How do i remove background noise from a voice recording

What’s all this about a “regenerative speech effect?”

Other audio and video editing tools offer noise removal that’s destructive — they strip out the noise, but they take a little of your voice with them, often leaving it sounding tinny, or distant. When we say Studio Sound is regenerative, we mean it strips away the noise and then rebuilds your voice, to make it sound like it should, in a clean recording environment.

How does it do that?

Using a very advanced (but benevolent) kind of artificial intelligence. Descript research scientists (also benevolent) trained a computer model to recognize sounds that distract the human ear from speech — background noise, echo, reverb, and so on. Then they taught it to create those sounds. And then they reversed the process, so it could learn to remove all the sound you don’t want, leaving the stuff you do. That’s a highly simplified version, but the rest is highly proprietary (plus, nobody understands it except the researchers).

Even if I admit that’s kind of cool, why should I care?

Because Studio Sound enables you to record anywhere, on any microphone, and still come out of it with clean, crisp, high-quality audio. It solves one of the most vexing challenges creators face: how to deal with bad audio quality in post-production.

Why should I use your fancy Studio Sound thing?

I’m a trained audio engineer. Because it can save you enormous amounts of time. Rather than spending a half hour carefully scrubbing out background sounds from the voiceover for your podcast or video, you can do it in a single click. Then you can still adjust levels, add EQ, and do all the other things you do to make audio sound amazing. We’re just helping you skip one of the most annoying parts.

My voice sounds slightly unnatural after I apply Studio Sound. Can I fix that?

Yes. In regenerating your voice Studio Sound may leave it sounding a little low (ironically, it may sound more like the voice you hear in your head than the voice you actually emit). The best way to address is this is by using the Studio Sound intensity dial. It’s preset at 100 by default. If you’re voice sounds weird, try reducing the intensity until it sounds normal or the background noise starts to leak in.

How can I use it?

On your podcast, vlog, tutorials, product demos, you name it. If you're an audio or video editor, Studio Sound can speed up your workflow on everything from audio editing to recording to scheduling — no more waiting until you or your guest can be in the perfect recording location.

How do I get Studio Sound?

You can use the tool at the top of this page — but it only works on 5 minutes or less of audio. To use it on audio or a video file of any length, download the Descript app for free. Studio Sound is available on all accounts, even our free account.

Reducing noise from your videos shouldn’t be difficult. You should have full control over your content from start to finish.

The amount of noise in the background of your videos can be very distracting to your viewers, whether they like it or not. There are many noise removal tools out there that can remove background noise from audio, but you’d have to download the apps or install new software like Camtasia and Audacity. That’s why we built a noise remover powered by audio intelligence you can use online.

Kapwing’s background noise remover is a noise cancelling tool that cleans the audio in your videos by isolating speech patterns, reducing background noise, and removing background hums. No need to learn heavy-duty, complex audio editors like Adobe Audition or iMovie. If you livestream or host your own podcast and use microphones like the Blue Snowball, you can remove unwanted background noise from your videos in only one click.

Let your video and audio editing tools do the heavy-lifting for you while you do what you do best: create valuable content and engage your community across every platform.

May 26, 2022

Podcast recordings rarely come out perfect, so it’s important to know how to clean up your audio and remove noise from certain sections.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to use Audacity's noise reduction effect to remove distracting sounds while keeping your original audio intact!

JUMP TO A SECTION:

How to prevent background noise

The best way to deal with background noise is to avoid it altogether. These tips help prevent the need for noise reduction and reduce your time spent editing.

Optimize your recording space

Where you choose to record audio is the most crucial factor in its quality. To improve your podcasting space, find a quiet, small room away from:

HVAC units
Traffic
External hard drives
White noise
Air conditioners

You can also improve your room tone by choosing a space with natural sound absorbers like curtains, rugs, carpets, and couches.

Use a dynamic mic

Dynamic mics work best for podcasting. They pick up lower frequencies and have less sensitivity.

Condenser mics have more sensitivity and pick up a wider range of frequencies. Sensitivity is good for recording music but isn’t ideal for spoken word.

