Microphones are important for recording YouTube videos, songs, voiceovers, and other sounds for animations, dramas, films, movies, etc. However, sometimes, your microphone picks up a loud buzzing sound, which can irritate you, especially when streaming live or communicating in online game tournaments.
This article has collected and explained the most common causes of a microphone picking up a buzzing noise. All of those causes and their solutions have been described on this page. Hopefully, you will eliminate this noise as you implement our humble suggestions.
Why Does My Microphone pick up a loud buzzing sound?
The major reasons are the background noises, wrong input settings, damaged microphone from the inside, unsuppressed noise, faulty preamp or its cables, unshielded microphone cable, mic without its cover, a condenser mic, and damaged external sound card or loose jack, USB, or XLR cable connections.
The first and foremost reason behind the buzzing sound picked up by your microphone can be background noises. If you remove these noises, there will be less or no buzzing sound after the recordings. The background noise often has high-frequency noises that cause the buzzing sound.
Nowadays, microphones are very sensitive and pick up most of the sounds in the background. Different things produce these sounds, such as a bike or a car in the street, a running fan, a bright light, an air conditioner, a heater, and AC devices with no electric shielding.
Sound recording software plays a very important role in recording high-quality sounds. You can even record beautiful sounds using less expensive microphones if you have high-quality software.
Remove Background Noises
There are plenty of methods for removing these annoying background noises. You can implement a single or combination of two or more techniques. Here, we have collected a few of the best methods to remove background noise. Let’s discuss them one by one.
- Use Pop Filter
Pop filters are designed to reduce unwanted background noise. Pop filters block the air from entering the microphone and create an extra layer of protection between the mic and the sound wave. It prevents any kind of noise from reaching the mic’s diaphragm. - Use Foam or Cloths
The most famous technique is to use thick foams or cloths on the room’s walls, just like the studios. This technique is famous for suppressing the background noise as the foam or cloth can absorb the sound waves. - Use Hardware Noise Gate
Another technique is a hardware noise gate, which detects and blocks background noises when recording your audio. You just need to set the threshold for this device according to your needs, and it will work like a charm, blocking all unnecessary sounds from being recorded. - Use Acoustic Panels
Acoustic panels are also very effective in suppressing the background noise. You can use these panels on walls and ceilings of the room, which will help to reduce the sound waves from entering your microphone. - Shift The Place
You can also change the place of your microphone. Sometimes, removing all known background noises from a single location may not be possible. In such cases, you can simply shift the location of your microphone and record in a quieter place.
Wrong Input Settings of Your Microphone’s Sound Recording Software
Sometimes, it is our shortcoming that we do not know how to adjust the input settings of Windows or certain software. As a result, we hear buzzing sounds picked up by our microphone. However, you can solve the high gain or high dB level problem if you are using Windows built-in recording software with a small mic:
- First, press “Windows + I” to open the window’s settings and then select “System” settings in the top left corner. It will take you to the system’s menu.
- Next, select “Sound” from the listings on the left side of the window, and after that, scroll down where the Input section begins and click on the blue text saying “Device Properties.
- Then press the blue text “Additional device properties” to open a dialog box with multiple tabs, and here, go to the tab named “Levels.” There will be two levels: “Microphone” and “Microphone Boost.”
- Reduce these levels and record every time to see if the buzzing noise is gone. Hopefully, there will be a level where the noise will be gone. You might have to decrease the Microphone Boost down to zero.
Run The Windows Troubleshooter
The Windows operating system undoubtedly has amazing features to prevent driver and application-related issues. Windows provides us with many automated functionalities for solving our issues. One of the features is the Windows Troubleshooter.
- To access the “Troubleshooter,” press Windows + I. A settings window will appear where you must select the “System” option. Another window will appear with a listing on the left. You must select the “Sound” option with a speaker icon.
- If you scroll down to the input section, you will find a button saying “Troubleshoot.”
- A small window will detect the problem as you press the button. It will give you some options, and if there is a description “No jack information available,” check if your microphone is unplugged or its jack or cable is broken.
