High-pitched whine

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Sir_Matthew

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I've been using ProTools LE 6.4 since 2005 through a Digi 002 Rack onto my Windows XP machine, and this is the first time I've had the problem detailed below:

When I have a song up with more than maybe 5 tracks on it, there is a high-pitched whine. I don't notice it so much during playback, but it's definitely there when nothing is playing.

What's weirder, when I go down the line and mute the channels (while not playing anything), it gets softer and softer until finally it's mostly (but not quite) gone.

It's loud enough for me to notice, so I know it couldn't have been doing it while I was mixing my last album a few months ago. However, when I pull up one of those tracks for comparison, THERE IT IS, and even louder than on these new tunes, which have fewer tracks.

It does seem to right itself when I reboot. But still.

I am completely baffled. Thoughts?
 
Sir_Matthew said:
I've been using ProTools LE 6.4 since 2005 through a Digi 002 Rack onto my Windows XP machine, and this is the first time I've had the problem detailed below:

When I have a song up with more than maybe 5 tracks on it, there is a high-pitched whine. I don't notice it so much during playback, but it's definitely there when nothing is playing.

What's weirder, when I go down the line and mute the channels (while not playing anything), it gets softer and softer until finally it's mostly (but not quite) gone.

It's loud enough for me to notice, so I know it couldn't have been doing it while I was mixing my last album a few months ago. However, when I pull up one of those tracks for comparison, THERE IT IS, and even louder than on these new tunes, which have fewer tracks.

It does seem to right itself when I reboot. But still.

I am completely baffled. Thoughts?
Click to expand...


Interesting.. I'm curious if this might be a problem with your pc somehow, like comparable to say alternator whine in car audio.. How old is the pc? Are you saving tracks on a seperate dedicated audio drive, or are you saving sessions on the same drive pro tools is running on?

Do you use a power conditioner? I wouldn't think this would be a fix really since the problem just presented itself, but if you're already using one maybe that's where the problems lies..
 
The PC is four years old, so it's quite possible that some new problems are coming from the hardware. I do use a separate hard drive for the audio, but it's as old as the rest of the computer.

Got a newer computer from a friend recently, may go ahead and put it into service before this one goes belly-up on me in the middle of a session...
 
Sir_Matthew said:
The PC is four years old, so it's quite possible that some new problems are coming from the hardware. I do use a separate hard drive for the audio, but it's as old as the rest of the computer.

Got a newer computer from a friend recently, may go ahead and put it into service before this one goes belly-up on me in the middle of a session...
Click to expand...

Well, I don't think four years old is necessarily too old.. depends on your specs.. but if you already have a new pc on hand it couldn't hurt to try it out and see if it fixes the problem.. if it does great! If not at least you've eliminated one possiblity and are that much closer to the fix.. as all the new software comes out as for DAW's and plugins.. they become more demanding of your processor.. maybe that's what's going on..

if it's not the pc somehow then the next step would be the Digi.. could be an issue with your outputs or converters.

best of luck!
 
It's possibly a grounding issue. Search DUC for firewire whine. Also, are you using an external preamp? I'm not sure about the Digi 002 but if the preamps are not bypassed when using the line inputs, they will whine when you use an external preamp. I've had this problem with my Mbox2 and the only way I was able to remedy the situation is by using the pad. I know this is stupid but that's the only thing that works. Surprisingly the whine does not get louder (in fact it seems to have disappeared entirely) when I turn the output gain up. Even when maxed the whine has disappeared.

If it's the Firewire whine issue, it may take a while to route out the culprit. This is an issue for many firewire interfaces and is not OS specific. OSX does have a fix that works for some though.
 
hueseph said:
It's possibly a grounding issue. Search DUC for firewire whine. Also, are you using an external preamp? I'm not sure about the Digi 002 but if the preamps are not bypassed when using the line inputs, they will whine when you use an external preamp. I've had this problem with my Mbox2 and the only way I was able to remedy the situation is by using the pad. I know this is stupid but that's the only thing that works. Surprisingly the whine does not get louder (in fact it seems to have disappeared entirely) when I turn the output gain up. Even when maxed the whine has disappeared.

If it's the Firewire whine issue, it may take a while to route out the culprit. This is an issue for many firewire interfaces and is not OS specific. OSX does have a fix that works for some though.
Click to expand...


Excellent info! Thanks!
 
check around your monitors for my wife....if she is around there and not getting her way...she emits a high pitch whine as well....please do not tell her I said that....

:p
 
this is a problem that ive had several times now, and ive never figured it out

last time i had it some months ago, its just stopped
this time, i cant get anything done at all
as son as i open the session the sound is extremely loud, and you can actually watch every single channels level creep up and up as it does it

im using a MAC Mini Intel 1.83 ghx core duo with 1gb memory
does it have something to do with the external firewire drive somehow?

this is just awful as all i want to do is work on my new songs:mad:
 
If the sound continues to get louder, there is a feedback loop somewhere. You'll have to go through your routing, physical and virtual, to figure it out.
 
hueseph said:
If the sound continues to get louder, there is a feedback loop somewhere. You'll have to go through your routing, physical and virtual, to figure it out.
Click to expand...

hey hueseph
thank for the reply. i dont actually do any routing as far as i know
no buses,sends. nothing like thatso i dont actually know how to do it:confused:
 
What about physical routing? What are you plugging into? Are you using a mixer? There is an output that is feeding an input somewhere.
 
hueseph said:
What about physical routing? What are you plugging into? Are you using a mixer? There is an output that is feeding an input somewhere.
Click to expand...

hi again mate
i plug into the Pod, into the Mbox2 ,which then goesinto the Mac mini.
no mixer

im even making sure thats the only usb device plugged when i record
apart from the ext drive.
any suggestions as to what i could try?i got a coupe of hours whine free last night, then it begun and id to give up and shut down

thank you
 
Which version of ProTools are you using? Or are you using some other software?
 
Just to eliminate the obvious, you don't have a mic near by and your monitors set at a fairly loud level?
 
hueseph said:
Which version of ProTools are you using? Or are you using some other software?
Click to expand...

hi again mate
thank for the reply.
yes, i use Pro Tools 7.1.1 with the MBpx2

no rogue mics near the speakers,no;-)

im still up at this ungodly hour recording
but only because i started a new session and it hasnt begun yet!

its all very strange!
 
Asking her to shut up while recordings never worked for me, but it's worth a try.:p
 
Monsterpop said:
hi again mate
thank for the reply.
yes, i use Pro Tools 7.1.1 with the MBpx2

no rogue mics near the speakers,no;-)

im still up at this ungodly hour recording
but only because i started a new session and it hasnt begun yet!

its all very strange!
Click to expand...

Hey sorry for not getting back to you. If you are using the Pod, you may want to try using the pad switch. Otherwise, there may be feedback from your guitar? Just taking stabs here. From what I can tell, you are still dealing with a feedback loop.
 
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