Just a question, I am trying to record from my mic to my comp using the sound recorder, windows xp home edition, but when listening to the playback, it has all these sounds/noises etc.

Does ANYONE know how 2 minimise or delete these sounds?

If u do, can u plz tell me what 2 do step by step, im sooooo clueless. thanks, love M

Don't have those sounds/noises in the room while you are recording, basically.

Novabreaker said:

That's the kind of answer that can earn you a punch in the face.

If you use a sound editing program afterwards they have tools that will clean it up for you. I use Cool Edit Pro, but it's an expensive program. Google some freeware music editing programs and that should help. Microsofts sound recorder isn't the best program either, so I'm sure that's contributing to the low quality.

retina said:

Heh, I guess it is. But actually I'm dead serious. That's the first answer any sound technician will give you on such a question.

missmad said:

Sound is recorded in desiples. The highest you want to record something is at zero desiples. If you go over zero you will have an overload, and I believe that is what you are having as pops and such. There are programs that can strip the pops and clicks, however this will not be the best sound you can get. What I would do is rerecord the sounds. I don't know the details, but you can move away from the microphone or you can turn down your mic input. You click on the speaker icon in you system tray. This should open your wav volumes. You would then bring down the Mic and/or line in volume.

Novabreaker said:

i don't.

missmad said:

Okay then I suggest you'd follow MickG's advice first. The problem might also be exactly the opposite as well as you don't give any description what kind of noises there are on the recording. So try adjusting the sound levels on your sound card's mixer to optimize them and try to speak to the microphone from closer or further away (depending on which will give you better results).

Here's a good & completely free open-source audio editor program for you to try:
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Once the distracting noises are there there really are no proper ways to remove them. Of course there do exist SOME, but the procedures are very complex and it would go beyond the point trying to teach you pro-level audio engineering. So the first solution is to eliminate those "noises" from ending up on the recording at all.

If it's just plain loud hissing because of a very cheap microphone combined with the rudimentary preamp on your soundcard, or the sound of your CPU fan that are usually quite loud and always end up on the recordings if they are not placed in a different room/muted etc. You might also have a faulty microphone cable that keeps popping and crackling.

Try this...

When you open sound recorder, go to File, then Properties...click the "Convert Now" button, then choose 16.000 kHz stereo or highter from the Attributes dropdown menu. It should eliminate a lot of the noise that can occur if you're recording at a lower sound attribute.

MickG said:

Thanks sweetie. I can't believe I could not figure it out, it was right under my nose, silly me. Thanks. I just turned the sound volume for the speaker down.

missmad said:

You need to turn the microphone/line-in volume down so that it will record better. Or you can just stop recording so closely to the microphone.

Let me know what it is you are recording and I can better tell you how to record it.

For Example: if you wanted to record something on to the computer that is already taped, you can just get a stero to stero plug and put it throught he line-in input.

Go into your control panel, under Sound & Audio Devices, and check your Recording Properties. You might want to try muting some devices, and leave only the Microphone on. There might be other devices or inputs such as Line In, that are creating noise.

Cool Edit Pro was purchased by Adobe, and is now known as Adobe Audition.

Tom said:

yea i just lowered the speaker volume, that was where the noise was coming from.