How To Stop Mic From Picking Up Keyboard? Top 8 Tips To Follow

Anyone who is a content creator or records audio for their live streams and podcasts knows how annoying it is when your microphone picks up keyboard noises.

For online streaming especially when you are using the same laptop or PC to record and type or gaming it is very common thing that your microphone will start picking up the keyboard.

Some people usually avoid this issue and think that they can not do anything about it.

But they do not realize that it can be annoying for their audience as well and is reducing the quality of their content.

Whenever we are listening to a podcast or an ASMR video keyboard noises in such videos turn us off and we just skip it to see the other one.

So, if you are a content creator and want to make your content perfect for your audience you should learn how to avoid this problem.

In this article, we are going to share a few tips with you guys that will be helpful to solve the problem of how to stop the mic from picking up the keyboard.

Why Microphone Picks up The Keyboard?

For anyone who does not know what it mean to pick up a keyboard let us tell you that you will sometimes notice or experience that when you are recording your audio that audio also includes the sound of your keyboard activity that you had performed during the recording.

It usually happens for several reasons such as when your microphone is too sensitive or not positioned in the right direction.

However, the problem here we are going to share a few tips and tricks that you can try out to avoid a content disaster.

1. Choose the Right Microphone

Most people generally have no idea about the types or varieties of microphones that are available in the market.

Yes, they all are designed for the same purpose which is recording the audio but at the same type, they have been equipped with different specifications and features for recording different things.

For recording vocals, you will need a dynamic mic and for recording an acoustic guitar you should go for a condenser microphone.

The thing is before getting a microphone do not always go after the brand or the popular product in the market. Understand your needs and then choose a microphone that will survey your needs.

There are two types of microphones available in the market;

Condenser Microphone

These are sensitive microphones and are used for recording acoustic instruments.

They will not work well if you have to use your keyboard while recording because definitely because of their sensitivity they will pick the keyboard noises. So, you cannot use a condenser microphone in such a case.

Dynamic microphone

The second type of microphones that you will find in the market is the dynamic ones. Now unlike the condenser microphones, they are not sensitive and that makes them pretty good at rejecting the background noises. So, you should choose a dynamic mic if your work is with a keyboard while recording audio.

2. Choose the Right Pickup Pattern

Different microphones come with different polar patterns and each one of them is unique in its way.

The most commonly used pickup patterns are cardioid, super-cardioid, bidirectional, and omnidirectional.

Changing the direction of the microphone will help you to stop your mic from picking up the keyboard. But first, you need to understand some of the polar patterns.

Cardioid Polar Pattern

This is the most commonly used polar pattern. This polar pattern only catches the sounds coming from the front of the microphone and rejects the sound from the background. Its pickup angle is around 131 degrees.

Thus, this mic is only sensitive to front noises so you have to make sure that to reposition it away from the keyboard such that the mic I only in front of your mouth.

Super-Cardioid Polar Pattern

These microphones are a bit less directional than the cardioid polar pattern. That means they are sensitive to the background or feedback noises.

But when they are positioned properly they can resist noises from the surroundings very well. so, make sure to position the mic in front of your mouth only and away from the keyboard.

Omni-Directional Polar Pattern

An omnidirectional polar pattern picks up sounds from all directions regardless of the position or even if you have placed the microphone in front of your mouth.

So, it is better to switch to a cardioid or super-cardioid polar pattern to avoid your mic from picking up keyboard noises.

3. Use a Silent Keyboard

Usually, all the mechanical keyboards that are available in the market use a plastic membrane for their keys.

When you start typing on the keyboard because of this plastic membrane you can hear the noise and this noise is recorded when you are using your microphone.

One of the ways to avoid your microphone from picking up keyboard noises is to use a keyboard with silicone membranes. Such a keyboard uses a silicone covering for its keys.

This silicone cover is usually transparent and when you type, they make no noise.

You can also alter the keyboard you already have by replacing the plastic membrane with a silicone one to avoid the problem.

4. Change the Position of Your Microphone

Changing the position or repositioning your microphone might solve your problem and save you from a lot of time and energy waste.

You can start by checking the polar pattern you are using in case you are using a cardioid polar pattern then you should position the mic in front of you so that it would not pick up keyboard noises same is the case with the super-cardioid polar pattern.

If your microphone is using a Super-Cardioid polar pattern then you have to make sure to keep the mic at a certain angle such that it only catches the sounds from the front.

Make sure there is not too much distance between you and the microphone otherwise it will pick up keyboard sounds. You can fix this issue by positing the microphone at the right distance.

5. Change the Microphone Gain or Sensitivity

On most of the mic, you will find a button that will be used to adjust the gain or sensitivity of the microphone you can easily lower the sensitivity of the microphone so that it would stop picking up noises of your keyboard.

You can also try a combination of tips to solve the problem such as repositioning your mic with lowering the gain. In case your microphone does not have such a feature then you can use software to reduce the gain.

6. Change the Software Settings

You can get recording software to control the sensitivity of the microphone if you cannot change it directly through your microphone. You can use both windows recording systems or external software for this purpose.

7. Changing the Mic Sensitivity on Windows 10

All you have to do is go to the sound settings and then choose the keyboard option from there.

Then after choosing the keyboard option click on the recording tap and choose microphone by right-clicking and then go for the properties.

Now click on the levels tab and you will see a slider move it to the left to lower the volume of the microphone.

You can then test your microphone by clicking on the listen tab to make sure the problem is solved.

8. Changing the Mic Sensitivity on Discord

If you are using discord you can follow the following steps;

Go to the settings on discord

From the left side click on the voice and video options just below the applications tab.

Below the input sensitivity, you will see a slider move it to the left or right to adjust the sound.

Use a shock mount

You can also use a shock mount for your microphone to stop it from picking up background noises.

A shock mount not only protects the mic from the environment but also helps the mic in isolating the background noises and in this way the mic only focuses on the noises from the front.

FAQs on Mic Picks up Keyboard 

How to make mic not pick up keyboard?

If you’re using a microphone to record audio and don’t want it to pick up the sound of your keyboard, there are several things you can try, so here is how to prevent mic from picking up keyboard:

1. Adjust the microphone position: Move the microphone further away from the keyboard and closer to your mouth. This will help to reduce the amount of keyboard noise that the microphone picks up.
2. Use a noise-canceling microphone: Some microphones come with noise-cancelling technology that can help to eliminate unwanted sounds like keyboard clicks.
3. Use a shock mount: A shock mount is a device that isolates the microphone from vibrations and other noises. It can help to reduce the amount of keyboard noise that the microphone picks up.
4. Use a different keyboard: Some keyboards are quieter than others. If you’re using a mechanical keyboard, consider switching to a quieter keyboard.
5. Use a noise gate: A noise gate is a tool that allows you to set a threshold for the level of sound that the microphone will pick up. Anything below that threshold will be filtered out, which can help to reduce the amount of keyboard noise that the microphone picks up.

Final Thoughts on Mic Picking up Keyboard 

Your microphone picking up the keyboard noises is quite annoying and even more stressful when you struggle to solve the problem.

It will not only affect the quality of your content but also waste your hard work, time, and energy.

But it’s not a very big problem and t can be solved with a few tips and tricks. All you have to do is to be patient and take a deep breath to relax.

Then try these tips and tricks you can begin with the simple ones such as repositing your mic or using a shock mount then you can move towards the other ones if these do not work out for you.

Here we have tried to share all the tips and tricks that you can try to solve the problem. We hope you find this article useful.