FM3, Cable, Guitar, 60 Hz Noise?

[LostTheTone]

Don't use power strips in any way unless it's high end. Get everything away from flourescent lights, your phone etc.

Best place to start IMHO is to use a computer that isn't connected to the mains - So a laptop running on battery, using its own internal screen and monitoring with headphones.

In terms of electronic noise, those big power bricks are some of the absolute worst offenders, but they can feel like part of the furniture that you don't think about.

 

[c7spheres]

Best place to start IMHO is to use a computer that isn't connected to the mains - So a laptop running on battery, using its own internal screen and monitoring with headphones.

In terms of electronic noise, those big power bricks are some of the absolute worst offenders, but they can feel like part of the furniture that you don't think about.

Yep Isolating is good like that.
- I've found with many pedals doing this works well too. Unplug power supply, put in battery, problem solved.
- Most stuff's just not isolated or shielded well when it comes to computers, phones. They always pick up noise and interference.

 

[LostTheTone]

Yep Isolating is good like that.
- I've found with many pedals doing this works well too. Unplug power supply, put in battery, problem solved.
- Most stuff's just not isolated or shielded well when it comes to computers, phones. They always pick up noise and interference.

Yeah, 100% agreed. I have a little 9V battery enclosure with a little cable and standard 9V barrel adapter on it so I can just plug in to anything without taking off battery doors and such. It wasn't for a noise issue, but I also have modified a couple of DI boxes so they can take a 9V mains connection too, instead of running phantom up an XLR draped across the room.

Not all devices can be reasonably battery powered, but for the OP who is having a bit of a nightmare I think it would probably be worth setting up Reaper/Trial DAW on a laptop and trying it out there.

 

[ExMachina]

I could reproduce the same result on a simple four block preset. I did move the Axe to a different location in my room, and the noise isn't as bad. However, it seems like anything that makes the sound brighter (i.e. Presence, Treble, Bright Cap, Master Vol Cap, Definition, etc.) really throws off the signal-to-noise ratio. I understand the concept of gain staging and can lower my gain to compensate, but I'm not a fan of overly dark and/or "woofy" type tones. I prefer the brighter tones you'd tend to hear in 80s rock/metal (hence the W/D/W setup) and even some modern players.

I can post another clip with a different (basic) preset. It just seems that certain parameters just add a lot of undesirable artifacts that to my ears, don't sound normal or natural. I've never experienced these issues on real amplifiers, although I haven't owned one in quite a while and was never able to play them at an enjoyable level either.

When you play something like this and look at the voxengo spectrum do you see little high frequency spikes pop up when that noise starts to come in? How close to your computer are you?

My first check as others have suggested is get a laptop on battery only, stand back a bit, turn the lights off and see if the noise is still there.

I definitely get a good bit of computer noise leaking in on note decay if I'm not actively trying to position myself better, it usually shows up aorund 3 to 5 kHz.

 

[hensh!n]

Yep Isolating is good like that.
- I've found with many pedals doing this works well too. Unplug power supply, put in battery, problem solved.
- Most stuff's just not isolated or shielded well when it comes to computers, phones. They always pick up noise and interference.

This is why I tend not to use pedals, there are too many points for fault in the signal chain. Especially if the pedals don't run on the exact same power.

When you play something like this and look at the voxengo spectrum do you see little high frequency spikes pop up when that noise starts to come in? How close to your computer are you?

My first check as others have suggested is get a laptop on battery only, stand back a bit, turn the lights off and see if the noise is still there.

I definitely get a good bit of computer noise leaking in on note decay if I'm not actively trying to position myself better, it usually shows up aorund 3 to 5 kHz.

I'm fairly close to my computer. But I've moved and didn't hear much of a difference. The "chatter" or decay effect seems to mainly be present on certain amps (Engl), and related to playing with specific parameters (Bright Cap, MV Cap, Treble, etc.). Using an Uberschall amp, I don't hear the noise although I'm not a big fan of the tone itself. I've gone back to Active pickups in this guitar as the Passive set I used prior had a prominent static hiss that seemed to bleed through depending on where my guitar was facing.

