How can I remove unwanted outside noise from a recording?

Question

Someone told me that I could use an Amplifier and use the output as feedback and eliminate noise.

Answer 1

What kind of recording are you speaking of? If the recording is digital or can otherwise be put onto a computer.. and the noise is consistent... you can utilize any of a multitude of audio editing programs (some downloadable for FREE) to do what is called noise reduction. It's a filter/effect on such programs that will alow you to select an area of the recording where you can ONLY hear the noise... then have the program remove that isolated noise from the rest of the recording.



Generally, nearly any computer with sound will have a microphopne or line-in input in which you could attach a device like a cassette player (with the proper wiring) and record the audio to your computer.... then perform the correction.... then reoutput it to whatever you want.



Again though.. what kind of recording and what kind of noise are you talking about... if you let us/me know maybe I can provide a more specific answer.



You can find many free (as well as not-so-free) audio editing programs at http://www.download.com

I can personally recommend one called "Audacity" for it's ease of use and noise reducation capability... though many other programs will do the trick as well.

Answer 2

That won't work. Whoever told you that was thinking about something like noise-canceling headphones, which feed back noise 180 degrees out of phase, which cancels it. But you would be feeding back what you want to hear as well, canceling it along with the noise.



It depends on the kind of noise; pops, clicks and hisses and some kinds of steady noise can be filtered out with an program like Adobe Audition, but things like crowd noise or random background noise can't really be filtered well without some very sophisticated equipment.



The best thing to do is record with a highly directional mike, such as a parabolic mike, to eliminate the extraneous noise while you're recording.

Answer 3

A somewhat troubling statistic given by a leading sound expert, who worked for the big Hollywood films said this: about 30-40 years ago it took 20 hours to get 1 hour of undisturbed sound effects in nature (no cars, people, talking, whatever). Now, it takes 2,000 hours to get 1 hour's worth of sound. Considering he would have all of the fancy equipment, I would recommend just being patient and picking a good time to record alone and without interference. Not that good of an answer, not very technical and all that, but it's just basic advice.

Answer 4

Use a extra complicated software for recording, and then bypass to conceitedness for something else you want. i take advantage of cubase to record and then audacity for amplification (if it needs it) and mp3 export. it really is all.