ATTN Soundcraft M Series owners - Is this normal?

C

Cuzin B

New member
All,

I just acquired a snazzy new Soundcraft M12 and I am still getting used to all the controls and connections.

Yesterday - I did notice something odd and wanted to find out if anyone had experienced this or if I have a problem with my new board:

If I have any signal coming into the board with the L+R Mains outs set to the top of the fader travel (zero) and I turn my main monitor volume control to zero, I can still hear a very faint kinda crackly version of the signal. Same thing with the headphone jack. I would have though that zero means zero...off means off with these two knobs. Of course if I lower the L + R mains to the bottom of their fader length...I finally get silence.

Anyone else notice this? Should I be worried....or is this totally normal?

Any updates or tests from others would be appreciated

Cheers,

Cuzin B
 
it's normal... a "0" setting on your master faders gives full output of the mix, not zero output. Nothing to worry about. If you want absolute silence, just pull the faders down. Hope this helps...
 
Sub,

So what's the deal....are the pots on this board just not fine enough to turn the volume down completely or is the master bus just pushing out too much?

I got to thinking that this is totally fine for my little home studio...but if I was to use this board with big stacks in a live setting - I could see it being very annoying....having that crackly noise coming thru the speakers...

Do you get the same on your board?

Update when you can.

Cheers,

Cuzin B
 
well I'm no technical giant, but I've never chalked up light noise through phones/monitor volume to poor design/craftmanship. As long as the master faders are smooth, quiet, and silence out completely when desired, I can achieve what I want. The M12 isn't the only piece of equipment i have that allows some annoying (but very light) noise to seep through, either. Hell, my recorder (D1600) is far worse when it comes to this.

Just how loud is the crackling you get? When my monitors are cranked about 75%, I can definitely hear some noise, but it could never be construed as being loud. Unless you're getting some seriously loud noise, I'd say don't worry about it. If you do happen to find an explanation/fix, though, let me know!! Have fun... the M boards are great. I used to have a Mackie and there's absolutely no comparison as far as I'm concerned.

suba
 
Sub,

Well..here's the deal here...you are hearing some light noise at 75% of full...when my monitors are at zero (with the Monitor knob) or the Phone knob is at zero...I can still hear any signal coming the board very faintly but distorted...like something is not making the right connection....

Try this test on your board....bring up any signal on the board...make sure the master bus is at "zero" (faders all the way up)... turn your monitor and phones controls to zero...put your phones on and tell me if you hear anything...

That's what I need help with...

Cuzin B
 
Cuz,

I know what you meant. I should have specified that by 75%, I mean the actual volume control on the monitors themselves. When those are ~75% yet the board monitor level is 0, I'll get noise. When it annoys me, I just turn the monitors down or off until I need them.
 
Sub,

So kind of a very faint but lightly distorted version of the signal? I have Event 20/20BAS in my room and they are always at full input so I can hear this very faint signal fairly clearly...when the Monitor control is at zero Same in the phones....

Just wondering...

Cuzin B
 
yep... I get it too, and not just with the M12. There may very well be a fix for it, but it's such a small problem that has no effect on my recordings that I don't worry about it at all.
 
I just went in there and tried it, and running signal into STE 4 to where it was just shy of peaking, I turned the phones all the way down and could hear a very very faint pop whenever there was a kick drum, but that was about it. I cant imagine that being any kind of a problem ever under ANY circumstances, but thats just me.
Thats refered to as crosstalk I Beleive, and is quite common.
 
NOT TO WORRY !

I have the M8, and like everyone has said, it should not be a problem at all.

You just can't hear that small of a signal when everything else is going !

Pier
 
Pier,

This is not about what's happening when "everything else is going". This is more like "Why can I still hear something when I want the knob to be completely off"

I know this is not a huge thing but it is still quite noticable when my monitor volume is at zero. Same with the phones. I guess I would have expected much better considering the reputation this company and their gear has.

Oddly enough...I had a Mackie loaner (1604 VLZ) while I was waiting for my M12 to come in. The Mackie is dead silent when the monitor or phones volume control is set to zero. As it should be.

Cuzin B
 
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