims any sound that’s below your threshold setting. Since static is normally very subtle, it rarely has a loud soundwave. The gate will automatically cut anything below the volume you set the threshold at.
This will lower the volume of the recording. You can compensate for the difference by turning up the overall volume of the master recording. A hard limiter is basically the opposite of a gate. It looks at the peaks of each soundwave and checks to see if passes a certain threshold. If the static is caused by loud sounds, the hard limiter will greatly reduce the sound of the static.
Microphone boost is basically an artificial gain on your computer mic. Turning this off will typically resolve the static problem.
Every version of Windows does not have the “Enhancements” button. If you don’t have it, don’t worry about it. Your problem should be resolved.
If you still hear static, try updating the drivers for your webcam or microphone. If that doesn’t work, you probably need a new webcam or mic.