I'll take a look at the recorded audio files using Voxengo later and add my results, but I'm confident the noise is definitely in the 4-5k range. I notice this on my bass as well when I take it to practice. If I dip out 4k in the EQ, the noise is gone. Unfortunately for me, so is the tone. 3-4k adds a lot of detail in bass and guitar that is useful for my needs. But I did move the Axe to another location (farther away from my computer), and it seems to be an improvement with initial tests. I'll play around with it more and see what else can be done. I appreciate you and everyones replies though! So far it's been a better experience than on the FF.

 

[ExMachina]

Have you read the crackle topic on the axefx wiki, it could be a real thing.

 

[ExMachina]

Just wanted to come here and say that I appreciate the responses on this forum. Everyone was even tempered and wanted to investigate and just discuss the experiments even if they were flawed. I posted the same thing on fractal and the responses started reasonable and quickly became condescending. It's clear they didn't even read the post because a lot of them repeated my initial statement, I will not be going to that forum anymore. So thanks everyone.

 

[LostTheTone]

Just wanted to come here and say that I appreciate the responses on this forum. Everyone was even tempered and wanted to investigate and just discuss the experiments even if they were flawed. I posted the same thing on fractal and the responses started reasonable and quickly became condescending. It's clear they didn't even read the post because a lot of them repeated my initial statement, I will not be going to that forum anymore. So thanks everyone.

As the person who has made the least helpful suggestion, I accept your thanks on behalf of the thread

In a weird example of parallel evolution, I have had very similar experiences at the sadly renamed GearSlutz. Some of their forums are fine, and the guys in the electronic music, synth and sampler forum really helped me finding a sampler.

But every time I go anywhere near the other forums, people are deeeeeeeply unhelpful. Like, I asked a couple of questions about wireless mics and IEMs, about choosing the right frequency and placing antennas. First response? "Don't bother with wireless, wired mics were good enough for Roger Daltry". This person was impervious to any suggestion that Daltry's prime was literally 50 years ago, when wireless was hugely expensive, fragile and shit. And this is a thread where the first line said that I had just bought my spectacularly expensive new Sennheiser G4 mic and IEMs, and just wanted to make sure I was getting the best out of it.

SSO isn't always the best resource. And we don't always agree. There are plenty of times where people ask for a cheap amp and we all spend five pages saying that he should just get a Helix instead. But at least this is a forum where the default is trying to get a really nice high gain tone and people actually like modern technology.

 

[budda]

I read the thread, the issue with your experiment was pointed out and the 60hZ was explained by Matt (mains vs wall wart). There’s maybe one user who wasnt retail employee polite.

From what I can tell your question was answered. You also had Cliff himself reply.

If that’s enough to keep you off forums how are you on this one

FM3 Noise Spectra Problem?

First post here woo! I got my FM3 in February and it's awesome, but was curious about the noise I'm seeing in the spectra and if it was normal. The patch I'm using for my test is Input (gate off) -> filter (flat w/ 20 dB boost) -> output. The first measurement I have FM3 -> usb (no cable...

forum.fractalaudio.com

 

[ExMachina]

I read the thread, the issue with your experiment was pointed out and the 60hZ was explained by Matt (mains vs wall wart). There’s maybe one user who wasnt retail employee polite.

From what I can tell your question was answered. You also had Cliff himself reply.

If that’s enough to keep you off forums how are you on this one

FM3 Noise Spectra Problem?

First post here woo! I got my FM3 in February and it's awesome, but was curious about the noise I'm seeing in the spectra and if it was normal. The patch I'm using for my test is Input (gate off) -> filter (flat w/ 20 dB boost) -> output. The first measurement I have FM3 -> usb (no cable...

forum.fractalaudio.com

I mean no one was an outright dick, but the vibe I get is that it's just not really the type of place I want to spend a lot of time. Just seems like a cultish type place.

 

[budda]

I mean no one was an outright dick, but the vibe I get is that it's just not really the type of place I want to spend a lot of time. Just seems like a cultish type place.

