What is that noise?!?!

T

the_man

New member
I'm trying to do some home recording. Nothing fancy, just a PC and some outboard gear. When I used the mic preamps on my Mackie CFX 12 mixer, there was this awful humming noise that that didn't sound so loud by itself, but is unbearable in the final mixes. So I get a PreSonus mic pre. No hum; great! I thought I'd try some front-end compression, so I got a used Behringer Composer 2200. Now the hum is back, and louder than before! What is this annoying humming noise? It can't be the equipment; when I use the Mackie for live sound, there's no hum, and besides, who would sell stuff that sounded like that anyways?

Thanks,

Kevin
 
Sounds like it could be a ground loop. That can sometimes happen when connecting unbalanced and balanced equipment together because one side of the balanced signal gets tied to ground. Try hooking up the same gear using cables with TRS connectors, and see if the problem disappears.


Twist
 
How are you recording your tracks? From what you describe, one possibility is that you record with your levels too low and then compress or normalize them to get them louder. When you do this the difference between the signal and the noise in the system is less than if your levels were optimal, and of course the noise is amplified too when you normalize or otherwise increase the overalll volume of the audio recording...
 
I spoke to one of the "Pro Audio" specialists at the local store, and he thought it was a ground loop also. He pointed out that the Behringer and the Mackie (hum) both have three-pronged power cords, while the PreSonus (no hum) has a two-pronged cord. He suggested I "lift the ground" by getting one of those grey "three-into-two" plugs from Home Depot or some such store. Would TRS connectors do the same thing?

Kevin
 
He was talking about a ground loop in the power circuit. I was talking about a ground loop in the signal chain. Both are possibillities. Try one, then the other. My guess is one of them will cure your problem.


Twist
 
Sounds like it is in one or two of your cables. but it could be in some of your gear. Do you have flooresent lights in your studio? they will call hum in your system due to radio waves that travel around the room. I had this problem and i just found a spot in the room where it did'nt interfear and i set up my gear there.

Zeke
 
Ta-dahhh!

The ground lift adapters did the trick. No hum; I am in bidness! Thanks to everyone who replied!

Kevin
 
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