synkrotron

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Men's_Day

Hi again Mark, There isn't actually any real noise in the signal. I've checked each input by opening an instance of Pro-Q 3, which monitors all the way down to -100dB and all there is is a bit of hiss, which is what I expect to be honest. This computer noise is definitely something "internal" if you know what I mean. It is worth noting that if I stream anything off the internet or listen to a WAV or MP3 using media player or even using Sound Forge then there is no computer noise, just when using a DAW.

Okay, here is the absolute latest on this situation. And I am at a loss... Around tea time here I gave up, turned everything off and went to have my tea and watched some Six Nations rugby. Then I went back upstairs to my studio and put everything back together with the intention of perhaps just leaving some items unplugged. I had noticed in an earlier test that my MPX 500 effects unit was the main culprit. It wasn't causing the noise in the active monitors, that was a separate issue. Instead, it was causing the noise within my DAW and on to the master bus. I found that if I unplugged it from the mains, or unplugged the audio cables then the noise went away. But I powered up my DAW, prior to unplugging the MPX 500 and, for some strange reason, there was no computer noise on the return track or the master bus. I scratched my head... Waggled a few cables, moved some stuff around behind my little rack and the noise woudn't return. So, like I say, I am at a loss, but obviously happy that there is now no computer noise within my DAW. However, there is still some noise, but although it is the same type of noise as before it is very quiet. When I turned on my active monitors there is still an issue here, although, as has been mentioned above, the noise is separate to the noise within the DAW, and even with my OCTA-CAPTURE turned right down the noise is still there. My active monitors do not have a volume control and so they are always at full volume so I guess that helps to make things sound worse. So until I can get some balanced cables I am going to monitor entirely with my headphones. I have also noticed that I can get a quieter guitar signal into my DAW by using my MMP-2 mic preamp instead of going directly into the OCTA-CAPTURE. The MMP-2 is connected to the OCTA-CAPTURE via coax SPDIF. I was using it for something else but it makes sense to swap things round a bit.

I have experimented with this, and, yes, it certainly does solve the problem, but while I have equipment that is supposed to be grounded I am quite nervous about disconnecting any grounding connections. In this country our residual current breakers rely on that ground to trigger and make the situation safe.

Yes, both keyboard and mouse are wired and both have ferrite blocks fitted. thanks

I thought that, too, at first but I have an NVMe OS drive and an SSD so I don't think it is those two. And the drive activity light is quite bright on my workstation and you can see it flashing on the ceiling so you can see that the noise does not coincide with disk activity. But it does sound like that sort of thing. Pretty much the same here. But more of that in a bit...

Yeah, Chuck, that is one of the things that I have noticed... I also noticed that if I position the guitar at right angles to the video monitor any interference pretty much goes away, and being further away from the video monitor also helps.

Thanks, @msmcleod But as @Cactus Music says, those RCA connections are not balanced. I think that while it is possible to connect my active monitors to my audio interface I should try that first. And in addition to that I knew I had some ferrite blocks somewhere and I managed to find them. When I stuck it on the audio cable between my audio interface and the speaker it didn't make the slightest bit if difference unfortunately, so I am not even sure about bothering going down that route now. Hi John, Yes, I appreciate that. I built my first studio based mainly on hardware some twenty years ago now. When I dismantled it during a "sabbatical" I boxed everything up, including the cables. Gradually, over the last couple of years, I have been building a new studio. It has gone through many iterations and at the start of 2019 I decided to increase my inputs by adding a second OCTA-CAPTURE unit. Of course, more inputs, more cables, and I have been using stuff I have in stock rather that buying better quality new cables. Back twenty years ago I hardly went onto the internet to discuss or research this sort of stuff and I would go down to my local music store and ask for some good quality audio cables, not even knowing if they were, and not knowing that much at all about balanced cables. False economy, I know, but I do have a budget and most of my money has been put into other things. So the cables have become my "weakest link." And I suppose I am not a "serious studio" either. I have earned a tad over £100 since I started making music all that long ago so, yeah, just a hobbyist me, with money to burn at times, it seems. Yes, I understand that too. I will be endeavouring to use balanced cables where appropriate. A good point, and I have cables that are far too long for the distance they have to cover. Again, this is down to me using what I have and then being too lazy to get the snips and a soldering iron. I will definitely be doing this at some point in the near future. Okay, I have heard this mentioned a few times now so I need to look more into that. Very similar, which is why I say "computer noise" and not mains (a/c) hum. I found one before in one of my many boxes of gear and I have now used it to connect my workstation to the mains. Doesn't help, as it happens, but it is there now so might as well stay there. Yes, I only have a wired keyboard and mouse and they are both fitted with ferrite chokes. There is more, but I want to post this first and answer some of the other posts above... cheers andy

Thanks, @vuzz14, I have been doing some more tests and I think what I really need is to invest in some balanced cables. I was thinking along those lines anyway and this issue has brought things to a head. I thought I'd be able to save some money using what cables I have from my previous studio endeavours. cheers andy

I wish I could. I've got microphones but I rarely use them and certainly don't know enough to bring anything to the party here. I'll get me coat

Yes, thank you, and apologies for doubting your intentions.

Yeah, I saw that too but didn't read it because I'm on 10 A crafy move, pehaps haha? I know that a lot of peeps are holding off from "moving up" to W10...

