Interference problem

[Orlick Trellis]

I'm having a nasty problem with a borrowed VS-840EX.. I tried to record acoustic guitar (umamplified) and there's a horrible noise on the signal, sounds like digital interference. It appears that the disk drive is somehow causing the problem, as the noise increases briefly when the disk drive light is on and stops entirely when there's no disk in. If anybody has had a similiar problem and could give me any ideas for how to fix this i'd be very grateful, cause the interference is obvious sounding enough to make the recordings I'm making unusable. I'm suspicious that the unit might have taken a knock at some point in the past and that something's come loose inside it.. though I'm no electrician so this is just a guess.

[Orlick Trellis]

Anyone?......

[SteveMcB]

Are you using a mic? If so, is it a condensor? or are you using a pickup?
How close are you sitting to the 840?
Using any external preamp or processing prior to going into the 840?

Using a sensitive mic (eg condensor) close to the 840 will result in the mic picking up the drive noise - Move further away, point the null point of the mic at the recorder, and put a pillow or something over the top of the recorder.

Using a pickup, if you sit too close the the 840, you will get interference. Move further away, and change your orientation to the vs until the noise is at its least - this seems usually to be with the headstock pointing at the 840

If neither of these is the culprit, are your cables shielded? Swap them out and see if the problem goes away. Try removing other components from your signal path and see which one (if any) is picking up the interference.

Good luck,
Steve

[Orlick Trellis]

Thanks a lot for the advice, Steve. Using a mic, not a condensor as far as I know. I think it's probably a cable shielding problem as the physical distance between the mic and unit doesn't appear to have any effect on the amount of noise. We tried recording with the mic and VS-840 in separate rooms, with two closed doors between them, and still got that signal... I'll give swapping cables and moving other components a shot like you were saying.