guitardog247
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condenser mic noise issue?? Can't place it..
I get this high level of low rumbling noise, almost like "wind". It's not the house air or anything.
Thing is it's not soundcard or mic dependent, or even OS. Because I've different combos of that. Only thing that has been constant is the computer and space.
It's really freaking me out, and it will go away for a long period of time. It;s intermittent.
I have a M-audio Fast track ultra, and m-audio Nova, mic and an MXL 990. Like I said, the sound card doesn't matter, because it did the same thing with my emu PCI card, so it doesn't matter if USB or PCI. I've tried different cables too.
I'm going to try a totally different computer in the same space and see what happens.
Sonar, Les Paul Studio, FTU, puter, plugs.........
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The Maillard Reaction
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Re:condenser mic noise issue?? Can't place it..
2010/06/15 07:29:27
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Both mics?
Intermittent?
Hmmmm,
Two thoughts... if it's one mic, it might be a cap going bad inside the actual mic and causing some DC to leak onto your signal.
Another thought.... are you at a high gain setting? It surprising what is going on at low level down in the low frequencies. When I use real;ly high gain it's easy to hear the neighbors AC unit through my walls... and the neighbor is thousands of feet away. That's what a lo-cut on the mic is for.
Third thought: it could be just about anything else.
My ribbon mics are noisy... I usually use them at high gain settings... so the rumble can be a problem if I don't work with it and find a good balance.
best regards,
mike
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guitardog247
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Re:condenser mic noise issue?? Can't place it..
2010/06/15 13:55:28
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Seem to have just "went away". I don't know what I did. Except just start using it anyway at a really low gain setting, then brought it up once the the "ghost wind rumbling" went away.
Maybe it just likes to be used more often...... Electronics like to be used....
Sonar, Les Paul Studio, FTU, puter, plugs.........
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The Maillard Reaction
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Re:condenser mic noise issue?? Can't place it..
2010/06/15 15:55:39
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That's good news!
That might indicate an unfulfilled capacitor rather than a leaky one.
I agree with you, electronics benefit from frequent use.
best,
mike
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ohhey
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Re:condenser mic noise issue?? Can't place it..
2010/06/15 16:00:58
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mike_mccue
That's good news!
That might indicate an unfulfilled capacitor rather than a leaky one.
I agree with you, electronics benefit from frequent use.
best,
mike
Maybe just too humid. Capsule might have dried out.
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guitardog247
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Re:condenser mic noise issue?? Can't place it..
2010/06/15 16:03:54
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I've read about humidity affects, and simliar problems. It's been very humid here, and I'm in the basement.
Sonar, Les Paul Studio, FTU, puter, plugs.........
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skullsession
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Re:condenser mic noise issue?? Can't place it..
2010/06/15 16:05:08
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HOOK: Skullsessions.com / Darwins God Album "Without a doubt I would have far greater listening and aural skills than most of the forum members here. Not all but many I am sure....I have done more listening than most people." - Jeff Evans on how awesome Jeff Evans is.
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skullsession
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Re:condenser mic noise issue?? Can't place it..
2010/06/15 16:11:13
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Seriously though, I've heard this sort of noise with cheaper preamps before. It's seemed to me that the pot was making poor contact...possibly dust or something in there causing it to make "partial" contact...
I believe I know the sound you're talking about. Not so bad that it's a problem while you're playing, but certainly above the normal noise floor if you'r not playing?
When you're having the problem, have you taken to gain knob and cranked it back and forth? I'd be curious if the sound changed, or even went away at certain points of the rotation.
Just a thought.
HOOK: Skullsessions.com / Darwins God Album "Without a doubt I would have far greater listening and aural skills than most of the forum members here. Not all but many I am sure....I have done more listening than most people." - Jeff Evans on how awesome Jeff Evans is.
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guitardog247
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Re:condenser mic and humidity issue
2010/06/16 12:35:33
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My LDC mic's were acting up again. After reading on some forums about humidity having negative affects. I turned on the AC overnight (it was 93% humidity), then in the morning I put a mic under an incandescent bulb for 15 minutes.
Plugged the mic in, cranked the gain, and voila! No strange ghost noise, perfectly quiet, except for expected ambient noise.
