Mains interference / Earthing problem (1 Viewer)

[kings lead hat]

Also trying plugging everything into the same socket.
Sometimes works.
Moving cables around does the odd time, too.

"If at first you don't succeed, try fucking everything" .............used to be my motto

 

[Ex-User (5762)]

i'm having this problem too.

i was using PT LE 7.3.1 on my dell PC and it worked fine. real old workhorse, 512 MB RAM and a 5+ yr old hard disk that came with the PC.

i got a new (dell) laptop and tried recording a semi-acoustic direct in through the mbox - got this mad interference noise coming through - sounded like an 'earthing' problem so i assumed my guitar was busted. the noise went away when i touched the metal end of the lead that was going into the guitar so i thought it was either the lead or the guitar.

came on thumped and here you guys are talking about this stuff. so i went back in, tried the same thing again with the power cable out of the laptop and the noise went away. still a really really slight hum there which also disappears when i touch the metal end of the lead going into the guitar but nothing to cry about - would be nice if that was gone too...

@AOB - will getting an earth loop isolator get rid of the residual slight hum? or does it sound like it's the guitar or leads? and by 'balanced cables', does this refer to quality if leads used with guitars too? i'm using "ok" ones... if yes, any recommendations?

thanks.

 

[Ex-User (5762)]

for problems configuring yr dell machine to work with pro tools LE (note versions 6, 7 & 7.3 are all buggy with dells - you'll get memory read/write errors - go all the way to 7.3.1 and it stops), i found this guide very useful... http://duc.digidesign.com/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=802377&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=7&fpart=1#802377

i did everything except the BIOS changes and it worked a treat. even got it running fine on a real old desktop as mentioned above.

 

[aoboa]

Earth loop isolator will get rid of any dc on your analogue lines - so if the hum or squeel is a constant pitch or tone (be it high or low frequency) an isolator will remove it.

Dell's seem to be terrible for this. It's likely that it's the Dell power supply but what also could be likely is that the battery charging circuitry could also be causing the problem. The simple fact that there is no noise when the power supply isn't connected will tell you that it's one of these two issues.

 

[Ex-User (5762)]

so i had a pretty fucked up afternoon. to cut a long stroy short... i'm returning my new dell laptop which i got just this week and getting a mac instead. i got a top spec dell laptop and PT still has problems with it - i got even memory read/write errors after stopping all non-essential services with every possible configuration of hardware buffer sizes etc. apparently dell desktops are not as bad as their laptops for this... so bummed out right now...

 

[Umfufu]

Have this problem when I play back Cubase recordings through my Tannoy active monitors.
I just keep the laptop (yes, it's a Dell!) plugged in when I'm recording & disconnect the power supply for playback.

Problem solved........well, problem ignored, really.