How do i get rid of microphone handling noise?

Question

I have a microphone that is on an arm on my desk. It is this microphone if anyone was wondering:...

Answer 1

The problem you describe is generally called "cable-borne noise" or "mechanical cable noise", and is due to the lack of an isolation loop.

Disconnect the 3.5mm plug.  If the cable is routed through the beams of the stand, extricate the cable from the assembly.

Use electrical tape to affix the cable to one side (not the bottom) of the lower beam, 2 or 3 cm (about an inch) from the bolt.  Be sure to leave enough slack to allow changing the microphone angle, without the cable and pop filter gooseneck touching.

Make a 4 inch minimum diameter loop, and affix the other end to the other side of the beam and about 5cm (a couple of inches) farther back.  No parts of the loop should touch.

If you like, you may route the remaining cable through the descending beam.

When I make isolation loops, I often wrap a bit of plastic foam (not bubble wrap), about 3mm (1/8 inch) thick, around the cable areas taped to the mechanism.  Foam with adhesive on one side to adhere to the cable is best.

Answer 2

"Studio" style microphones are extremely sensitive and do pick up handling noise.
A high-end true condenser mic that costs serious money will do the same thing, or worse - sudden movement on a large-diaphragm one can bounce the diaphragm against it's backplate, sounding like the mic has been thumped or dropped..
That's why they have the rubber-band suspension cradle and big cable loop, to try and minimise vibrations passed into the mic from the room.


An NW700 has a basic electret mic capsule (as in a $1.00 "PC mic") plus an extra preamp and voltage regulator to allow it to work on 48V. The extra gain means they are extremely sensitive.
(For the $15 or so for the basic mic, not bad value - some rip-off companies, including big names, sell similar electret-based mics as "studio condenser" types for $200 - $300).

All you can do is keep the gain down and make sure the mount cradle and the cable routing are arranged to give the maximum possible flexibility and isolation between the arm and mic.

Or just mute the mic momentarily while moving it around. Or position it higher and facing down so it does not need moving around.

Studio type mics are simply not designed to be handled...

Answer 3

my suggestion is to contact the manufacturer

Answer 4

What type of noise is it? Is it picking up the sounds of you moving the cord or microphone, or is it a buzzing noise? Have you tried turning the volume down?

Part of the problem is that it's just a cheap microphone, with a cheap cable, on a cheap scissor stand. In fact, I can't even tell you how cheap the microphone itself is because Neewer doesn't even sell it on their own website. It's likely a licensed Chinese microphone with their name screen printed on the side. There is nothing wrong with buying a cheap microphone, as long as your expectations are set pretty low. As you can imagine, the tolerances for a microphone that probably cost less than $10 to manufacturer, aren't very tight. This means that even very subtle vibrations across the diaphragm can end up getting picked up.

Your best bet is to just avoid having to touch the microphone when in use.

Answer 5

turn the sensitivity (volume) down.
otherwise, it is working as intended.