7 Habits That Will Help You Record Better Audio

To get the best sound quality when recording audio, you need more than an expensive microphone.

Regardless of the recording device you have, there are various things you can do to get clearer audio.

i) Choose a silent room for recording

The first step to getting clear audio is ensuring that you are recording in a silent area.

Be wary of subtle sounds that may be on your background, for example, jingling from your pet’s collar, buzzing from lights, humming from machines with fans, and so on.

Try to silence everything in the room that you would not want in the recording.

ii)Switch off all nearby electronic and digital devices

Before you start recording, make sure any digital devices in the vicinity have been turned off.

Put your smartphone in airplane mode, switch off the TV or radio, etc. 

When digital devices are on, they emit signals, which can be picked up by the microphone.

Switching off the devices will avoid ruining a good audio recording with unwanted signal sounds.

iii) Minimize echoes

If you are recording an interview of yourself in a room, set up the recording space in a way so that no echoes will be heard when you speak.

Your voice should not bounce off the walls and back to the microphone.

If the room has hardwood floors and bare walls, you will struggle with getting rid of the echoes. To prevent the noises, use materials that will absorb sound.

For example, you can cover the floor with a thick rug and hang a comforter on the walls to absorb the sounds.

iv)Use a good microphone or recording device

You can try to eliminate noise as much as possible in your recording environment, but if you have a low-quality recording device you will still encounter issues.

Use a professional microphone to get clear recordings. If you are recording using a camera, plug in an external microphone to record audio separately.

If you are using an internal microphone, for example, the one on your smartphone, speak directly towards it to get good-quality sound.

v) Prevent wind from reaching your recording device

While it may not be obvious to the naked ear, wind sounds are terribly loud through a microphone recording and can distort your audio.

Here, we are not only speaking about the natural wind but also that which comes from your mouth when you speak words starting with the letter “p”.

Use deadcats, windscreens, and pop filters to block wind from reaching your microphone.

vi) Adjust the recording levels

Before you start recording, check how loudly your device picks up the sound.

If you are using a microphone, adjust its sensitivity settings until the sound is between -6 dBs and 12 dBs.

In this range, the audio will have some room to get louder without getting clipped.

The best recording level will depend on the environment where you will be recording.

Record a couple of audio and adjust your device to get the best sound quality.

vii) Get the recording device close to the sound

Unless it’s important to record ambient sound, get the recording device close to the sound you wish to record.

The closer the device is to the source of the sound, the lower its sensitivity settings can be.

By lowering the sensitivity settings, the recorder will not pick sounds that you do not mean to record.

Follow the seven tips above to get good quality audio recordings, although it’s always recommended to use an audio transcription services agency for best results.

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