VF-160 Has Slight Loose Marble Sound

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ShadowKat

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When turning off my VF-160, I've been noticing a very slight loose marble like sound. It doesn't seem to effect recordings in any way, and I don't really recall when it started, or if it has been doing it from the get go........Does anybody else experience this with their units? I recall a post somewhere where a guy had a big time loose marble sound along with recording problems, and had to get another hard drive.......This slight sound only occurs when turning the unit off. I'm scared something could be defective!
 
ShadowKat said:
When turning off my VF-160, I've been noticing a very slight loose marble like sound.
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There is a kind of sound like that on both the VF80 and 160, like maybe a loud click, or kerchunk sound as the on/off switch is pushed in and released. It's not a clacking back and forth, but more of a one-clack thing.

If the sound you're describing isn't the normal one, and I'm not sure how to determine that, then I would refer to your other post and ask if this is another "scratch/dent" item. If so, I'd consider sending it back to Musician's Friend.

The thing about "scratch and dent" items is, how can you know exactly why the unit was returned to begin with? Was it dropped or misused? Musician's Friend has a very liberal return policy, but you indicated they don't seem to thoroughly check items they're reselling. That's not a good thing when items are taken back, no questions asked. In effect, YOU are the one stuck with bad or abused merchandise, not MF or the one who originally mishandled it.
 
I've heard it before.Kinda like what billisa described.I think it might be the hardrive making the click when the power is cut off from it.I wish the thing had some sort of Shut-Down routine like Windows does.I hate just turning the thing off abruptly.
 
My Fostex HD 1624 does a similar thing at turn off too.
I think it's the hard drive. I talked to Fostex and they said what I was hearing is normal.
 
whew!!!!.....okay.....I feel better now.....I just recall that nightmare of a post about the "loose marble like sound"....I've had the unit too long to send back to MF......Fostex has got some deal where for $60.00 they thoroughly check out VF-160's for any and all problems.....I think they have an authorized center in Nashville, which is the closest for me.......I think I'll make an appointment and spend the afternoon up there.....when my economic situation improves.....I feel like I may have a problem with the internal microphone amplifier in this unit, because the condenser mic I bought new to use with this unit has to be turned up entirely too high, and then it distorts (and yes, I do have the phantom power on).
 
Dumb question...

...but you don't have the 'minus 10db' switch on the condenser mic turned on do you?

I only ask because I somehow managed to turn this on myself and as a result had to whack the input gain all the way up, until i realised what had happened?

Just a thought.
 
But I don't have any switches on the Nady SPC-15 Condenser mic.
It's not the highest quality mic by any means....but it surely shouldn't operate as poorly as this.....I don't know that much about condenser mic's.....perhaps you can enlighten me.
 
I'd borrow another condenser before assuming it's the Fostex. Nady stuff can be pretty crappy.
 
ShadowKat said:
But I don't have any switches on the Nady SPC-15 Condenser mic.
It's not the highest quality mic by any means....but it surely shouldn't operate as poorly as this.....I don't know that much about condenser mic's.....perhaps you can enlighten me.
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Have you turned on the phantom power in the SETUP menu? Condensors need this... If I missed this fact in a previous post, sorry.
 
I think it is the HD starting to search when you turn it on. I mess with alot of relays at work and I think it's a relay clicking when ya turn it off.
 
Condenser's?

I don't know too much about them, except what I read on places like this and they are a heck of a lot better than what I was using before (a sure sm58).

I would go with the suggestion of borrowing another mic from somewhere if at all possible and see if you get the same result. If you still get the same result then it may be the unit. Incidently is it the same on both channels (7&8) ? - I'm assuming you're using these two channels with the XLR connection?

Note: I still have to turn the gain up I would say to about 75% - 80% up in order to get a strong signal into the Fostex. if you are having to do something similar then that's 'normal' - if you're having to turn up to 100% then that's wrong.

With regard to the 'marble' it may be the hard disk auto-parking the heads whien you turn off power?
 
Yeah.......I have the phantom power on and yes, the gain is up that high, which I thought was a problem, but I guess not....still, it distorts at that level.....I'll see what I can do about borrowing another condenser mic of better quality....Thanks guys!!!
 
That "clunk" (a British word I am afraid) is what I have experienced since the day I got it . I agree that it sounds like the hard disk parking up for the night .

I recently purchased an Audio Techina 4033 and I find that if I turn the gain on full the whole neighbourhood can be picked up and I distort on vocals but to turn it down , the gain is not sensitive enough (fiddly knob) . I have found best results are when using the -10db pad leaving gain on full . An audio pro has since told me that this the best option anyway .
Check your Fostex against another mike .
I have recently started to play with the onboard compressor for mixdown . Anybody ever used an external one ? If so , how do you get it in the mixdown chain ?
 
brian trousers said:

I have recently started to play with the onboard compressor for mixdown . Anybody ever used an external one ? If so , how do you get it in the mixdown chain ?
Click to expand...

It's amazing how this thread has touched on 3 or 4 subjects since its inception...

I use an external compressor (an FMR-RNC). But because I use it externally, I don't have to use it on all tracks. So I normally only use it on some vocals, and when adding bass via my synthesizer. I do this as I'm recording, so the compressor goes between my external preamp and the VF160.

The onboard compressor on the VF160 seems quite nice enough for those times when I'd want to use it on an Internal Mixdown.

My GUESS is to use an external unit on a Mixdown, one would do a ping-pong style mixdown to two tracks (with the compressor linked in via the inserts), then do an internal mixdown (with the 2 tracks left after the ping-pong) in the standard way, without adding any more compression.

Others who know the 160 better can say way more.
 
Billsa's comments on bouncing are right. I had to do that recently with a bass guitar track where a couple of the low notes were booming in comparison with the rest. So using the BUSS mode I ran the bass track through the compressor and recorded it back in to another track and then mixed the two bass tracks down onto another one. Nicely controlled the problem.

Incidently, if yuo have run out of tracks you can of course make temporary space by echanging a couple of tracks with the virtual ones 17-24 and then exchange them back again when you've finisihed the operation.

I use an external compressor. I use it on channel 8, using the 'insert' socket. You need to get a 'y' cable made up with a stereo jack on one end and two mono jacks on the other for the 'send' and 'return'. In my case I always use the compressor at tracking time on virtualy everything i record, just to try to control the signal so i don't get too much variance in the levels and avoid clipping. Of course I alter the setting for each instrument or voice.

I haven't experimented with the internal compressor as from an early stage of having the vf160 I also had an external compressor.
 
By the way, using the insert path, with the FMR-RNC (Really Nice Compressor) you can get away with a single wire stereo-stereo plug. FMR designed it so the send/return comes out of the same jack...
 
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