Lamoni wrote:I know what you mean by hissy though, even without a microphone (or even cable) attached, it hisses slightly at no gain, no slider, and quite noticeably at higher gain levels. So I could very well need a seperate mic preamp to circumvent this flaw.
In short - yup, noise floor moves based on mixer's gain and fader. No problem on the line channels, just the XLR channels.
If I'm not mistaken, most mixer boards don't use a whole lot of gain on the fader (maybe 6-10 dB at most). The majority of your gain is going to come in the pre-amp and therefore <b>it</b> needs to be as quiet as possible.
Just thought I'd let you all know, I was able to get a used Focusrite Platinum Voice Master rack-mount pre-amp at my local supplier for $300 CAD. It's regular $750.
Anybody have any tips on dealing with this specific pre-amp?
len-morgan wrote:If you really can't construct anything to stay in the room then your choices (and the results you can expect) are limited:
Lamoni wrote:The noises I have to deal with in my space, in order from closest to working space, to furthest are running water from a fishtank,
Stop the pump when you hit the record button
Lamoni wrote:bird chirps from a bird cage,
move the bird when you are recording
Lamoni wrote:a fan from a gas stove/fireplace,
turn off the stove/fireplace while you are recording
Lamoni wrote:the fans from the computer(across the partition),
get quieter fans for the computer and/or build an iso-box around it. (Are you starting to notice a pattern here)?
Lamoni wrote:and at times the washing machine/dryer(in their own room, but still audible).
I'll leave this answer as an exercise for the reader.
This is what I do - I put everything on a switch - including the refrigerator - when we record EVERYTHING that is not directly used to record gets shut off. While not dead silent, most of the noise in my house is generated inside. It's amazing how quiet it gets (or how noisy it was)......I'm not worried about sound getting out, so everything works out ok.
Just don't forget to turn that fridge back on! - LOL
NLS wrote:This is what I do - I put everything on a switch - including the refrigerator ... Just don't forget to turn that fridge back on! - LOL
You might think about getting a two way switch and putting a simple red light light on the "B" side with everything you are shutting off on the "A" side. That way, you'll know when you are in record mode (because you'll have a bright red light) and (hopefully) won't forget to flip the switch when you're done.