Logic Pro 9 noise removal

nvkrog

Logician
i am having a lot of trouble removing background noise from field recordings i've done with a handy recorder. i've tried using the denoiser mostly, but i've also tried eq'ing it out and a simply can't get it right! either too much of the signal is removed or too much new noise (i believe this is what's called glass noise, right?) appears... or both!
i am rather new to doing this... in a way i feel like i might not even be doing it right, because i can't really believe that i am getting this much background noise on my recordings. is this normal? (i am using a zoom h2 handy recorder to record with if that makes any difference)

i've uploaded the sample that i am trying to remove the noise from, basically i am trying to remove all background noise.
http://www.divshare.com/download/12003318-38b

any help is appreciated!
 
Here's your sample cleaned somewhat using Waves X-Noise. It sounds like you're recording out of doors, and you'll not get much better than this unless you take the jug and pan (or whatever that is) into a studio or quiet room, particularly as the frequency of the water sounds tails off into the same frequencies of the white-noise background. [MP3]http://www.skamusic.ca/Resources/WaterX-Noise.mp3[/MP3]
 
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Here's a Sound Soap2 version. I just got this this week to clean up a cassette tape for a client. I had the original version and upgraded to version 2 for $50. On my speakers in my control room the difference between this and the waves is not much, even though I have not doubt that Waves is the better product! I was looking into the Izotope RX or Soundsoap Pro but I just don't do this enough to warrant buying anything "real."
http://www.dbwproductions.com/forum/Water_soundsoup.wav
 
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Hi!

Here's a very fast Izotope RX version. I think I overdid it a bit, but shows promising possibilities. [MP3]http://www.audiocluster.com/Water_RX_version.mp3[/MP3]
 
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I use the H4 from time to time.
I think it is quite nice but the casing can add some handlingnoise and can make some sounds sound a bit honky. I use H4 together with a Røde NT-4 with the wombat and the two work really well together, and I don't get the noise you seem to have.
After listening to your file it sounds as if you maybe have the comp/limiter on?
That can add quite a bit of noise to your recording. Or did you record it quite low and normalized it?
 
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thanks for all the help!
after i posted this i cleaned up the sample in audacity and got quite a good result with no background noise, but i definitely prefer the izotope version, which is closer to the original sample i feel.
while recording the sample i had the compressor on and normalized it after. what would be the best way to record it? as loud as possible using no compressor/limiter?
and could getting a external microphone for it completely eliminate background noise? or maybe not completely, but more or less?
 
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i had the compressor on and normalized it after.
So you squeezed the audio signal by the compressor or limiter and afterwards made it louder overall, this brought up the noise level.


what would be the best way to record it? as loud as possible using no compressor/limiter?
Exactly. Not even as loud as possible, this may easily lead to distortion. But at a healthy level and without compression. Normally you want the signal to stay clearly below 0 dB and if you do not expect sudden sound bursts, better leave the limiter out also.


and could getting a external microphone for it completely eliminate background noise? or maybe not completely, but more or less?
Yes. Those little recording devices have a rather wide stereo image and collect a lot of background noise, especially outdoors, and some of them are very sensitive. The type of mic depends on the recording device, the kind of recordings, phantom power or not, and so on.
 
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guess i should have been able figured out that the compressor wouldn't do me any good in this case! i need practice i guess.
great, thanks for the feedback, i really appreciate it!
and about the microphone, i will definitely start looking into that!

thanks!
 
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guess i should have been able figured out that the compressor wouldn't do me any good in this case!
Would it be a relief if I tell you the mistakes I make?
First, ...
oh no, I can't. I think this forum has a limited length per post, maybe 10.000 characters or so. This is not enough for half of my mistakes 😉
 
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haha!!
well these things make me really appreciate this forum here, i guess i've just saved about a hundred more days of making the same mistake! + i feel just a little wiser now!
 
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You can try the Logic Noise Gate. It is not very easy to adjust but one of the best gates I know.

Generally, noise should be avoided in the recording chain. Afterwards it is always a problem.
 
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