?A lot of static during recording.

floepodcast · Joined: 27 Aug 2013 Posts: 3 Location: België

Hey everyone.
I'm Jens, I'm new to this forum and am in need of some help.
I hope I'm posting this in the right place, otherwise, please inform me.

My friends and I recently started a podcast (Fandom League of Evil) It's Dutch, so probably not in the interest of most people here.
Anyway, since we want to do this right, I spent some time browsing for gear and got a few decent items.

I got the Behringer Xenyx Q1202USB mixer.
[img]http://www.keymusic.com/gfx_productcode/XL/134255/Behringer-Xenyx-Q1202USB.jpg[/img]
I have both a Behringer Ultravoice XM8500 mic and a Shure SV100, both connected through XLR to 6.3mm cables. I am also using a pop filter and have those fluffy things to put on your mic, not sure what they're called in English.
[img]http://weblogs.asp.net/blogs/guybarrette/mic_foam_filter_223A80C8.jpg[/img]

Anyway, those are plugged into my mixer, which is connected through RCA cables
[img]http://www.virtualinformation.com/ebay_images/AudioRCA_RedBlackCable.jpg[/img]
Into my Behringer UCA202 external sound card.
[img]http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT8LpFdPPykKYfdosunwsqk_sOQEvBwVED9So4Qlbgl_p_FBpPH[/img]

Which goes straight into my desktop PC through USB.

All in all, from what I found on the web, this should be a pretty decent setup for a startup podcast.

Thing is, when I record something, I get a lot of static, even with my mic audio set pretty low and near to no background noise, it's like my PC pics this up automatically.

I know about noise removal tools in both Audacity and Adobe Audition, but using these makes my sounds go all weird, like there's an odd echo and (not sure how to describe this) sparkly things in the sound... It's really weird.

Anyway, I was hoping there was a way to remove this noise altogether from the recording stage. Should I try another cable setup? Maybe a staightup XRL connection into my mixer? Or use A 6.3 connector to connect my mixer to my soundcard instead of the RCA?

I don't want to keep putting money into trial and error, so I thought I'd try a forum where people maybe have some experience with similar problems.

Hoping someone here can help me. If I left any details out, please say so. I am new and inexperienced at this and trying to learn.

Thanks!
Jens

Tech Support · Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 2692

Jens,

This may sounds like a really random question but do you have the USB plugged directly in to the computer or do you have it plugged in to a powered USB brick?

The reason I ask is that on-board USB ports may not be providing quiiiite enough energy to the device and it's causing an electrical bleedover in the form of static. If you have a powered USB expansion brick, try using that instead and let me know if it helps. If you don't, see if someone has one that you can borrow and give it a try.

floepodcast · Joined: 27 Aug 2013 Posts: 3 Location: België

Tech Support wrote:

Jens,

This may sounds like a really random question but do you have the USB plugged directly in to the computer or do you have it plugged in to a powered USB brick?

The reason I ask is that on-board USB ports may not be providing quiiiite enough energy to the device and it's causing an electrical bleedover in the form of static. If you have a powered USB expansion brick, try using that instead and let me know if it helps. If you don't, see if someone has one that you can borrow and give it a try.

Thanks for the reply!
The mixer has it's own power supply, so I don't reckon the problem is with that. The soundcard gets its power from my PC, so I assume you mean I connect that to a USB hub with it's own power supply?

If you think that might help, I'll ask around. The only USB hub I own doesn't have a unique power supply, it uses its own USB cable for both power and data. I'll try and find one and keep you posted.

Thanks

Tech Support · Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 2692

floepodcast wrote:

Thanks for the reply!
The mixer has it's own power supply, so I don't reckon the problem is with that. The soundcard gets its power from my PC, so I assume you mean I connect that to a USB hub with it's own power supply?

If you think that might help, I'll ask around. The only USB hub I own doesn't have a unique power supply, it uses its own USB cable for both power and data. I'll try and find one and keep you posted.

Thanks

While I can't guarantee that it will help, plugging the external soundcard in to a separately powered USB hub may help if lack of power or electrical bleedover are causing the static. It's the only thing I can think of off the top of my head and I'll freely admit that I'm not a guru where it concerns audio recording equipment. Our specialty is more on the software side of things.

floepodcast · Joined: 27 Aug 2013 Posts: 3 Location: België

Thing is though, my mixer can be connected straight into my pc as well through usb, that gives the same static.
Yet the mixer has its own power supply, so I'm not sure if that's the problem.

Tech Support · Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 2692

What program are you using for recording and does the hardware mixer give the option for automatic noise cancellation?

Tech Support · Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 2692

You might find better help on a hardware forum. Like I said, we really only specialize in supporting our audio recording program, RFA, but I have passing knowledge of some equipment issues.

That said, make sure that the gain on the mixer isn't set too high. Beyond that, try the powered USB brick and good luck!