It's time to play the world's hottest game, WHAT'S THAT NOISE!
Yes I'm your host Sajak Trebek and we've got a fantastic lineup for you. Got a microphone that has clips, hum, hiss, beeps, boops, or fuzz? Then you're ready to play!
We've boosted all these sounds to make them easier to hear.
#1: Electromagnetic Interference (EMI)
What's that Noise!? A low sounding static hiss that is constant in the background is the result of electronic devices, almost always in this case the PC its self. Between the fans, power supply, and circuits your computer is basically a giant EMI generator, which is easily picked up by poorly isolated 3.5mm microphone ports.
FIX THAT NOISE! To fix this problem, you're going to need to need to filter out the EMI. This can be done in a wide variety of ways. The easiest and relatively cheap is a USB Sound Card. The second requires a little extra work, but is free: you can follow our tutorial on using Light Host and Reaper's ReaPlugs. For a little more money with some extra bells and whistles, you can use a mixer/audio interface and add our XLR Power Converter.
#2: Wireless Interference
What's that Noise!? A constant clicking or non-constant beeping that is caused by the mic capsule picking up a wireless data stream, almost always a router or cell phone, and sometimes a cell phone charger.
FIX THAT NOISE! Often times this can be fixed by breaking line of sight between your mic and the source and/or moving the problem maker a little further away. We've had people fix this by placing a book in front of their router or even moving the router behind the monitor. For cell phones you may have to get used to putting your phone further away from you.
#3: Electrical Interference
What's that Noise!? A horrible buzzing, usually constant. Something in your setup is literally not properly keeping its electricity in line. Some low voltage is bleeding into other devices. While harmless (probably), this finds the path of least resistance right into your microphone line.
FIX THAT NOISE! Unplug everything, including any surge protectors from your setup until only your PC and monitor are plugged directly into the wall. Add items back in one at a time until you find what is causing it, then replace that part. It's almost always the surge protector or an AC adapter.
#4: Ground Loops
What's that Noise!? A 60hz (in the US, 50hz in the UK) hum caused by a difference in resistance between two unshared grounds, or to put it another way: One of your cables/devices is bleeding grounded current into the mic cable.
FIX THAT NOISE! First, try to determine what device is causing the ground loop similar to above, unplug and disconnect cables/devices until the problem stops. If you find the problem is coming from the outlet itself, it is probably the wiring in the house. Short of rewiring the house, the only thing to try is to use another outlet. If that isn't possible or doesn't work, you can also try these two things. Buy a ground loop isolator for wherever the problem is coming from (possibly the PC power cable) and buy a ferrite ring and attach to the mic cable. Alternatively, you can try buying a better shielded cable for your ModMic. Successfully fixing a ground loop can be very tricky. If the noise is relatively quiet you can filter it with the same tutorial above for EMI using ReaPlugs and Light Host.
That's all the time we have today for this episode of WHAT'S THAT NOISE! Got a sound that isn't on this list? Drop by our Discord and we'll play our own game of WHAT'S THAT NOISE!?