Removing/Reducing Noise in Sample?

[FreezeFlame(Alchemy)]

I made some Conga recordings for sample usage,but the end result is that they sound like an mess.Is there any way to reduce the noise or remove it completely?

I included one of the recordings with this post.

[Saga Musix]

It is possible to remove noise from a sample, e.g. using this plugin, but that won't necessarily make the sample sound better. I'd say the new artifacts that come from the noise removal sound bad especially in this case. The main problem here would be that there's no pure noise surrounding the actual sample from which a noise profile would be captured. I tried capturing it from the sample's tail, but that sounds ugly. I'd rather advise you to get a better, noise-free sample rather than trying to clean this one up.

[FreezeFlame(Alchemy)]

Anytime i try making an recorded sample (even with the new microphone,and an middle-class mixer),i get those artifacts.
Then it must be the computer,or those cars...

Thanks for the info anyway ,i now know that there is no way that recording in an house can end good,even if it is possible(barely or zero) to remove the noise with those plugins and filters.

[LPChip]

Actually, I can get a very good result depending on how much noise there is and how loud it is. In your sample the noise is low, so there's not much to be removed. True, it will never sound as good as if you were able to record it without noise.

Here's my result: http://mftp.lp1.nl/Conga%20Recording.7z

I used this plugin: http://www.reaper.fm/reaplugs/

Or better said: ReaFir which is part of this plugin suite.

I used Wavosaur as audio editor. You load in ReaFir, from the interface, select Substract from the combobox, then on the waveform select a part where you hear only noise. I used the tail of the congo sample. Check the "automatically build noise profile (enable during noise)" then play only the noise. Check again and apply the result. Do note: the higher you set the FFT size, the cleaner you get for a result, but at the same time you will also get a higher delay before there is any output. For that reason I recommend inserting 1 second of silence at the end of the sample before applying the noise reduction. It will add a bit of silcence at the start and thus add a delay to the sound, but you can then remove the silence again.

[Saga Musix]

Anytime i try making an recorded sample (even with the new microphone,and an middle-class mixer),i get those artifacts.
Then it must be the computer,or those cars...

Recording is an art on itself. The better your equipment gets, the more detailed it will also record every single bit of noise in the room.
Basically what you want is a more or less shielded recording room, with no gear that emits any noise - that means no computer in particular, and yeah, cars passing by should also not be audible there. Otherwise, you will never get completely rid of noise. It generally helps to record your stuff as loud as possible, but seeing that the original sample already clips a whole lot, I guess you were already recording louder than you should have.

LPChip's attempt just sounds as "bad" as what I've tried with Christian's Noise Reduction plugin: Yes, you get less noise, especially in the loud parts of the sample. But in return you get an inconsistent mess that comes from the fact that the noise is never quite identical to the noise profile. Just play the sample loud enough and you'll notice that the background noise that's still in there changes over the course of the sample. I'm probably only speaking for myself but I hate the sound of that kind of noise smearing.

[LPChip]

I agree with Saga Musix, and at the same time I disagree.

I agree with the fact that the noise will never be completely gone or it will destruct the sound so much that you can't really use it anymore.

I disagree that this sound as it is now cannot be used due to its noise. The "before" sound has quite auditable noise, so its logical that you don't want to use it. The "after" sound only has this if you play just this sound and you play it loud enough. It probably will work fine in a composition where lots is happening. True, the noise is always there but at least you have a sound you can use if the circumstances are right.

As for recording, I would highly recommend a H2n Zoom recorder. I own one myself and its wonderful. Best of all, its a portable recorder, so if you can find a room that is not having any computer, or you turn your computer off, and you can put sound protection in there, you will be able to record without any noise, and with the playback interface, you can check your sound and re-record without having to connect the mike to a pc or other soundsource.

[Saga Musix]

I disagree that this sound as it is now cannot be used due to its noise. The "before" sound has quite auditable noise, so its logical that you don't want to use it. The "after" sound only has this if you play just this sound and you play it loud enough. It probably will work fine in a composition where lots is happening.

Yeah, but with a sample like a conga, which is most likely to be used as background percussion, it is likely that the original noise would also be inaudible in a mix. But if it's played in the foreground, both options are a no-go, IMHO.

[djkurzman]

I've tried various acoustic sampling and recording methods and I have to say that the best have come from heavily insulated basements using a decent studio mic. I used to record vocals at night to avoid sounds from traffic. Even then, with a mic booth inside 3 layers of sound insulation, we would still pick up crickets chirping outside. I've even gotten some decent percussive samples from junky mini-tape recorders out in the middle of nowhere (given no wind or planes above). I have to say my favorite samples have been recorded in closed spaces like empty warehouses and studio areas located far from street traffic. You'll more easily avoid outside noise and can find some sweet spots for natural verb. I've been thinking about getting an Korg mini-sampler for recording.

[FreezeFlame(Alchemy)]

As for recording, I would highly recommend a H2n Zoom recorder. I own one myself and its wonderful.

I've got myself one (took like months to get it, since the local music shop didn't knew when it actualy arrived).
Really is an amazing device when it comes to portable hi quality recorings while having an acceptable price .

But there is an problem. While it records sound really beatifull (in Stereo mode), i cannot use the Line In device alone without the microphone being still used (while it is an interesting feature for making homemade vocal music, it sucks if i have to sample from my synth).
Any way to disable the integrated microphone when there is something plugged in the Line In port, LPChip?

[LPChip]

Why not plug whatever you have in the line in port directly into your computer? Unless you want to record at an external location where your computer isn't near. But if that is what you want, you should be recording to a device that doesn't have a build-in microphone, as line-in is totally digital.

I'm not sure if you can disable the microphones on the H2n as I never had the need. I bought this mic because it is a mic. Although I do think I read somewhere that it was possible, but that is only a fague memory.

So I did what I'd always do and google to find this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC5_2LYVoPc

Turn the top knob to XY and you'll only record from the line-in.

[FreezeFlame(Alchemy)]

Turn the top knob to XY and you'll only record from the line-in.

Thanks alot, LPChip .

Why not plug whatever you have in the line in port directly into your computer?

While i do have an Line In port on the PC my family owns (the one im using now) and an old PC, it becomes useless on both when i have to travel somewhere, since i don't have an dedicated portable Sound Card that can provide an Line In port for my netbook.

Oh, and i really don't that much need the Line In port, except when i have to record hi Quality WAV files from my synth.