VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[DeadDillo]

Since hooking up my NT1, I've been noticing more noise from my laptop fan. I've got a mic isolation box being delivered, but I'd like to ask if there are any suggestions y'all might have to eliminate as much noise as possible.

My thought was to put the laptop a greater distance away (maybe on a shelf I can drape a blanket over) and then use a remote monitor and keyboard setup to keep running.

The other thought was to ditch the laptop and build a PC that can sit on the floor and is designed for low noise to begin with.

Any other thoughts?
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www.MarleyAudio.com

[vkuehn]

Is there never and end to noises in a recording space??????

If you can move the computer to an adjacent space, the next room over, and run cables through the wall for mouse, keyboard and monitor, that helps. Sometimes that can be an economical project compared to other solutions. (In my case my studio is in a "bonus room" built in the attic. To put a computer on the other side of the wall would require building some kind of miniature room in the attic. Probably more expensive than some other solutions.)

If you do a lot of short radio commercial and production style recordings, you probably want the ability to do immediate play-back. If you do long-form stuff like book or corporate narrations, and you want to "punch and roll" then the following solution which I have adopted would not work as well for you: When recording, I turn off the computer and record with an Android tablet or my phone. No fan. No hard drive. No noise. When I get a chapter recorded, the computer is turned on, the recorded file is uploaded from Android to the computer and I edit away.

Another hair-brained idea I have, but elected not to try (yet) is to replace the computer hard drive with a solid-state-drive and splice some wires into the harness that connects the power-supply to the mother-board and just move the power supply to the other side of the wall. The cost of fabricating a "bird-house" to contain the power supply should be a lot less than fabricating a "dog-house" to contain the entire computer.... and make the entire compter accessible.

When you have toiled in a studio for several years with just enough noise to cause you to constantly talk a little louder than you would like and to never, never try recording a phrase where you put more space between you and your mic for a particular sound... I can tell you it is very liberating to sit down at the mic, start the recording, and just pretend you have total freedom: to whisper, to yell. to stand on your head, or whatever you think might create the unique sound you are striving for. (I haven't tried au natural yet. What if someone liked that audition and said come down to our studio in town and do that voice for us.)

[richvoice]

[DeadDillo]

A follow up:

I went out and got an LCD monitor and wireless keyboard and mouse and tucked the laptop on a shelf covered by a heavy duty moving blanket.

The verdict: no more fan noise.

Now I only have to worry about cars driving down the street nearby.
_________________
www.MarleyAudio.com

[richvoice]

Depending on how you arranged the laptop and the moving blanket, you might also worry about frying your CPU: if it's covered fairly tightly, you're essentially thwarting the function of the fan -- which is a very important function, keeping the CPU at an appropriate operating temperature.

If it's not covered tightly, and there's some path for airflow, you're probably fine. If it IS covered tightly, you might look at somehow raising the laptop and keeping airspace above and below it, and arranging the blanket in such a way that it blocks the noise but leaves at least some opening for airflow/air exchange.
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Cheers,
Rich
http://www.richvoiceproductions.com
@RichMillerVO

[DeadDillo]

Thanks Rich,

The laptop sits by itself on a shelf large enough to get a decent amount of airflow, even with a heavy blanket draped over the face of the shelf. So far, it's been running nice and cool and the new monitor/ keyboard combo leaves more room on my desk, so so far I'm really digging the new quiet setup.

No one ever tells you that noise dampening/ sound abatement becomes an obsessive hobby in this business. I'm already designing the house of my dreams, should I win the lottery: It will have an office with a bookcase that hides the staircase down to the basement studio.

And the booth will look like a TARDIS.
_________________
www.MarleyAudio.com

[vkuehn]

[Lee Gordon]

[Foog]

[richvoice]