Removing background humming / buzzing when recording audio tracks

What is the best way to remove background humming / buzzing when recording audio tracks (vocals / acoustic guitar / etc.)?
 
Thanks in adavance!

Not to sound like a jerk, but the best way is to solve all the hum/buzz problems before hitting record. Usually it is too late to do that for "this project", so let's dig.

First things first, is the hum part of the recording, or part of the playback. Try playing back other sources to see if the hum is in your monitoring chain or your recording chain. If it is monitoring then fix it.

If it is in the track then you will need a really good noise reduction plugin. There are many. Izotope RX, Accusonis ERA-D, Waves has a suite, Acon Digital has a suite, and so on. They all work, they are all capable of solving one or more problems, but the approaches do differ, as do the workflows.

For something like hum and buzz, or any steady state noise, my goto is the old Sound Forge/Sony Noise Reduction plugin. It isn't better than the others, but I've logged so many hours with it that I can get good results quickly.

The ERA-D plugin is fantastic for really complex noise signatures. If I can't fix it with Sony that's my second call.

I'm still getting used to RX, but I have found their dialog de-noiser to be really good, and really easy - about as close to a one click solution as I've found. Sadly their more general plugins require quite a bit more effort.

If you are just now preparing to make a recording, and hearing a buzz then we are back to "fix it first". This will provide the best possible result. Fortunately it isn't all that difficult to fix.

If your input is single-ended (unbalanced) find a different input, one that is balanced. Most of the time that will do the trick.

If you have a balanced input and you have buzz then you need to dig deeper. Some equipment is designed poorly, and susceptible to noise. It can be modified, or the cables can be modified to solve the problem.

Sometimes it is nothing more than a bad cable. Try swapping cables.

All of this, of course, is fixing the problem at the "victim". When we do noise studies we also look at "aggressors". Eliminating the source of the noise is hands down the best solution of all. Do you have a poorly designed power supply in the room? Maybe a cheap wall wart? How about fluorescent lighting? All of these can introduce noise. Fixing or replacing them is a fantastic first step.

If you can provide more specific information we can probably provide more specific suggestions, but this should get you started.

Woodyoflop
Sometimes it also helps to use a grounding adapter. Those little grey things u buy for like a 1.50 to attach to end of ur plugin. They help especially if ur electrical happens to be a bit
Old.

Many here are probably waiting for my reply to this<G>.
 
NEVER USE A SAFETY GROUND LIFT ADAPTER TO SOLVE A NOISE PROBLEM!!!!

You didn't mention where you are located, but if you are in the USA it's called a "safety ground" for a reason. It is there to provide an alternate path to ground for any electrical current that does not return via the neutral, for whatever reason. Without the safety ground you stand a very good chance of becoming that return path, and it can injure, or even kill you. It is an amazingly bad idea.

It is true that the safety ground can become part of a ground loop, and a ground loop can induce 60 Hz noise into an audio (or video) system. The easiest way to make that problem disappear (ground loops are inevitable, and don't have to be a problem) is to use properly balanced inputs and outputs, and insure that the signal shield connects to the equipment chassis, not the innards.
 
One thing to understand about 60 Hz noise - the shield on a shielded cable does nothing to reduce 60 Hz noise. It is there for radio frequencies only. The cable twist, on the other hand, is remarkably effective in blocking 60 Hz noise. You can even disconnect the shield entirely - if you have a balanced source and input - and it will have no effect on the signal.

At the risk of repeating myself:
 
NEVER DEFEAT THE SAFETY GROUND! NOT EVEN TO FIX A NOISE PROBLEM!

I can't believe the Yamaha book is on the web! I still have a pre-pub copy on my bookshelf at home, and share my paperback copy with co-workers. There are a few things that are a little bit outdated, but it remains the single best introduction to audio engineering out there. "Sound System Engineering" is a great book, but it isn't an intro<G>!