Diagnose the problem first
Gaming commentary audio usually fails in one of five ways: constant hiss/fan/PC noise, room echo, clipping/distortion, inconsistent volume, or harsh S sounds. Listen to the raw mic track with headphones before adding filters. Note timestamps. Fix the source first; software is a Band-Aid.
Common causes
- Hiss or hum: gain too high, noisy USB port, cheap preamp, or mic too far.
- Fan/AC/console noise: PC fans, air conditioning, controller vibration, loud room.
- Echo or boxy voice: bare walls, mic too far, large untreated room.
- Crackle or pops: clipping, buffer underruns, bad cable, CPU overload.
- Thin or quiet voice: off-axis mic, wrong polar pattern, low gain, overused noise removal.
Fix the recording chain before filters
Mic distance
Distance is the biggest free upgrade. For a dynamic mic like an SM58, SM7B, or Q2U, aim for 2–4 inches from your mouth and speak slightly across the capsule. For a condenser, start at 4–6 inches. Every time you double the distance, voice drops about 6 dB while room and fan noise stay the same. Use a boom arm; don't rest the mic on the desk where keyboard thumps travel.
Gain and sample rate
In OBS and Audacity, aim for peaks around -12 dB to -6 dB. Never touch 0 dB. If you need +30 dB of gain to be heard, fix mic placement or get an interface—don't crank Windows mic boost. Keep boost at 0 dB or +10 dB max. Use 48 kHz, 24-bit if supported, and match sample rate in Windows, OBS, and the game. Mismatches cause crackles and pitch problems.
Kill obvious noise
- Move the PC tower away or put a barrier between it and the mic. A less aggressive fan curve helps but raises temperatures.
- Use push-to-talk for keyboard/mouse clicks. Silent switches help; a mousepad and lighter grip help more.
- Wear closed-back wired headphones. Open-back models leak game audio into the mic.
- Turn off AC, fans, notifications, and controller speakers during takes.
- Record in a closet or small room with soft furniture if your room echoes.
Use OBS filters in the right order
OBS filters are real-time. Order matters: Noise Suppression → Noise Gate → EQ → Compressor → Limiter. Don't stack everything. Start with noise suppression and compression; add the rest only for a specific problem.
Noise Suppression
RNNoise is good for keyboard/fan noise but can make voices watery. NVIDIA Noise Removal (RTX cards) is often more natural. Speex is low CPU but less clean. Use the lowest amount that works. If raw audio is still noisy, record mic to a separate track and clean later.
Noise Gate
Set close threshold -45 to -35 dB, open -40 to -30 dB. Attack 5–10 ms, release 100–150 ms. A gate cuts keyboard noise between words, but won't fix constant fan noise above threshold. If it chops word tails, increase release or lower threshold.
EQ
High-pass at 80–100 Hz to remove rumble. If boxy, cut 200–400 Hz by 2–4 dB. For clarity, boost 2–5 kHz by 1–3 dB. If S sounds are harsh, use a de-esser around 5–8 kHz. In OBS, a VST like ReaEQ gives more control than built-in 3-band EQ. Keep cuts narrow, boosts broad.
Compressor and Limiter
Start compressor at 3:1–4:1, threshold -18 to -12 dB, attack 10–20 ms, release 100–200 ms, makeup so peaks hit -6 to -3 dB. Goal: quiet commentary audible over game audio without shouting. Set limiter ceiling to -1 dB; it should catch rare peaks only. If it works constantly, lower input gain.
Balance commentary with game audio
Game audio should sit -12 to -18 dB below your voice. Explosions still spike, so use sidechain compression or OBS audio ducking if available, or keyframe game volume manually. For YouTube, aim for about -14 LUFS integrated and -1 dB true peak. For podcasts, -16 LUFS stereo is common. Don't normalize to 0 dB; YouTube processing can clip it.
Post-production cleanup for clips and recordings
Record separate tracks. In OBS: Settings → Output → Recording → enable multiple audio tracks. Put mic on track 2, game on track 3. Edit in DaVinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, Audacity, or Reaper.
- Remove long silences manually or with a gentle gate.
- Use noise reduction carefully. In Audacity, select 0.5–1 second of noise-only audio, get noise profile, then apply reduction 6–12 dB, sensitivity 6, frequency smoothing 3. Too much makes voices metallic and underwater.
- Apply EQ, compression, and limiting in that order.
- If you don't want to learn plugins, a free tool like ClearVoiceHQ (clearvoicehq.com) can remove background noise from a commentary track online. Upload, process, download, then mix with game audio. Tradeoff: less control than manual EQ/compression, so keep your raw file.
Room and hardware that actually matter
Before buying a $400 mic, try $100 of acoustic treatment: moving blankets, a thick rug, bookshelves, panels behind your chair. If your room is noisy, a close dynamic mic beats an expensive condenser across the room. A clean interface preamp (Scarlett, MOTU M2), boom arm, shock mount, and pop filter improve more recordings than a mic upgrade alone.
If you record on a phone or webcam, move within 6–10 inches, record in a quiet closet, enable airplane mode, and don't hold the phone. For Zoom, local recording beats cloud recording because it captures your mic before heavy compression. If you must use Zoom, enable original sound and high-fidelity music mode if available.
Common mistakes and tradeoffs
- Overusing noise removal: voices become robotic. Use less and fix the source.
- Too much gate: words start choppy. Increase release and lower threshold.
- Too much compression: pumping and breathing. Use slower attack and lower ratio.
- Normalizing to 0 dB: clips after YouTube processing. Aim for -1 dB true peak.
- Recording game and mic on one track: you can't fix balance later. Record multitrack.
A practical 20-minute workflow
- Set mic 2–4 inches away; adjust gain until peaks hit -12 to -6 dB.
- Turn off AC and fans. Close windows. Use push-to-talk.
- In OBS, add RNNoise or NVIDIA Noise Removal, a noise gate, high-pass at 90 Hz, 3:1 compressor, and -1 dB limiter.
- Record a 30-second test. Listen with closed-back headphones. Adjust gate and compressor before the real take.
- Record separate tracks. If the mic track is still noisy, clean it with ClearVoice or manual noise reduction.
- Mix voice peaks around -6 to -3 dB, game audio about -15 dB under voice, export near -14 LUFS.
Final thought
You can improve gaming commentary audio dramatically without a new mic. Fix distance, gain, room, and multitrack recording first. Then use noise removal and dynamics carefully. If you need a quick cleanup for a clip, use a free online noise remover, but always keep the raw file. The goal isn't perfect silence; it's a clear, consistent voice that doesn't distract from the game.