Extremely Loud Distortion using Voicemeeter Banana

Cantabile
#1

I will check this post occasionally until I find a solution, since there isn’t an answer to this ANYWHERE.

I need help downloading something onto Voicemeeter Banana to remove the background noise, since the PC fans and AC are so loud. Such a thing doesn’t exist, so I tried using this software and added a VST onto it.

When I activate any VST, I get incredible sounds of distortion. All I want is for the background noise to disappear (noise gate doesn’t think this, I think I need an expander but I don’t know how to set that up). What can I do?

(Note: I am quite slow and will probably take some time to follow instructions correctly. I would prefer it if I could just show my screen on Discord instead of by text.)

#2

Hi … and welcome to the Cantabile Forum …

You’ll find a lot of extremely knowledgeable and helpful folks here, so some others may have some suggestions.

Personally, I have not had good experiences removing general background noise, especially broad-spectrum noise such as air conditioners and fans. If you’ve got a WHINNNEEEEE at a fixed pitch, you’ll probably have more luck.

My approach would be to add or adjust things in your physical space. Some thoughts:

  • Place the mic as close as possible to the source (your mouth, I’m guessing). Then you can turn down the gain on your voice and the background sounds will get relatively quieter. You may need to add a pop filter on the mic to minimize the plosive sounds. Also, your voice may get more bass sounds - often not a bad thing with voices - but you may want to apply some EQ on your voice to lower the bass frequencies.

  • Consider acoustic absorption around your station. These can be constructed or purchased quite inexpensively (unless you want a designer look). There are lots of on-line resources for this …

  • Check for flat, solid surfaces near your microphone that can reflect sound back into the mic. These are very common (like a music stand) and cause all kinds of issues with your sound. The problem is usually not too bad if it directly behind the mic (like your computer screen itself) but if it is anywhere from 90 degrees to the side to in front, it can be an issue …

That’s all I can think of … others may have more suggestions.

#3

Make sure your audio interface is set the same as Voicemeeter and the VST (ie 48Khz)

#4

Hi!

I have managed to fix it, but the issue was the plugin I was using (D16 Frontier), and the fact that my recording area / mic picks up a very large noise floor. I downloaded light host and attached that plugin to the software, got a noise profile, and now the background noise is gone. :smiley:

I already have a pop filter. No bass sounds because I sound like Joe Pesci (lol). Puberty wasn’t kind… or non-existent.

Acoustic absorption? Do you mean those soundproof walls you can hang as picture frames? If so, that will depend entirely on the landlord’s approval.

There are no surfaces at all. The room is virtually bare and the nearest flat surface is a wall on the other side of the room.

Thank you, do you have anything else that can make my voice sound more professional? What about if I wanted to record my keyboard in the future?

#5

Yes that was something I had already tried before coming here, and it didn’t fix the problem. It DID fix the problem for another forum user some time ago, which is why I was gutted when I set everything to 2 channels, 16 bit and 48000 and it didn’t fix it for me.

Already found a solution a couple of hours ago - I just had a really large noise floor and the plugin I used (D16 Frontier) wasn’t built to combat that (it needs little to no background noise for the effects to work). So I used a plugin called Light Host to fix this, then everything worked as normal on Cantabile. Now things are fixed. :smiley:

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