I don't know if because they are "cheap" mics, that they are more susceptible to this or what. But I need to find a way to keep the things away from humidity, storing in a dessicant chamber or something.
I realize I need another test to really confirm this, and it's not just coincidental, but I'm pretty confident I found the cause of my problems.
Sonar, Les Paul Studio, FTU, puter, plugs.........
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ohhey
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Re:condenser mic and humidity issue
2010/06/16 13:27:07
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guitardog247
My LDC mic's were acting up again. After reading on some forums about humidity having negative affects. I turned on the AC overnight (it was 93% humidity), then in the morning I put a mic under an incandescent bulb for 15 minutes.
Plugged the mic in, cranked the gain, and voila! No strange ghost noise, perfectly quiet, except for expected ambient noise.
I don't know if because they are "cheap" mics, that they are more susceptible to this or what. But I need to find a way to keep the things away from humidity, storing in a dessicant chamber or something.
I realize I need another test to really confirm this, and it's not just coincidental, but I'm pretty confident I found the cause of my problems.
You can try storing the mic in a air tight box with a silica gell. That should do it. Shouldn't even need to be air tight in most cases. Most mics are shipped with a silica gell packet in the box but you can buy them on e-bay and other places. Gun collectors and all kinds of folks use that stuff for storage it's dirt cheap. Condensor mic capsules are very high impedance and just an air gap cap so any humidity can cause noise.
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skullsession
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Re:condenser mic and humidity issue
2010/06/16 14:21:46
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guitardog247
My LDC mic's were acting up again. After reading on some forums about humidity having negative affects. I turned on the AC overnight (it was 93% humidity), then in the morning I put a mic under an incandescent bulb for 15 minutes.
Plugged the mic in, cranked the gain, and voila! No strange ghost noise, perfectly quiet, except for expected ambient noise.
I don't know if because they are "cheap" mics, that they are more susceptible to this or what. But I need to find a way to keep the things away from humidity, storing in a dessicant chamber or something.
I realize I need another test to really confirm this, and it's not just coincidental, but I'm pretty confident I found the cause of my problems.
Hmm...very interesting, indeed.
HOOK: Skullsessions.com / Darwins God Album "Without a doubt I would have far greater listening and aural skills than most of the forum members here. Not all but many I am sure....I have done more listening than most people." - Jeff Evans on how awesome Jeff Evans is.
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ohhey
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Re:condenser mic and humidity issue
2010/06/16 15:12:51
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skullsession
guitardog247
My LDC mic's were acting up again. After reading on some forums about humidity having negative affects. I turned on the AC overnight (it was 93% humidity), then in the morning I put a mic under an incandescent bulb for 15 minutes.
Plugged the mic in, cranked the gain, and voila! No strange ghost noise, perfectly quiet, except for expected ambient noise.
I don't know if because they are "cheap" mics, that they are more susceptible to this or what. But I need to find a way to keep the things away from humidity, storing in a dessicant chamber or something.
I realize I need another test to really confirm this, and it's not just coincidental, but I'm pretty confident I found the cause of my problems.
Hmm...very interesting, indeed.
Humid air can completely change the values at the business end of a circuit with that high of impedance. With an input impedance of 500meg to 1 or 2 gigaohm ! it doesn't take much.  Hell you can't even leave flux on the board when you solder the wires in place.
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bonifrate
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Re:condenser mic and humidity issue
2014/06/12 10:19:37
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Hi folks,
I've been having the same problem for months with condenser microphones and this is the first forum where I see the problem put clearly. The reason really seems to be the humidity. I live in Paraty, Brazil, and it's one of the most humid spots in the country (more than Amazonia, some might say). I'm trying to keep the mics in the AC for a while and see what happens. I might also try to move the studio from the most humid room in the house, but from the extreme climate issue I reckon it's likely that I should get some better dynamic mics and forget about using condensers. Sad but true. Cheers!
www.bonifrate.com
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rumleymusic
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Re:condenser mic and humidity issue
2014/06/14 11:47:56
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Not cheap, but you could look into an RF condenser mic, which are pretty much immune to dust and humidity. (Sennheiser MKH series) Luckily they are some of the best sounding pencil condenser microphones out there.
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