Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 6 days ago
It can be hard to tell if noise in your audio is coming from your gear or your recording environment. Here's how I'm making that distinction in my own recordings. All gear used is linked below and all my gear can be found at kit.com/rayortega.
I'm using a 150ohm resistor to measure the amount of noise coming from the preamps in the audio interfaces and recorders that I use to record audio. It's a tougher process to compare one preamp to another, you need to get more technical with it and in most cases my interests lay somewhere between technical and practical. For me, it's just helpful to know how much of the noise I'm hearing in any single recording is generated from noise in my environment vs. my gear. This dummy plug I made helps me do just that.
Most consumer recorders and interfaces supply around 50dB of gain. When you use the dummy resistor to measure the preamp at 100% of 50dB of gain, you'll hopefully get a measurement that is no louder than -75dB avg. RMS. This should generally mean your device will not add any audible noise or any amount of noise you can't get rid of in post-production.
But a better test is to plug in your microphone, set the gain to what you need to record a good level (-18 to -12db peak) and then insert the dummy plug and measure the noise floor.
This number should be well below -75dB cause in most cases you won't be using 100% of the gain in your device. But even beyond the numbers, listen. You can now hear exactly the amount and type of noise your preamp is or isn't exhibiting.
From there you can determine if this is an acceptable piece of gear for your productions and if you hear much more noise in your final recordings, then you have a good idea that it was coming from your environment and that you need to make some adjustments to your recording space if you want to reduce that noise.
Shoutout to youtube.com/juliankrause where I first learned of this dummy plug for measuring preamp noise and who helped me make my own. Subscribe to Julian!
SUBSCRIBE: youtube.com/rayortega
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/podcasthelper
TWITTER: twitter.com/podcasthelper
Parts to Build Your Own:
â–º XLR Male Connector amzn.to/2SRgrRA
â–º 150 ohm metal film resistors amzn.to/3bhOzMW
â–º Soldering iron kit (shop for the quality you desire, this is a cheap one but worked for me) amzn.to/3dnMSim
🎥 🖥 📱🎤 GEAR USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO 🤘
â–º Audient EVO 4: podhelp.me/EVO4BH
â–º Focusrite Scarlett 4i4: amzn.to/2ZvQQ1V
â–º Zoom F8n (updated version of mine) podhelp.me/ZoomF8nZon
â–ºSony a6500: podhelp.me/a6500kit1BH
â–º LENS: Sigma 16mm F1.4: podhelp.me/SigmaE16mmBH
â–º Rode VideoMic Pro podhelp.me/RodeVMP-R_BH
â–º SmallHD 5" Focus Monitor: podhelp.me/SmallHDFocusBH
â–º Transcend 65GB SDXC card for 4K podhelp.me/Trans64U3zon
â–º SmallRig Cage for Sony a6500/a6300 podhelp.me/smallriga65006300BH
â–º Aputure Light Storm COB 120D amzn.to/2mD7JFC
â–º Aputure Light Dome Mini amzn.to/2DEIj2v
â–º Shure SM7B microphone: podhelp.me/sm7bZon
â–º Adobe Creative Cloud podhelp.me/CC1yearBHdownload
*all links should be considered affiliate links. I encourage you to shop around for the best prices at the time you are viewing this. You can read my ethics statement via thepodcastersstudio.com/ethics. Thanks!
#audio #DIY #preamp
It can be hard to tell if noise in your audio is coming from your gear or your recording environment. Here's how I'm making that distinction in my own recordings. All gear used is linked below and all my gear can be found at kit.com/rayortega.
I'm using a 150ohm resistor to measure the amount of noise coming from the preamps in the audio interfaces and recorders that I use to record audio. It's a tougher process to compare one preamp to another, you need to get more technical with it and in most cases my interests lay somewhere between technical and practical. For me, it's just helpful to know how much of the noise I'm hearing in any single recording is generated from noise in my environment vs. my gear. This dummy plug I made helps me do just that.
Most consumer recorders and interfaces supply around 50dB of gain. When you use the dummy resistor to measure the preamp at 100% of 50dB of gain, you'll hopefully get a measurement that is no louder than -75dB avg. RMS. This should generally mean your device will not add any audible noise or any amount of noise you can't get rid of in post-production.
But a better test is to plug in your microphone, set the gain to what you need to record a good level (-18 to -12db peak) and then insert the dummy plug and measure the noise floor.
This number should be well below -75dB cause in most cases you won't be using 100% of the gain in your device. But even beyond the numbers, listen. You can now hear exactly the amount and type of noise your preamp is or isn't exhibiting.
From there you can determine if this is an acceptable piece of gear for your productions and if you hear much more noise in your final recordings, then you have a good idea that it was coming from your environment and that you need to make some adjustments to your recording space if you want to reduce that noise.
Shoutout to youtube.com/juliankrause where I first learned of this dummy plug for measuring preamp noise and who helped me make my own. Subscribe to Julian!
SUBSCRIBE: youtube.com/rayortega
INSTAGRAM: instagram.com/podcasthelper
TWITTER: twitter.com/podcasthelper
Parts to Build Your Own:
â–º XLR Male Connector amzn.to/2SRgrRA
â–º 150 ohm metal film resistors amzn.to/3bhOzMW
â–º Soldering iron kit (shop for the quality you desire, this is a cheap one but worked for me) amzn.to/3dnMSim
🎥 🖥 📱🎤 GEAR USED TO MAKE THIS VIDEO 🤘
â–º Audient EVO 4: podhelp.me/EVO4BH
â–º Focusrite Scarlett 4i4: amzn.to/2ZvQQ1V
â–º Zoom F8n (updated version of mine) podhelp.me/ZoomF8nZon
â–ºSony a6500: podhelp.me/a6500kit1BH
â–º LENS: Sigma 16mm F1.4: podhelp.me/SigmaE16mmBH
â–º Rode VideoMic Pro podhelp.me/RodeVMP-R_BH
â–º SmallHD 5" Focus Monitor: podhelp.me/SmallHDFocusBH
â–º Transcend 65GB SDXC card for 4K podhelp.me/Trans64U3zon
â–º SmallRig Cage for Sony a6500/a6300 podhelp.me/smallriga65006300BH
â–º Aputure Light Storm COB 120D amzn.to/2mD7JFC
â–º Aputure Light Dome Mini amzn.to/2DEIj2v
â–º Shure SM7B microphone: podhelp.me/sm7bZon
â–º Adobe Creative Cloud podhelp.me/CC1yearBHdownload
*all links should be considered affiliate links. I encourage you to shop around for the best prices at the time you are viewing this. You can read my ethics statement via thepodcastersstudio.com/ethics. Thanks!
#audio #DIY #preamp
