You never really realize how much ambient noise is in your house until you try to record a podcast. Here’s just a partial list of what I’ve had to deal with over the last several days…
• Radiator pings
• Furnace pumps for radiators
• Computer fans
• Neighborhood leaf blowers
• Traffic noise
• Sirens
• Jets flying overhead
• Creaking footsteps upstairs
• Cats meowing
• Howling coyotes
• Distant train horns
• Geese honking on the lake
• Dogs barking
• Backup beeps from a delivery truck
• Neighborhood construction sounds
…and the list goes on.
It’s not that some of these sounds are unappealing. I love the sound of the geese and even the haunting howls of the coyotes and distant trains. Some of the others, such as the leaf blowers, not so much.
I can filter out or control for some of these sounds and my set-up does a pretty good job of isolating just what I want, but sometimes it still creeps into the recordings. With my latest recordings I tried covering up some of the ambient sound with background music, but that doesn’t always help.
Today I’m going to do some more recording. I’m going to try using a small isolation box with soundproof panels to see if that helps. I’m also going to get completely away from my computer and its unusually loud fan.
If those measures don’t work, I’m going to try a different location. The Pelham Road Branch of the library has study rooms. I’m going to see if any of those are available and if they might work. If all else fails, I may have to build a blanket fort in the basement.