gain and minimizing noise

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fanzzz
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2010/12/31 15:05:54 (permalink)

gain and minimizing noise

I was reading something about recording and can't even remember what exactly verbatim, but I think it was saying something about using gain effectively to minimize background noise.
 
Had different things about minimizing noise-like leaving a few seconds of silence at the beginning of a track to show noise and then later trying to cancel it out with a plug-in or something. I don't think I have that capability in SHS 6 XL, but who knows.
 
Anyway, something about using gain to effectively find a good signal to noise ratio or something. And read something that when you raise gain-you are raising ALL the ambient background noise as well...
 
Sooooooooo....
 
I am wondering-let's say I get a reasonable recording level that isn't clipping on the vocals.
 
IF I raise the volume 2-3 DBs on the vocals, guitar, whatever and adjust the gain(subtract it the same amount on the gain), would that give me the same loudness WITHOUT some of the background noise?
 
That's what I am looking for or wondering if it would work-trying to get the same volume/loudness and reducing the noise level some/slightly. Please excuse my ignorance here if it doesn't work. Just wanting to make the recordings a little cleaner. The recording environment is pretty flawed at home! :) 
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    Beagle
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    Re:gain and minimizing noise 2010/12/31 16:00:11 (permalink)
    the problem is that you want proper gain staging.  whatever your noisiest piece of equipment is should be the lowest thing in the signal chain.  for example, if you have your guitar plugged into an amp, are mic'ing the amp, the mic then goes to a preamp on your mixer which then goes to your soundcard.

    suppose then that you have figured out that your microphone preamp on the mixer is the noisiest part of the chain.  keep the gain low on it, but turn up the gain going into it from the guitar amplifier since it has less noise (in this example) than the mixer does.

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    larrymcg
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    Re:gain and minimizing noise 2011/01/01 14:24:47 (permalink)
    W.R.T. removing noise after the fact....    I typically record a few seconds of nothing at the beginning or end of a clip/track.  I then use CoolEdit2000 to sample the noise and then remove it from the entire clip/track.  I think it works really well.  CoolEdit2000 is ancient but I'm sure there are similar facilities in newer audio editors.

    Of course it's best to keep the noise out in the first place using techniques like Beagle described above.

    --Larry

    Intel Core i7-4790 @3.6GHz; 8GB; Win10 Pro 64bit; 1TB disk + 3TB ext disk; Midiman Fineline mixer; MidiSport 4x4 midi I/F; Roland JV-30 kbd/synth; Yamaha TG55 synth; Rx with 3 piece Home audio speakers; Sonar X3e Studio
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