Freesound Forums
High heels
Started November 4th, 2006 · 21 replies · Latest reply by ejfortin 16 years, 6 months ago
hmm, i'm afraid i don't own a pair of high heels, nor do my mum or sister own a paid that i would fit into! Sorry 
OOH! i got my sister to walk in my hall (now i have a new microphone) and recorded it. Just uploaded it so keep a look out for it when it passes through moderation. if you need the wav just shout...my second file!!
... or try this: http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=18753
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=25005
Streety, that was a great start. Good miking of this which is a hard sound to get right. It's easy to overrecord and generally foul up. You have a little overrecording and gain variation but your recording carries a great sense of the narrow but long room space.
You gotta get rid of that hum in your recordings in future. If this was a MD, particularly a HiMD, make sure you don't use the mains PSU while you're recording. My NH700 gives me that sort of hum if I use the mic input with the mains PSU
I've UL a copy hitting the hum hard with Audition, but it adds a colouration to the room tone. And one of the things that makes high heels such a great SFX apart from the obvious sexy connotation is the way the sound really picks out the room tone and acoustic of the space. Which is where even commercial Foley guys seem to screw up all too often, like having indoor room tone as the heroine exits a Venice piazza 
thanks ermine. Freqman also mentioned the hum, i need to figure a way. Its not the power supply as i first recorded it with the power supply - you couldn't hear the high heels because of the fuzz. i think however its transferring it through my line in thats the problem...need money
transferring thru the line in should be fixable without $$$. It's not the most ideal way, but for all that it can give very good results. Does the recording not have hum through the headphones of the MD on its own? If so, that's good. How are you capturing it through the line in - what software are you using? That normally works okay if you turn the MD up to about 3/4 max volume. However, you do need to turn all the other inputs of the record mixer off - PCs have an ugly habit of leaving the mic input open on record which can add needless rubbish to your recording.
just listened back and the hum is there on the original recording...hmmm
That might not be a bad thing.
Now you need to do some troubleshooting.
Next time you record... use your earphones, and listen carefully. Check cable and microphone positioning... try other microphones - another set of adapters... you can even try a set of earphones in the microphone input...
freq
and the hum is there on the original recording...
Better to find that out on something you can reshoot if needed and fix rather than a one off never to be repeated event. It's good to learn the value of monitoring in the field to pick up tech faults before you get home and play back - been there ops:
I took another listen and the hum is common mode, affecting both channels equally. Which points to a bad earth connection on the mic input. Could be as simple as a dirty connector. Clean the plug with a dry tissue, hold it between you fingers with the tissue and spin it a couple of times. Listen in record mode and spin the mic jack in its socket - see if the hum comes and goes. 3.5mm jacks can be troublesome that way, and if it's the first time you've used the mic socket it could be oxidised somewhat. That'll go away after a couple of mic plug insertions
Make sure the whole system, MD and mic, are not connected to your PC (eg via the line out) or any other mains powered gear, and that there aren't any TVs or the like running within 2-3 metres. Also if the mic has metal parts, see if the hum increases when you touch the metal parts, which should ideally be connected to the shield.
What make/model are the mic and MD, by the way?
I too have joined the ranks of those uploading a noise-reduced version of Streety's Sister.
Find it at:- http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=25328
For my taste, Freqman's http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=25077
has lost too much ambience,
and Ermine's http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=25208
still has way too much hum.
Schulze's
http://freesound.iua.upf.edu/samplesViewSingle.php?id=25040 sounds good on my laptop speakers, but not natural on my Sennheiser HD25's
This has become almost an unofficial dare!
Mike
thanks ermine.
just recorded general ambiance of my room (nothing 
) and i couldn't notice a hum (i'd cleaned the bits with a tissue!) and comparing the recording to my sisters high heels there is not as much hum as there was. the only noise i had was general weird faint noise, almost distortion where the recording level was so high. I'll upload it although its a terrible recording!
The minidisc is a Sony MZ-N710 and the mic is a Sony ECM-DS70P (with gold plated bits)
...and i couldn't notice a hum
I agree. Certainly not the distinct hum you got on your footsteps file.
Acclivity,
regarding your solution to remove the hum from streety's sister...
Nice.
After listening to it again on my HD570s... I may have been a little too aggressive on my attempt.
In my opinion - It sounds like you surgically removed the hum with an audio scalpel.
wow...
Did I hear something about a fan club?
FreqMan...and i couldn't notice a humI agree. Certainly not the distinct hum you got on your footsteps file.
good.
to join the fan club its simple...add it to your signatue
nice work boys
FreqMan
Acclivity,It sounds like you surgically removed the hum with an audio scalpel.
wow...
Yes, not surprisingly a wonderful job by Mike. Nature sound is the hardest school when it comes at sound cleaning (no ofence, not that Streety's sister is not natural, you know what I mean :wink:
Mmm... upload viciously noisy samples for freesounders to clean... Could be an interesting dare and a good training!
ive gone for freqmans to use in a short film, thanks mate, coz iv been searching sites for hours
am pretty sure the hum in the other is an earth issue, make sure if ur using anything between mic and mixer etc that u use a DI box for a ground lift.
earth hum is v distinctive as its at 50Hz (well, not in the states, but they wouldnt b the same would they lol)
cheers again 4 the sounds
nic