Noise reduction / Hiss ?

[Narinder]

I've noticed the there's a lot of hiss when I record using my mic.
What software is good to reduce this?

[AndrewB]

Cool Edit Pro 2.0

Simply put, it's the best - kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza kaza

[Radix]

What you need to do is slap an equalizer on the audio track. I've never used cool edit pro but you can download a free version of Protools at www.digidesign.com. Protools is THE professional engineers software. It comes with some basic plugins, including an equalizer that will surely eliminate your problem.

Hiss occurs between 5 kHz and 7kHz on the audible spectrum. (the higher the frequency, the higher the pitch.) and you can cut the hissing frequency with a basic equalizer that can be placed on your audio track. An equalizer is just like the bass and treble knobs on your stereo. It boosts or cuts frequencies, but instead of just bass and treble, you can equalize everything in between. Find the frequency the hiss is at and cut it out. Make sure your "Q" (quality) width is set high so that it isolates a small frequency band and doesn't cut out your good audio. After you've fixed the problem, go under File and select bounce to disk. This will create a new audio file, hiss free. You may lose some quality by cutting out frequencies, but your hiss will be gone.

If you have questions, please post them and I will answer them.
Radix

[Radix]

One more thing. Hiss is caused by either bad tape (not to worry if the recorder is digital), or just plain old air. In fact if your brain didn't psychologically eliminate it, you would be hearing some form of hiss all the time. Microphones don't have that luxury, so they pick everything up.

Try building a little tent or something of that nature over your speaker and your mic with couch cushions or pillows. This will isolate the recording area, and will help eliminate hiss at its source: open air.