The Samson Q2U is our top pick for an affordable, quality, dynamic mic with USB and XLR hookups.

Turn down the gain and get close

Turn down your mic's gain (sensitivity) and move close. Speaking directly helps your mic focus on picking up the frequency of your voice.

Minimize computer fan noise

Computers can make a lot of noise when they get hot. Turn your mic away from the computer to help mitigate this effect and reduce the amount of software running to prevent the fan from activating.

Pro tip: Adjust the gain of your recorder (or DAW) so your voice peaks around -12 and -10db.

Remove background noise in Audacity (3 steps)

Follow these three steps to remove background noise within Audacity.

If you haven't already, download Audacity and go to File > Import > Audio to select the track you want to edit.

Step #1. Get a noise sample

Help Audacity isolate the background noise you want to remove. In this example, we isolated some unwanted fan noise from the audio recording.

Then, we let Audacity know the frequency we want to remove. Make sure you select a section where no one's talking.

If you don't have a selection this big, find somewhere in the audio you can isolate. The important thing is to isolate a section with only the background noise, so it doesn't ruin your voiceovers, dialog, music, etc.

Now, click and drag your selection with the Selection tool.

Step #2. Apply noise reduction

Once you isolate your clip, click Effect > Noise Reduction. Click Get Noise Profile. The Noise Profile button lets Audacity know which frequencies to filter out and which to ignore.

Now, select the entire track so Audacity can remove the selected frequency from the entire recording.

Go back to the Effect menu and select Noise Reduction again to remove the background noise frequency anywhere it appears in your audio file.

#3 Tweak the settings

Select the amount of noise reduction you want Audacity to remove. Be careful not to overdo it, otherwise, your audio will sound like it's underwater.

As a general guideline, 12 decibels is a good place to start.

Next, adjust the sensitivity and frequency-smoothing bands. We suggest leaving these on their default settings of six and three.

From here, you can preview your audio with these settings applied. When you find the right level, click OK.

To remove any remaining noise, hit Command + Z (or Ctrl + Z), and choose the Noise Reduction effect. Increase the effect by a few decibels and hit OK.

Now, recheck the audio to see how it sounds. You might have to repeat that step a few times to get a good result.

Additional thoughts and resources

When you use noise reduction, it's important to apply just enough so you don’t sacrifice audio quality somewhere else.

Once you master the art of noise removal, you have a powerful tool you can use to optimize your audio!

Audacity is a powerful, open-source, audio editing tool widely used by podcasters. Check out these tutorials for more tips and tricks!

How to Edit a Podcast in Audacity
How to Use the Compressor in Audacity
How to Normalize Audio in Audacity
How to Move Audio in Audacity
How to Export Audacity Files as MP3
How to Cut a Track in Audacity
How to Fade in and Fade Out in Audacity

Alban Brooke

Alban Brooke is the Head of Marketing at Buzzsprout and the co-host of Buzzcast. Have any questions about this guide? Reach out on Twitter.

FAQ

Can I edit my podcast with Audacity on my Android or iPhone?

Audacity does not have a smartphone app so you cannot currently edit using your phone. Audacity is compatible with Mac, Windows, and Linux.

How do I get rid of background noise in Audacity?

To get rid of background noise using Audacity, first, highlight the part of your audio you want to clean up. Then, go to the Effects menu and select Noise Reduction > Get Noise Profile to tell Audacity how much noise to remove.

How do I block out background noise on my mic?

How To Reduce Microphone Noise:.

Choose A Condenser Or Active Mic With Low Self-Noise..

Choose A Dynamic Mic With A Humbucking Coil..

Place Mics Closer To The Sound Source..

Use A Shock Mount..

Use A Pop Filter..

Record In Quiet Or Soundproof Environments..

Use Balanced Mic Cables..

Do Not Run Mic Cables Alongside Power Cables..

Can background noise be removed?

There are many noise removal tools out there that can remove background noise from audio, but you'd have to download the apps or install new software like Camtasia and Audacity. That's why we built a noise remover powered by audio intelligence you can use online.