How to Reduce Background Noise on a Blue Yeti Mic

The Blue Yeti mic is yet another exceptional product from the makers of the Snowflake and Snowball microphones. It is a USB mic that is bound to make the desktop recording studio a thing of the past. It is a huge microphone, offering excellent depth and detail in sound, but knowing how to reduce background noise on a Blue Yeti mic will be essential.

So how do you reduce or remove background noise on a Blue Yeti Mic? To reduce background noise on a Blue Yeti, plug headphones in to monitor sound with the gain knob turned up. Select Yeti as your input device on your computer settings and lower volume down to 50%. Lower the gain until audio background noise is removed or reduced enough.

The Yeti produces outstanding sound for all its users. It has a nifty little mute button you can use to hold the sound when you have to clear your throat. Read on to understand how to create background noise-free recordings with the Yeti.

Understand How Sound Works

If you live in an area where you cannot control external noise, you will have noisy videos. Your microphone will record people chatting, seagulls squawking, helicopters flying, and lawnmowers mowing. There will be plenty of vehicle noises, too, and mind-blowing if you have large magnificent open windows. 

Sound waves will naturally reflect off a surface. The reflection of the waves produces an echo. Reflective, smooth, and hard surfaces reflect sound more. Therefore, if you have a large room to yourself but have many sounds in the background, your podcasts or videos will have more echoes.

Suppose you want less noise in your recordings and record in areas with rough and soft textures to absorb the sound waves. As an illustration, a room that has heavy curtains and carpets will have less interference.

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Record in a Quiet Place – Blue Yeti Microphone Too Sensitive

The problem with the Blue Yeti Mic is that they are too sensitive. The Yeti will pick up on most background sounds despite its easily-accessible gain control feature.

If your Blue Yeti is too sensitive, first turn the gain know down. You will find its gain knob on its back and a multi-pattern recording mode selector with four modes for sound.

Most of Yeti’s fans complain that it records background sounds even when its gain is all the way low. It is hard to get a clean sound on it, and it will produce an underwater muffled sound if you force the gain too low.

So, how can you produce excellent video streaming and podcast sound from your Yeti? Now that you understand how sound works create an optimum recording environment. It would help if you recorded in an area where sound will not bounce around the hard surfaces in a room to produce echoes.

Since the Yeti is very portable, make your recordings in spaces such as:

The Closet

Unlike a living room or office space with reflective and hard surfaces such as full-length windows or laminate floors, the closet is padded. Large rooms produce a hollow sound and are open to more background noise. 

A closet’s surfaces or clothes are soft and will absorb any echoes if your closet is large enough to hold you and your equipment, wiggle in there, and create fantastic podcasts.

If you do not have a walk-in closet, then strive to make the room you are in as conducive as possible for recording. Turn off the fans, conditioners, noisy computers, and phones. Close the windows to cut down on environmental noise. Close your curtains and place a towel or blanket under the equipment to lessen noise.

Check out my solutions if your Blue Yeti headphone jack is not working.

Under the Duvet

This one sounds comical, but it works wonders. It will amaze you at just how many awesome podcasts are recorded under a blanket. Throwing a duvet over your head and Yeti will cut down on the background noise.

That, however, does not mean that you should duck under your beddings. If the Yeti rubs against the blanket, it will produce a horrible sound. The best practice is to drape your heavy blanket across a few chairs or tripods and create a childlike duvet fort.

Some other less echo-producing sites for recording include the building’s top floor, a garage, in the car, or the quiet outdoors.

Use the Right Recording Mode

The Blue Yeti USB microphone has four recording patterns. The stereo pattern has both the right and left channels active to produce a sound image that sounds realistic. Since it lowers the back and front sound, it is perfect for your guitar solos. 

The omnidirectional pattern works well with natural or live sounds since it captures all sounds from all angles equally. It is worse suited for podcast recording, bringing in a ton of background noises.

The bidirectional pattern focuses on the front-facing mic and the one behind it. Use it for interviews. The cardioid mode leverages the front-facing mic, recording the sound directly ahead of it. It only focuses on sounds from an area spanning a cone’s shape in front of the mic.

It will restrict any other sounds beaming from the back or the sides of the Yeti. For this reason, the cardioid mode eliminates more background noise. It is the gamers, podcasters, and other live recording patterns of choice. 

Lower Your Yeti’s Gain

The Blue Yeti microphone has an analog-to-digital converter and a mic preamp to allow for adjustable gain. Microphone gain enhances the mic’s signal; it is the level of sound input allowed into the mic. This feature keeps the microphone signal compatible with the other audio equipment.

The gain will make your voice sound high, as it influences the Yeti absorbs’ amount of sound. Unless you set the mic’s gain to suit your needs, it might be too high for your podcasts, recording too much background sound.

It is generally centered when the mic is new. High gain settings will also distort the audio qualities of your recordings. That said, your gain also should not be too low. If you lower the gain to zero, then your microphone will not record much sound.

