I’m pretty sure I know the answer already and I can foresee the other comments incoming already. (Eg; “Why are you recording in the living room in the first place? 🤪)
But here we go. My partner is recording audio occasionally while on the couch in the living room; while I work from home in an adjacent office. They are using a Blue Yeti on a cheapo $40 mic arm, bolted to a side table next to the couch.
Since we have hardwood floors in an ancient house, there’s some creaking being picked up in the recordings. Which is probably me adjusting my weight in my chair in the other room every now and then.
Question is, do we:
- Get a shock mount?
- Put carpet (or something) under the side table?
- Switch the mic stand to a sits on the desktop weighted one we also have and also put a pad o’ fabric or foam under that?
- All of the above?
- Additional crap?
Alright. Give us hell folks! Hehe.
Your situation is going to require a whole bunch of mitigations. There are already some solid suggestions here. If repairing your wood floors isn't immediately within reach, a quick fix I've used when recording in spaces with old floors is talcum powder. It's a bit more difficult to source talcum powder these days, but it's definitely out there.
Identify the squeaky locations. Vacuum the joints thoroughly. Sprinkle rails of the powder over the joints. Walk over the areas that were creaking; this flexion helps the powder to work into the joint. The talc acts as a dry lubricant and gives you temporary relief from creaky floorboards.
Edit: replied at the wrong level; I meant to reply to OP
Ah interesting. Now we’re talking. Wacky solutions! Yes!
Might give this a try after locking down the pets. Thx!