DP-24SD Inputs Quiet Enough for Acoustic Guitar

[Michael-M]

The more I've learned . . .

Talking with my rep at Sweetwater about getting the Morley Hum Exterminator and he said I would need one for each piece of gear I have plugged in and inner-connected. Well, that adds up to about $600, not something I want to afford right now. He provided another option, a single unit with multiple plugs, but it runs $700.

He also indicated that since the DP-24SD does not have a ground pin the Exterminator most likely would not work on it. In addition, you also can't have one Exterminator and plug a power conditioner into that.

Really at a loss here. I can't change the electrical in my apartment. I really should not spend $600 - $700 right now on Hum Exterminators.

I think I'm going to have to revert to the computer and AudioBox. The same issue doesn't exist since the only thing plugged in to a socket is the computer. Better yet, use my DP-008EX on batteries.

 

[Michael-M]

So BazzBass, how do you know that?

 

[-mjk-]

The first thing I would so is isolate everything from the ground, no matter what it is. If everything is clean you can take off the ground isolators 1 x 1 and find out where the issue it. USB cables are notorious for ground loops btw. I have a USB isolator and it works well.

 

[BazzBass]

So BazzBass, how do you know that?

I said don't ask lol

trying to record bass at midnight in my bedroom, I switched every connection trying to find the cause, then noticed the dimmer switch,which, by the way,I never ever turned down lol.

 

[David Porter]

Michael - Have you tried *radical* isolation? Unplug and turn off EVERYTHING except the DP. Use headphones... is the noise still there?

Even a monitor screen can cause noise. The power supply for your computer can cause noise.

 

[Michael-M]

-mjk-,
Is this the kind of isolator you mean? I couldn't find any mono ones.

 

[Michael-M]

David,
I did that today. I have two power conditioners, so I moved all the gear to just one of them, and unplugged the one I am no longer using. Figured it might help.

The guitar preamp I use is the Zoom A3 which I was running on A/C, I switched to using only batteries.

Computer isn't connected; only need to do that for file transfer.

Having the monitors connected doesn't cause any buzzing.

Doing these things seems to have helped, as I'm not getting the mega buzz I was prior.

I still hear a good amount of hiss in the headphones/monitors if I turn everything up to max (in Rec mode), but I'm sure this is just what's created internally. (?) As far as I can tell it's not transferring to the recording.

A lot of my solo guitar compositions have space between the notes, and I can't stand hearing anything but quiet in those spaces. Hence my pursuit of buzz squashing. It's not as critical on my multi-instrument music.

On a side note: my Model 12 was sent in today for servicing, channels 1 and 2 no longer receive signal coming into the combo jacks. It's going up on Reverb once I get it back.

 

[BazzBass]

best way to get rid of noise in the silence between guitar parts is to use a noise gate. Set the threshold so it only passes actual guitar playing. Less than a hundred bucks.

 

[-mjk-]

-mjk-,
Is this the kind of isolator you mean? I couldn't find any mono ones.

Sorry but I cannot tell anything about it from that photo.

I got this: https://ifi-audio.com/products/idefender-plus/

There are a number of other products they make that are worth checking out.

 

[Saxomohawh]

If nothing, except for power and headphones, is connected to the Tascam. Do you still have this hum/noise? If so, it can not be a ground loop because no ground is connected. Then it must be air born disturbances. I dont think you shall buy more gear until you have checked this.

I should add that I am not a professional sound engineer, but I am an engineer by occupation.

 

[Michael-M]

BazzBass - "best way to get rid of noise in the silence between guitar parts is to use a noise gate."

I've always had trouble with those; never been able to figure out the right setting so the guitar doesn't sound clipped. Any suggestions?

-mjk- "Sorry but I cannot tell anything about it from that photo."

The one I referenced is for using on cables, between gear at the point of connection. I looked at the USB one you referenced, and I think I'll get one of those anyway. I have two different applications for trying an isolator; 1) connecting gear to the DP-24SD, and 2) connecting a USB AudioBox to the computer.

 

[BazzBass]

I have the MXR Noise Gate, works well on bass, I found it very easy to dial it in.

 

[Michael-M]

Saxomohawh - "If nothing, except for power and headphones, is connected to the Tascam. Do you still have this hum/noise?"

No, not in this scenario. But when I plugged in any other gear that has a ground pin the buzz would happen. I pretty much solved the issue by 1) using only one power conditioner, and 2) running my Zoom A3 on batteries rather than A/C.

BazzBass - "I have the MXR Noise Gate . . ."

I think I'll give that one a try then.

 

[Saxomohawh]

@Michael: Do you need to plug in anything with a ground plug to record? You don't need to be connected to the computer to record. If only the mic is connected, and headphones, the problem should be solved.

The Tascam has a noise gate if you would want/need one.

 

[Michael-M]

@Saxomohawh
No, I don't. I changed my setup (for acoustic guitar) to the DP and a Zoom A3 running on batteries. I have reached the quiet place of happiness!

I connect to the computer only when I'm transferring files.

With the old setup I tried the DP noise gate and to get to a suitable noise reduction I had to nearly max out the settings, which of course made things a lot worse.

With the new setup the noise gate is not even needed.

 

[Saxomohawh]

Sounds great! I think the built in noise gate works quite well. You need to spend some time experimenting with the settings to understand it. But if it is not needed, better to not use it of course.

 

[-mjk-]

The noise gate doesn't remove the noise from the signal of course. It only closes the input when the threshold is low enough. Presumably the desired signal is loud enough to mask the noise but it's still there, underlying the desired audio. I normally use RX to try to remove the noise in the track because it can cause intermod issues with the rest of the mix.