The secret is to find your recording environment’s goldilocks zone. To ensure that your mic has the right gain, use the procedure below:

1. Plug your pair of headphones or earbuds onto your Yeti.
2. The gain knob is at the back of the microphone. Turn it up, monitoring the sound through your headphones.
3. Go to your laptop’s sound settings, select the Yeti as your input device, and lower the volume down to 50%.
4. Lower the gain until the audio is clear and devoid of noise or static.
5. If the audio quality is not crisp, adjust it, and bring the gain up.

Need to turn off mic monitoring on your Blue Yeti? Read more on my guide here.

Observe Proper Mic Positioning

To ensure that you record clear audio, keep some distance between you and the Yeti. If you are too close, the sensitive mic will pick up your mouth and breathing noises. Your listeners will have to endure the pops from plosives consonant sounds such as T, K, and P.

If you hang too close to the mic, your recordings will have irritating crackling sounds and muffled tones. If you are too far from the Yeti, your sound will have more background noise, reverb, and harsh tones. Your sound could also gain an underwater, inaudible quality.

The best practice is to keep a minimum of one to two inches (2 to 5cm) between you and the Yeti. Position the Yeti to ensure that you are talking past it, not directly into it, eliminating the plosives. Invest in a pop filter, a desk stand, or an acoustic shield for the best sound.

Other Considerations

Noise reduction software is always a useful tool to implement in the video or audio editing processes after recording. Noise reduction software analyses the voice recording and enables you to remove unwanted noise.

The latest Blue Yeti X comes with a software called Blue VO!CE that has built-in noise suppression capabilities and other broadcast vocal effects of managing the voice level. Blue VO!CE offers capabilities that allow you to modify unwanted low-frequency noises. Blue VO!CE has been a game-changer to the Blue microphone products to improve sound quality by managing ambient noise.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does gain do on a Blue Yeti?

The gain on a Blue Yeti microphone adjusts the level of allowed sound input to the microphone. If you’re looking to capture louder sounds, you’ll want to increase the gain. Conversely, if you’re trying to avoid picking up too much background noise, you’ll want to lower the gain.

Why is my mic picking up background noise but not my voice?

There are a few potential reasons why your mic might be picking up background noise but not your voice. One possibility is that the background noise is louder than your voice. Another possibility is that there’s something wrong with your microphone or its settings.

If you’re using a built-in microphone on your computer, try moving the microphone closer to your mouth and/or turning up the volume. If you’re using an external microphone, make sure it’s connected properly and check the settings to ensure that the mic is picking up sound correctly. You may also want to try using a different audio recording program or adjust the settings within your current program.

And finally, make sure that you’re speaking into the microphone correctly – directly into the mic, and not at an angle.

How far away should the Blue Yeti be?

The Blue Yeti should be placed about 0.5 to 1 feet away from your mouth to ensure optimal sound quality. When you’re recording, the microphone should be as close as possible to your mouth without being in the shot.

This will ensure that your voice is picked up clearly and with minimal background noise. If the Blue Yeti is too far away, it may pick up ambient noise instead of your voice.

How do I stop my Blue Yeti from picking up my keyboard?

To reduce the amount of keyboard noise picked up by your Blue Yeti microphone, first, make sure your keyboard is as far away from the microphone as possible. Second, try using a foam cover or pop filter to shield the microphone from the direct sound of the keyboard. Also, you can try adjusting the sensitivity settings on your Blue Yeti to reduce overall audio pickup.

Finally, you can make sure that your microphone is not placed directly on top of your keyboard; instead, try placing it off to the side or on a different surface.

Is Blue Yeti binaural?

Blue Yeti is not a binaural microphone.

Binaural microphones are designed to capture sound in three-dimensional space, creating a more realistic and immersive audio experience. They work by capturing two separate signals, one for each ear, and combining them into a single stereo track. This makes it seem as though the listener is right in the middle of the action, hearing everything from all directions.

Blue Yeti is a cardioid microphone that captures sound from in front of it only. While it does produce a good quality audio recording, it cannot create the same sense of immersion that a binaural microphone can.

Conclusion

The Blue Yeti mic has a fatal flaw common to most excellent mics for its beauty and performance prowess. It is super sensitive. This big, affordable USB microphone has multiple useful features such as headphone volume control and zero-latency headphone sound monitoring.

It has the prestigious THX certification, which significantly ups its consistency in performance. To record the best sound from your Yeti, you should:

• Record in quiet settings.
• Record in cardioid mode.
• Optimize the microphone’s gain.
• Position your Blue Yeti microphone optimally.

Sources

• Blue Mic: Yeti
• BBC: Reflection of sound waves – Echoes and sonar
• The Seasoned Podcaster: The Best Quiet Places to Record a Podcast: Our Guide
• My New Microphone: What Is Microphone Gain And How Does It Affect Mic Signals?
• Small Biz Survival: Exact Yeti Blue mic volume and Windows settings to reduce background noise