You dialed in your EQ and gate, but every keyboard slam, mouse click, and coffee mug still thumps through your stream. That is structure-borne noise, vibration traveling through your desk and up the mic stand into the capsule. It is a different problem from airborne noise, and it needs different fixes.
Why desks transmit noise
Microphones, especially sensitive ones, pick up vibration through whatever they are physically attached to. A boom arm clamped to your desk turns the whole surface into a conductor: typing, tapping, and even footsteps on a wooden floor travel through the desk, into the arm, and into the mic as low-frequency thumps and rumble.
Structure-borne vs airborne
Airborne noise (a fan, voices) travels through the air; you fight it with mic technique and gates. Structure-borne noise travels through solids; you fight it with isolation and decoupling. Confusing the two leads to buying the wrong solution.
Fixes and what they solve
| Fix | Targets | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Shock mount | Vibration into capsule | High |
| Desk pad / foam under arm clamp | Desk-to-arm transfer | Medium–High |
| Boom arm from wall/floor stand | Bypasses desk entirely | High |
| Isolation feet under keyboard | Typing thumps | Medium |
| Low-cut/high-pass filter | Residual rumble | Medium |
Build the isolation chain
Start with a proper shock mount, an elastic suspension that decouples the mic from the arm. It is the first line of defense against vibration reaching the capsule. Next, decouple the boom arm from the desk by placing a foam pad or rubber isolation gasket under the clamp so desk vibrations do not travel straight up the mount. If your desk is especially resonant, moving the arm to a wall mount or a weighted floor stand removes the desk from the equation entirely.
Tackle the source too
Quiet the inputs that cause thumps: a keyboard with dampened switches or a foam mat under it reduces typing transfer, and isolation feet under your keyboard and mouse pad help. A desk mat also softens object placement noise like setting down a mug.
Clean up the rest in software
After physical isolation, apply a high-pass (low-cut) filter around 80–100Hz to remove sub-bass rumble your voice does not need. Follow with a gentle noise gate so quiet vibration below your speaking level is muted. Physical fixes first, software last, gating alone cannot hide a loud thump that occurs while you are talking.
Diagnosing the vibration path
Before buying gear, find out how the noise travels. Tap your desk gently while watching your mic’s input meter; if it spikes, you have a structure-borne problem, and isolation is the answer. Tap the mic stand’s base and the arm clamp separately to see which link transmits most. This quick test tells you whether to focus on the shock mount, the clamp, or moving the arm entirely.
Floor and chair contributions
On suspended wooden floors, footsteps, chair rolls, and even a bouncing leg travel into the desk and up to the mic. A rug or a chair mat dampens some of this, and isolation pads under the desk legs help on resonant floors. These are cheap additions that reduce a source of rumble many streamers never think to check.
Matching the shock mount to the mic
A shock mount only works well when sized for your mic’s weight; too heavy a mic sags in a light mount and too light a mic bounces in a stiff one. Use the mount designed for your microphone, and replace worn elastic bands, which lose their damping over time and let vibration through again.
FAQ
Will a shock mount fix everything?
It handles a lot but not all. Heavy desk knocks can still transfer. Pair the shock mount with a decoupled or off-desk arm for the best result.
Is a wall-mounted arm really better?
Often, yes, if the wall is solid. It removes desk typing and tapping from the vibration path, though very heavy footfall on a shared wall can still transfer.
How do I know if my noise is vibration or airborne?
Do a quick test: tap your desk gently while watching your mic’s input meter. If it spikes, you have structure-borne vibration traveling through the desk, and isolation is the fix. If tapping does nothing but a nearby fan shows on the meter, the problem is airborne and calls for mic technique and suppression. Diagnosing the path first stops you from buying the wrong solution.
Bottom line
Attack vibration physically: shock mount the capsule, decouple or relocate the boom arm off the desk, dampen your keyboard, then finish with a high-pass filter and gate. That chain removes the thumps that gates alone cannot.
