Having 'ground hum' issues

[larry_emder]

Hey all, a (hopefully) simple question for you guys to answer.

This is my setup

Behringer xm8500

Into an XLR to 1/4 inch jack cable (NOT a trs)

Into a Tascam DP-01

Am getting a low pitched hum, and when i touch something metallic (such as the microphone, outside of cable connectors, etc) the hum goes away.

Now, if i bought an XLR to 1/4 inch jack that had an extra conductor (ie. TRS)..........

Would the hum go away?


Thanks very much if you can help

 

[bennychico11]

it will help.
you should be using two conductors anyway with a balanced microphone feeding a balanced input.

 

[larry_emder]

Are you sure its a balanced input?

I've read that the Tascam's inputs are UNbalanced.

If this is so, what would get rid of this ground hum???

 

[antispatula]

what are you recording, guitar? The pickups WILL pickup interference if you have a computer running nearby.

 

[larry_emder]

Yep i was trying to record my acoustic guitar (no pickups involved).

My PC was turned off, no other noise.

I just need to know how to get rid of the ground hum.....it goes away when i touch either the mic or the cable connectors.......

 

[bennychico11]

I've read that the Tascam's inputs are UNbalanced.

If this is so, what would get rid of this ground hum???

apparently they are. Only the DP-01FX contains balanced XLRs.
Suprisingly enough, the DP-01 markets itself as having TRS jacks. Just one more reason for people not to call TRS, balanced. Only the circuit decides whether or not it is balanced...and the DP-01 is not.

However, it does say it accepts TRS still. So I would still use an XLR->TRS cable. That way the signal stays balanced all the way to the Tascam. The longer the distance a signal travels, the more electromagnetic interference it picks up.

Also, try making sure you're not running your mic/instrument/speaker cables next to electrical cables. Separate them the best you can.

 

[Grizzly]

Howdy
I have had a simular problem. It's a bad ground. I found that by plugging all of my gear in to a battery back up UPS of at least 400watts the hum went away. You don't have to be able to run all of your gear with the UPS your are basically using it as an AC noise filter.

 

[rayc]

Larry,
Come on down - if the hum disappears/alters when you touch something metallic is either single coil guitar noise (that's if you have a single coil guitar iconnected at the time) OR a BAD earthing issue.
have you earthed all components as recommended in the manuals - esp all gear connecting with the comp.?
Are you in a building with a earth leakage trip switch? Does that seem to trip when you're using gear? If that's a Y & Y earth's the dangerous prob. If it's a Y & N then it's not. the prob or the earthing is VERY minimal (enough to make noise though). If it's a N & N then you'll have to pull apart you chain & try diff combos until you isolate the item that is generating the noise.
Whatever it costs to get the prob fixed for your safety & sanity
the Price Is right!

 

[danico4not]

if you're having hum issues, it could be a number of things. You might want to check your cables for frays. Your sound is only as good as the weakest link in your chain. Or you might want to get a decent power conditioner that will sift out electrical noise, like from mom's hairdryer in the next room. Or you could always buy one of those nifty Hum eliminators.

 

[sixways]

I just solved my ground hum issues for $.88. If you are truly having 60 cycle ground hum, go to walmart and buy a 3 prong to 2 prong adapter for the plug in of your computer. My monitors and laptop were all plugged into the same surge protector and would hum like all holy hell...until I unplugged the laptop and ran on battery. Did a google, got that suggestion, worked like a charm.

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