VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Foog · Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 1:15 am Post subject: mystery mic noise

This evening I noticed an intense barrage of pops clicks and crackles on some audio I was recording. I disconnected the mic to see whether it was coming from anywhere else in my chain and - nope. It was coming from the microphone. The random pops and crackles happened even in silent bits, but seemed more pronounced when I was speaking. I panicked, shut everything down, muttered a little prayer of hope, fired everything up - and it had stopped. Of course, now I am paranoid over every little click that happens and wonder whether it is my mouth or the mic doing it! I had been noticing occasional little bits and bobs on my recordings that struck me as odd and unnatural earlier this week, but I just repaired or re-recorded those bits and moved on. Now I wonder.

Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to save any of the audio when it was really being noisy. (if it crops up in an obvious way again, I'll save a recording) Until then ( and I hope that time=never!), does anyone have any clues judging from the description? Is the mic dying, or do I just chalk it up to some random thing that will hopefully not happen again? I'm using a CAD e100s, and I would hate to have to shelve it.
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Andrew Fogarasi

DeadDillo · Posted: Sat Nov 08, 2014 4:13 am Post subject:

What mic are you using? Whats the interface?
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Charles Nove · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 10:33 am Post subject:

Just a thought .... do you switch the phantom power off when you've finished for the day, or do you leave the mic powered 24/7?

I've heard some pretty weird cracking, popping and thundering noises from condenser mics that have been allowed to get cold and then develop microscopic amounts of condensation on the diaphragm.

The noises would cease after 30 mins or so, if this was the case.
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Charles Nove
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Foog · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 11:08 pm Post subject:

Thanks Charles! I think that it happened in the middle of the day, so past a 30 minute warm up period. Still... I'm inconsistent in how I shut down for the night (sometimes shut everything down, sometimes just let the computer sleep but leave the mic plugged in and phantom power on), so I'll keep an eye on the possibility.

Though lately I've been having trouble with my computer restarting randomly when it is in sleep mode. Because why have one buggy problem when you can have several?
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Andrew Fogarasi

chrisvoco · Club 300 Joined: 14 Mar 2014 Posts: 380 Location: Local

Foog, you see this post here:

http://www.vo-bb.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=225282&sid=b199d738e898d3daf8d8bbd03b257ba2

...from a few months ago. Are you in warranty?
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Finally, Ford stops starting to say things and starts.

Foog · Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2014 11:46 pm Post subject:

I vaguely recall that thread, Chris. Thanks for linking to it, gave me the chance to listen again. I think my noises were a bit different - more like crackles and pops rather than the almost staticky white noise that Bill had.

Unfortunately, I am not covered. At least I don't think I am - I bought it used. Mind you, CAD were pretty decent about another question I had ("flipping" the shockmount around. They even sent me a video), so if the problem rears its ugly head again, perhaps contacting them directly will be my next step.
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Andrew Fogarasi

Foog · Posted: Wed Nov 12, 2014 6:13 pm Post subject:

An odd and oddly unpleasant development which I am not entirely sure is related:

This evening I have been getting random staticky pops during playback that are NOT on the original recordings. (the crackles and pops that led me to start this thread, however, were definitely on the recorded tracks). The fact that it was randomly interspersed during playback is new, but the sound is quite similar to what was happening the other day.

Could this be part of the same problem? Or am I conflating two entirely unrelated issues? Anyone have any ideas? Maybe I should have kept that power conditioner I returned?
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Andrew Fogarasi

tayman0522 · Joined: 13 Nov 2014 Posts: 9 Location: Texas

If the problem is microscopic condensation, try adding some of those silica packets in the sleeve with your microphone when storing the mic or whenever it is not in use. Those same packets that you get sometimes with your over-the-counter medicine that say, DO NOT EAT! I was told that those can help with preventing condensation.
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Taylor Stonely
Voice Over Talent
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Foog · Posted: Sun Nov 16, 2014 2:12 pm Post subject:

I got the silica packs covered, I do! And I even have a tip for people looking to acquire some silica gel packs: unless you want to drop upwards of 50 bucks or more for wholesale quantities online, just go to the local shoe store (or any store that sells products that are packed with the things) and ask them to set some aside for you. They usually just throw them out, and most people would be happy to see them reused rather than go to a landfill. I went to the mall and asked a couple of shops to help me out and within a week was rewarded with dozens of the things!
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Andrew Fogarasi

chrisvoco · Club 300 Joined: 14 Mar 2014 Posts: 380 Location: Local

So, any progress on finding the culprit?

You sure it's not EVP or the odd marauding spirit or two?
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Finally, Ford stops starting to say things and starts.

Foog · Posted: Mon Nov 17, 2014 10:28 am Post subject:

No luck yet. It's sporadic and frustrating it is! I go several days with no problems, then maybe a tiny bit of noise that I can't be certain is coming from my trenchant mouth or from staticky poltergeists. This past week I have often felt there is more than run-of-the-mill mouth clicking going on when I edit, but I am never certain. There has been no consistent obvious and awful noise on any tracks since my first post.

If it manifests (how's that for a good ghostbuster's word?) itself in a big noticeable way again, I'll put up a sample in the hope that someone can help me pinpoint the nature of the problem that way.
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Andrew Fogarasi

chrisvoco · Club 300 Joined: 14 Mar 2014 Posts: 380 Location: Local

I'll listen to songs by Ray Parker, Jr., until you do.
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Finally, Ford stops starting to say things and starts.

Foog · Posted: Wed Nov 19, 2014 10:34 pm Post subject:

It's baaaaack. Happened earlier today after an hour or two of problem-free recording. I did the IT Crowd thing ( http://youtu.be/C2Ph8zwpNyI ) and the clicks disappeared when I restarted the computer. I'm glad the mystery noise went away this time, but this is driving me bonkers! I'm terrified that it will kick in during a patched session, or that the next time I won't be able to make it stop. Plus, every minor click now sends me into a panic - "is that the THING again, or just a mouth click?" ARrrggghhh.

At any rate, here is a snippet of audio with the aberrant noise happening. Chris already gave it a listen (thanks Chris!) and suggested that it is probably not a mic or cable issue but something digital-like. If anyone has any ideas what could be the cause, I'm all ears.

https://soundcloud.com/andrew-fogarasi/micnoise-nov19-2014

I'm using a CAD e100s through a new audient id22 into a new-ish MacBook Pro (running Maverick) and Pro Tools 11. Speaking of which, I took a screenshot of my playback engine settings - note the "may cause clicks and pops". Could this be my culprit? If so, what happens if I unclick that setting, will my DAW conk out or stop recording when it encounters an error instead of clicking and popping?

UPDATE: And it happened again. This time I tried changing the above setting - it made things worse if anything. Then I just restarted the computer after shutting down the DAW. Seems like the noise has stopped... for now. Which tells me Chris is probably right in assuming it is neither mic nor cable. But what is it then... WHAT, carpdammit?!
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Andrew Fogarasi

Jason Huggins · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 7:11 am Post subject:

Have you raised your buffer size? Try doubling it and see if it goes away.

Foog · Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2014 10:52 am Post subject:

Thanks Jason,

I had been messing with the buffer size when I first got the Audient not that long ago. I will try increasing it and see how that works out for me.
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Andrew Fogarasi