Noisy Roland XP30

[Mole]

I have a simple project studio based around a pc. I am using a roland xp30 as my sound source and recording to hard disk via a Delta 44 audio card and omni break out box. The xp is connected to the Omni via two unbalanced jack to jack cables. The problem is that the recordings seem to be surprisingly noisy with rather a lot of hum. I know that it is not the Delta card or box at fault because I do not get this problem when I record vocals or even semi-acoustic guitar. Is is normal for a synth like the xp to be noisy like this? One other thing I should mention is that, when I plug a pair of heaphones directly into the back of the synth, everything sounds perfect, no noise at all. Can anyone tell me what the problem might be and if there is a solution? Thanking you in advance,
Mole.

 

[brzilian]

Sounds like you may be getting some AC current hum from another appliance/device. I also have the XP30 and never had the problem you describe.

Is you XP plugged into the same outlet as your PC? If so, try plugging it into another outlet. Are your audio cables running near any power cables or the like?

 

[Rev E]

The XP30 is a reasonably quiet synth. Make sure that the keyboard's volume is all the way to the top, when you're recording. Turn the Omni inputs down and the keyboard volume all the way up. This should give you your best signal to noise ratio. The comment above is also correct.

 

[Mole]

Thanks for getting back to me. Yes, it does sound like mains hum (or how I imagine mains hum to sound), but plugging the synth into a different outlet doesn't appear to have made any difference. I have also tried to ensure that mains leads and audio cables are as far apart as possible. Regarding the second suggestion - I am not sure what you mean when you say turn the omni inputs down. Do you mean the gain knobs on mic imputs 1+2, because I am not using those. I am using imputs 3 and 4 round the back which don't have any gain control. Or do you mean alter the imput settings in the Delta Control panel? I have tried switching from -10db to 'consumer', but then I get a very, very quiet signal, even with the XP turned all the way up. However, it does reduce the hum, though. The only partial solution I have found is to use Steinberg Clean on the recorded files to remove the hiss and hum. Don't know if you have every used this program, but it works astonishingly well, getting rid of all the noise, but without altering the sound. There is some loss of volume, but this can be compensated for with the inbuilt maximizer. I recommend it. But, obviously, it would be better if I could get a good clear signal in the first place, so any other suggestions would be extremely welcome. Thanks again, guys. Much appreciated.