- Secondly, consider updating the drivers if a device driver problem is nearly impossible in Windows.
Try Noise Suppression
Nearly all the advanced audio recording apps and software allow you to suppress the buzzing, hissing, and other noises. Limiting the noise profiles inside your recordings might save you money because you will not have to buy a new microphone for your work.
Overly suppressed audio recordings can lose important details, so be careful when suppressing the noise. It happens when there is an informative sound in the noise suppression profile. But there are intelligent and expensive software programs that do not let you lose the quality of your recorded sound during suppression.
Faulty Preamp or Its Cables
Preamps are electronic devices that are used for recording high-quality sounds. All electronic devices comprise small components such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, and integrated circuits (ICs). If one or more components in a faulty preamp are not working properly, the microphone will pick up a loud buzzing sound.
Often, leaky or damaged capacitors and faulty transistors are the culprits. However, if you are a bit technical, you can open your preamp carefully and inspect if a capacitor leaks or explodes. If yes, replace it with a new one with the same ratings.
Hopefully, changing a leaky or damaged capacitor will remove the buzzing noises in your microphone. But if the fault is not traceable, ask for more expert help, as buying a new preamp can be costly.
Unshielded Microphone Cables
There are different qualities of microphones that vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some manufacturers use cheap and low-quality cables that do not have shields inside them. This shield grounds the electromagnetic interferences preventing your recordings from different noises.
If your microphone cable is unshielded, it is possible to catch and record the electromagnetic noises from the environment or a certain device present near the microphones. The devices that run on AC (Alternating Current) can be blamed for these interferences, such as motors, transformers, doorbells, etc.
Use Microphone Filter
You must have noticed that each microphone has a black or colored soft foam cover. This foam is not only for displaying a brand or making a microphone look beautiful; its main purpose is to filter the buzzing and hissing sounds in the air or speech.
If your mic is missing the cover, you must find it and place it back on your microphone because it will filter the buzzing sound and the noise of the blowing air. You can buy a new one from the store as well.
Condenser Microphone Pick Up More Noise Than Dynamic Mics
The dynamic mics use a magnet and coil with its diaphragm for recording sounds and voices. On the other hand, since the diaphragm is charged, condenser mics use an electrically charged diaphragm, and the charged air and other electronic AC devices highly affect it.
It is necessary when using a condenser microphone that you should keep the AC electrical appliances off during the recordings. Some studios even turn off or switch to DC lights to prevent loud buzzing sounds in the records. This technique is used to avoid flux.
Damaged External Sound Card or Loose Jack
Sometimes, our PC sound cards are not working properly, and we use an external USB sound card. There is a chance that the card is damaged or expired, causing the loud buzzing sound in the recordings or speech.
Try another sound card on the same PC, or try this card on another PC. If the problem is fixed, buy a new sound card. Before this, check if the jack, USB, or XLR cable connections are not loose, causing the buzzing noise. If it’s loose, you have to make it firm and tight. This loose connection also causes the buzzing sound in the recording.
Damaged Microphone from The Inside
Microphones have a very thin piece of hardware known as a diaphragm. If this sensitive part of your microphone is misplaced or damaged after a fall or a hit, your mic may buzz during recordings. There might be a fault in some component of the electronic circuit of your mic that is causing a buzzing noise.
A simple solution to your damaged microphone giving out a loud buzzing noise is to check its warranty or guarantee. If the warranty is void, replace your microphone with another one. If the guarantee is void, buy a new one from the same store or another. After that, using a damaged microphone is useless.
Conclusion
After checking for all possible causes of the loud buzzing noise in your recordings, find the cause and fix it using these methods. Ensure you buy good quality cables and check them periodically for loose connections or damaged components. Protect your mics from dust by covering them with foam. With these simple steps and regular checks, you can easily eliminate the buzzing sound in your microphone recordings forever.
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Hey, I’m Hammad. I have been writing for several years now and have amassed a wealth of experience within my field. My focus is on technology and gaming, two areas that I am highly knowledgeable about. Also, I’m writer for iPhonEscape.com and CPUGPUnerds.com as well and where I have written over 350 articles.