Turtlerock Forum

Reading Rick's latest article in AT rang a bell (intended pun) with me - I never used to hear flourescent lights or fridges until I got into this sound business. So share the horror stories - what is either the weirdest or the most annoying noise source you've had to track down.

I was up late one night mixing a track and was totally amazed to hear frog chirrups. Some wierd jitter effect? Sampling rate problems? Autotune? Turns out it wasn't in the track - a green tree frog had found its way inside and was happily sitting behind the garbage bin.

just finished reading it then too... there's 3 sounds that my house makes, theres a small colony of frogs out the back in our pond that get going late at night, and the other night i heard a different sound than the usual croak, it was a bell frog! really does sound like a bell...

there's the possoms scurrying over the roof

and late at night i kept hearing this really low level noise and unless i'd been at a loud concert i could hear it almost every night, turns out it was a tiny clock radio someone had left on timer 3 rooms away

Most annoying by a long shot: commercial radio when I'm in the office (you gotta get in early to bags RRR).

An engineer mate has a great studio in the hills. Bellbirds are a trademark of all releases recorded there (typically acoustic & acapella acts). Nice.

But I've heard the tap dripping from the sink in the loo across the kitchen from the suite here, while those in the kitchen - only meters from it at the microwave - remain oblivious, due to greater exposure to general background radiation, I mean, noise.

fortunately most of the birds that get captured on recordings here have great musical timing, seeming always to cheap through the intro section of a song at a good spot and occassionaly have been kept on the track.
planes, not so good.

Alomst everything with a transformer in my house hums quietly, I've been told that its caused by uneven power supply, lots of surges and fluctuations. I called the electricty supplier to ask what could be done and they told me that power was well within acceptable paramaters, deal with it.
Lucky I don't actually have any good/expensive gear!
The clock radio humming quietly away as I go to sleep sometimes pisses me off bu other than that I guess I'm so used to it I rarely notice any more.

just the voices in my head. but as long as i have three or four computers running i can't actually understand what they're saying.

Generaly I only record really loud instruments, drums, distorted guitars, etc, so I don't really have a problem with it.

but I have noticed that there does seem to be a lot of bird noises on the
classical recordings that I listen to.

does anyone have any idea what thats about?

Eating!! I can't stand the sound of people eating. Dogs eating seems to be OK, but I even piss myself off when I eat. Does anybody else get this? I am slowy going insane (not just the music!!) I don't eat with anyone anymore, not even my girlfriend. I hate picture tubes on TVs and hum from things that are supposed to be silent!!!!
Does anyone know how to get around this that doesn't require drugs?

Mozzies - I don't know where they are coming from, and I have to have a fan on beside my bed to drown them out.

The toilet cistern refilling itself at what seems like the volume of a jet airliner coming in on final approach. As soon as I get used to that noise, it suddenly shuts off.

People flicking lightswitches.

Oh yeah the ceiling fan in the bathroom too.

I had this sub that hummed all the time so I had to ditch it.
The fridge hums...I turn it off when I'm doing vocals
The flight path is over our house in the arvo..terrible...you can still record, but it does tend to ruin takes, or you have to stop and wait for 10-20 seconds and then go in the gaps

Next door neighbour's cat scratching around the back of my studio. I can't hear it but my dog can, and cries because she can't get at it.

Next door neighbour's cat scratching around the back of my studio. I can't hear it but my dog can, and cries because she can't get at it.

Trying to sleep is the worst.
I used to use radio static or a fan (even in winter) to drown out noises so I did not start listening and wondering what they were.
Had mice in a house once.. drove me nuts.
Just maried and Wife does not like noise so I lay there some nights awake. Listening to her breathe..

Dave those squashy 99c ear plugs..... marrige and sleep savers!

She has been working nightshift last three nights.. my whitenoise and nice sleep was back.. he he
Probably helped I could steal all the donna's as well..
See ya next week

[quote="Andy Walters"]Eating!! I can't stand the sound of people eating. Dogs eating seems to be OK, but I even piss myself off when I eat. Does anybody else get this? I am slowy going insane (not just the music!!) I don't eat with anyone anymore, not even my girlfriend. I hate picture tubes on TVs and hum from things that are supposed to be silent!!!!
Does anyone know how to get around this that doesn't require drugs?[/quote]

just stick with the drugs i think

Hey adamcal I used to do the 99c earplug thing but I got worried that sealing my ears off may not be so helpful.

I remember hearing something about the bacteria in the ear canal and other places reproducing at high rates and stuff like that. Anyone else heard of this??

I dont have them in all night, every night. Just if something bothers me and wakes me up, I pop em in and Im out to it, cant hear a thing. (as the bugulars steal the TV)

I have a overzealous leaf blower user problem, that on some days thinks 7am is a good time to blow some leaves around. I tell you, Im going to find where he keeps it and sabotage it.

One of these days Im going to bring a amp stack or 2 home from work, when he starts, Ill counter with the very bad death metal playing (as im not a gituarist-this wont be hard), Ill stop when he stops. Hmm I just thought of a reason for the be!@#$%^& distortion pedal to exist!

SHAME ON YOU!

THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THE EXSITENCE OF ANY KIND OF be!@#$%^& DISTORTION!

my next door neighbour has installed a mother of an a/c unit. Every 7 minutes it arcs up and then shuts down. It sounds like a truck driver grinding the gears. Not to mention the annoying hum when it's actually operational. I used to be able to record vocals and acoustic instruments in my lounge room at night. Now it's impossible.

hey kris,
the really good news here is the law will actually be on your side
there are relevent airconditioning noise levels and abatement times
obviously the best idea is to speak to the owners and make an agreement

but when that fails ( and it almost always will ) you can talk to the police who will have a chat to them , then if it persists they will send council noise guys out they will fail because ANY aircon noise is unacceptable, the owner will have to enclose or remove his aircondtioner

your car will never be safe left outside and you wont have them around dinner but you will be able to do what you like late at night.

if all this sounds like i know about it lets just say that my wife wont let me talk to my neighbours about their aircon
and we are putting our own full system in next week that i am "sound proofing" just to be fair on the rest of the world
and ....well you know why i must sound proof it myself...
any way my soundproofing will make it alot easier to get the neighbours to "fix' theirs.

all this from the guy whos house actually still sings

people have been making musicians turn down for years

i am hearby starting the society of musicians against machine noise
local meetings to be held underwater in the olympic pool at 2am