Preamp problem, or sucky mixer?

[antispatula]

I just got a mixer. It's old. It has a built in preamp. I was wondering why I was getting so much white noise from simply having all the faders at halfway, with nothing plugged into any of them, Then I realized all the pre's were at 50%! So I turned them down, and didn't really have a prob with it anymore. But then I noticed that if I DID have something plugged into a channel, and then turned the pre anywhere past like 60%, I'd get a crappy buzzing sound. So I was wondering: Is the crappy buzzing coming from

A. Cheap built-in preamp

or

B. Is the preamp simply adding gain to an already crappy signal?

What do you think? I've got a Peavey board, and peaveys are supposed to be pretty quiet.

[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by antispatula

But then I noticed that if I DID have something plugged into a channel, and then turned the pre anywhere past like 60%, I'd get a crappy buzzing sound. So I was wondering: Is the crappy buzzing coming from

A. Cheap built-in preamp

or

B. Is the preamp simply adding gain to an already crappy signal?

Hard to say. What's the input? Is the buzz a 60 Hz hum?

[scrubs]

If you get noise from the preamp with nothing plugged in (when you turn up the gain/trim), then it's most likely noisy preamps. Now, when you plug your gear in and get a buzz, it's either noise from the gear or bad electrical grounding (either in your home or within the unit, possibly). Are your house outlets properly grounded?

[Big Kenny]

cables, check the cables