Expert Podcasting Practices For Dummies®

Chapter 13. Eliminating Ambient Noise

In This Practice

• Controlling noise with a noise gate

• Adding a compressor to your setup

• Using effects in your software to reduce noise

• Which is more effective — reducing noise in recording or in post‐production?

The quest for the perfect home studio is a challenge that many podcasters attempt to conquer after the monkey that is audio grabs hold and finds a good grip. True, some podcasters simply don't care about things like ambient noise, and they record regardless of the air conditioning, the dogs barking outside, or the like. Other podcasters solve the issue of a quiet environment with a recording setup in a walk‐in closet (as described in Practice 12). And then some ambitious ones invest in acoustic tiles, remove the wall between a guest room and an office, and create a mega‐studio worthy of professional productions.

Sometimes you can find the solutions in a single piece of hardware or an unassuming filter in Audition or Soundtrack Pro. It all depends on the approach you adopt for reducing noise in your recording sessions.

Removing Unwanted Noise with a Noise Gate

In Practices 4 and 12, we talk about achieving a noise floor, the sound of a room after steps are taken to filter out ambient noise, leaving only voice, instruments, or both with little or no echo.

Hardware is available that gives podcasters the ability to tone down some of this ambient noise. In Practice 12, we recommend hanging up comforters, finding pockets of quiet time, and trying to ...