Hi Peeps, Having finished ensuring all my VST stuff works on my new i9 workstation I am now turning my attention to my hardware. I now realise that I am plagued by that most annoying and difficult to fix "computer" sound. This is not a mains hum I am talking about here. It's a digital sort of noise that is almost a constant squeek interspersed with white noise and the odd high frequency crackle. Hard to put into words but I think you know what I mean. Or perhaps you don't, if you have never experienced this yourself over the years. I could record it and upload it somewhere if anyone is interested. I spent a couple of hours checking all the cables and rearranging them, as best I could, so that audio, mains and data cables do not run parallel at any point. I have also tried using the same mains socket in the room for everything and I have tried powering just the workstation from its own mains socket. Only thing I haven't tried yet is running an extension lead downstairs, which is on a different ring main to upstairs. I have done a bit of research on the interwebs and, to be honest, I'm not sure if any of the so called solutions are going to work for me. I found one video and the guy was explaining exactly what my problem was, so I thought, "this is hopeful," but the conclusion was that the socket he was using had no earth and he simply fixed that. Any ideas, anyone? Ferrite blocks, perhaps? And where would I need to fit these? On just the mains cable or mains + data? cheers andy

Okay, FireFox it is then... Regarding the adverts. I know that these places need to get funding somehow and for all of our lives, since the dawn of improved and mass communications, we have been bombarded with adverts. When watching the telly it is usually the time to go have a pee or make a cup of tea. For some reason, though, we do seem to resent adverts on websites more than ever now. You try to ignore thembut sometimes they seem to be so much in your face. Or they are asking you to check out some Asian dating website. And sometimes they are quite clever and made to look like a download link on a download site and you have to be always on your guard.

Likewise. Where did they suddenly appear from?

Hi Rob, I ain't no expert, so take what I say with a pinch of salt. I have 32GB (2 x 16) Vengence LPX memory sticks inside my new desktop. Motherboard is an Z390. As for performance and reliability, I have no idea as I haven't looked into that or done any stress testing. My system appears to be working okay. I've just been looking at the Corsair memory page and you can set filters to match what you need. When I choose X99, speed between 2133 to 2800 and then capacity of 16GB (2 x 8 ) then the Dominator series disappears from the filter selection. So perhaps Corsair do not make them anymore and they (or whoever) are just clearing old stock. But then I reset the filters and selected X99, speed between 2133 to 2800 and a capacity of 32GB there are two Dominator options, one at 2400 and one at 2666, and they are made up of 4 x 8GB sticks, so that blows that theory out of the water. https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/DOMINATOR®-PLATINUM-32GB-(4-x-8GB)-DDR4-DRAM-2666MHz-C15-Memory-Kit/p/CMD32GX4M4A2666C15 I then did a google search on "dominator platinum 16gb 2600" and nothing came up, only higher speeds, or different size configurations. Did you find someone who would actually supply 2 x 8 sticks? Then I went onto the Vengeance LPX. The Pro version is RGB so I'm guessing you don't need that. Setting the filters to X99, speed between 2133 to 2800 and then capacity of 16GB (2 x 8 ) and finally selecting the Vengeance LPX it shows a couple of options although some of those options are just a different colour. https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Memory/VENGEANCE®-LPX-32GB-(4-x-8GB)-DDR4-DRAM-2666MHz-C16-Memory-Kit---White/p/CMK32GX4M4A2666C16W One thing I notice, stick size is always 8GB. Is that a limitation of your motherboard? I agree with Craig's suggestion regarding matching the memory sticks, so, if it was my, and my system was stable, I would leave everything alone for now and wait until I really needed a big step change, new motherboard, CPU, the works. Or, if I really thought that the extra 16GB could make reasonable improvements and I could not match the existing memory I would replace the the lot and install 4 new memory sticks, that match. cheers andy

Good luck with that Mr Mudgel I hope all goes well.

Thank you very much

Having been slaving over a hot keyboard, testing out my new workstation at the same time as getting all my software loaded I have just published the test track to my usual site used for stuff like this. Can't post a link because I'm afraid that I didn't use Cakewalk... Sorry Just the usual stuff anyway. Well... Nearly... it contains some percussion, which is unusual for me lately.

Indeed! As someone who lacks any real ability to stay in time with a simple 4/4 beat, Piano Roll is essential

Check out @Jim Hurley's thread on the NI forum. He has linked a video showing you how he does that. Something to do with "affinity." Mind you, that was for stand alone Reaktor I think, so perhaps it isn't possible with plugins.

Yeah, it was. Oh well, I think I'll just hit the piano roll and get my DAW to do the hard work...

Oh dear, you seem to be going through the wars lately ØSkald, sorry to hear about that. It is so frustrating when stuff like this goes awry and no one provider stands up and says, "yeah, it's us, I'm sorry." I hope you get it all sorted soon.

LOL, yeah, we can always hope haha!

Good point, in which case, I can offer two suggestions of my own. I use an Arturia Keystep for compactness and portability:- https://www.arturia.com/keystep/overview Reasonably priced, in my opinion, but I could understand the purists being disappointed with the small sized keys. Pitch bend and modulation is by way of two strips, rather than wheels, and they work quite well. If I fancy something that covers more octaves then I break out my Acorn Masterkey 49:- http://www.acorn-instruments.com/usb-keyboards/masterkey_49 Very competitively priced. That said, it won't stand up to being taken on the road. Already the USB jack, although still usable, has broken. I use a bit of bluetac to hold the cable in place. Would I get another Acorn Masterkey? Yeah, for the price it is a no brainer, if all you want is a straight forward keyboard. It does not require any drivers but that hasn't given me any issues and it totally usable in Cakewalk (and SONAR of course), Studio One and REAPER.