Have you looked where you just posted that

 

[ExMachina]

Have you looked where you just posted that

Yea but this is my kind of cult, lolol. Can't. I just compliment you guys on peace.

 

[hensh!n]

Just seems like a cultish type place.

My exact thoughts. Not really the place to go if you're trying to learn.

 

[LostTheTone]

Yea but this is my kind of cult, lolol. Can't. I just compliment you guys on peace.

SSO isn't a cult, it's like the exact opposite of a cult.

It's a place where everyone has incredibly strong and opposite opinions about irrational things.

The only thing that everyone agrees about is that Pondy makes the best fucking necks in the world. Everything else is handbags at dawn.

 

[ExMachina]

SSO isn't a cult, it's like the exact opposite of a cult.

It's a place where everyone has incredibly strong and opposite opinions about irrational things.

The only thing that everyone agrees about is that Pondy makes the best fucking necks in the world. Everything else is handbags at dawn.

I think you need to buy a used prestige

 

[budda]

My exact thoughts. Not really the place to go if you're trying to learn.

You sure? The place where the creator and main testers all reply to questions frequently, beta testers and various users try to troubleshoot presets with posters having issues, and plenty of people taking time out of their day to explain things or provide clips and links isnt the place to learn about the products that company sells?

Yes there’s info on youtube but that isnt the same as posting a preset and getting help understanding things .

If you want a forum full of assholes, i know a place

 

[c7spheres]

I mean no one was an outright dick, but the vibe I get is that it's just not really the type of place I want to spend a lot of time. Just seems like a cultish type place.

I don't own an Axe Fx yet but I've noticed what you're saying to a certain extent. I think it's just like everywhere, but maybe more noticable there cause it's about the same stuff over and over again, plus nerds are more violent when in thier element too. jk.

- What you have is a bunch of people that aren't entirely familiar with the unit or the issues at hand chiming in, confusing the issues, then everyone else chiming in telling them they're wrong causing thread, confusion, chaos and bloat etc.Then people get snarky until an admin chimes in. I'd imaging it can be frustrating on both sides. I go there to learn stuff I can't figure out via manual or wiki and it can take a while to sift through it all. It's not that bad, imo.

- They handle it way better than most companies in general though, imo.

- All in all it's a great resource and eventually you start figuring out who know's what's up. It's not that complex a unit really it's just most people aren't audio engineers, don't know their terminology or the appropriate function or time/place to use certain things etc, so it seems complex. To an audio engineer this unit is like all the others; 'where is it and what'd you call it this time?' is the question.

- The most funny thing is the cult type defending of anything even slightly negative about the unit though. People get really charged about ANY form of bad on this unit. hehe. I've even seen Cliff get snarky with people, but hey, they're people. "hey everyone! Doug B here!. Did Rhett Shull really say that, OMG!. He makes vids about it. C'mon man, why do you care that much about his opinion on the UI? And since you do, why you gotta tell the world? Pfft. Doug seems really nice, tbh, but it's funny how 'social media' it seems to be sometimes. Now look at my hypocrite A$$ talking about Doug B! haha. "did Doug B really say that?' heh. : )

 

[LostTheTone]

I think it's just like everywhere, but maybe more noticable there cause it's about the same stuff over and over again, plus nerds are more violent when in thier element too

Oh man, if you want to see some examples of this go check out the Bare Knuckle Pickup forums. Not that people are being bad, as such, but the most common threads are a new person saying "What pickup in this guitar?". And the only people who hang out there a lot have been there since before anyone had heard of BKP, and they are absolutely certain of everything and kinda don't understand why you need to ask.

 

[hensh!n]

You sure? The place where the creator and main testers all reply to questions frequently, beta testers and various users try to troubleshoot presets with posters having issues, and plenty of people taking time out of their day to explain things or provide clips and links isnt the place to learn about the products that company sells?

Yes there’s info on youtube but that isnt the same as posting a preset and getting help understanding things .

If you want a forum full of assholes, i know a place

I mean if short condescending replies are your thing, then be my guest.

 

[budda]

I mean if short condescending replies are your thing, then be my guest.

Having been there a few years, that is generally not my experience .