Buzzzzzzzzz. Won't go away.

ndog1980 · #1 12-17-2014, 08:27 PM

So. I've got an mbox 2, and a Shure SM-57 mic, and a Hosa XLR cable -- http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hosa-Pro-Ser...item4d1ba26f4f running through Garage Band.

With some tweaking, I can get a pretty darned good sound with my electric with a 1/4" connection, but the XLR (mic) on the acoustic guitar to the mbox has this constant low level buzzzzzzzzzz. I can get closer to the mic, turn the gain down as far as possible, and it's still annoyingly there.

Any ideas?

Cheers!

KevWind · #2 12-18-2014, 08:43 AM

Often a low level "hum" is a bad ground somewhere

If so, it is likely in one of three places

#1 the XLR connection on the mic
# 2 one of XLR connectors on the cable
# the XLR connection on the M box

So just start a process of step elimination diagnosis which means you need access to a few items either yours if you have them or a friends that has a system or locate a brick and mortar store and see if you can bring your mic and cable to test

Try a different cable Try the mic into some other XLR connection like a PA or something .

Ty Ford · #3 12-18-2014, 10:28 AM

#4 the preamp in the mbox doesn't have enough guts to raise the level of the mic without bringing up noise. The sm57 is a close work mic. It requires a lot gain. Is there a pad on the mbox that you have engaged that's requiring more preamp gain?

#5 there's a light on somewhere nearby using an SCR dimmer and the dimmer is not all the way up.

#6 Try a different mic.

#7 Try a different mic cable.

Regards,

Ty Ford

ndog1980 · #4 12-18-2014, 11:23 AM

Awesome. You guys are always so helpful. I'll do all of the above. Cheers!

Gorquin · #5 12-18-2014, 04:54 PM

If nothing else works you may try a wild card and take the USB power from another source.

The other suggestions are very reasonable and I would start there especially if you have a dimmer….which could be in the same OR another room but might be on the same circuit breaker.

rick-slo · #6 12-18-2014, 05:02 PM

If a ground fault low level hum it will be at (about) 60 hertz. You can also try touching various components of the recording chain and seeing if the hum decreases or increases. One common power supply for everything may help.

ndog1980 · #7 12-20-2014, 06:54 PM

Not sure if this helps, but it's more of a hiss than a hum.

ndog1980 · #8 12-20-2014, 07:33 PM

Turns out that one of the XLR inputs gets more hiss than the other with all settings the same. I've tried multiple cords on both, so it's not a cord issue. Any ideas on how to fix that?

MikeBmusic · #9 12-22-2014, 10:22 AM

Are you using a laptop by chance? If so, unplug the wallwart and run off batteries and see if that helps.

ndog1980 · #10 01-18-2015, 01:55 PM

Again recording acoustic guitar with mic. All settings are the same in GarageBand and on mBox 2. I double and triple checked this.

I can get input 1 to sound great, BUT INPUT 2 IS SUPER QUIET. When I turn up the mix level on the mBox, it sounds very quiet.

The real problem isn't the buzz or the hum. Those have just resulted from me trying to turn up the volume on a seemingly defective input.

How do I fix this input? Do I need to take it in for repair? To who? Any idea how much this will cost?

Should I scrap the mBox and just get a new unit???

Thanks in advance!

Ty Ford · #11 01-18-2015, 02:12 PM

and you've tried the 7 steps Kev and I suggested?

Regards,

Ty Ford

ndog1980 · #12 01-18-2015, 04:50 PM

Forgot about that post Ty.

#1 the XLR connection on the mic - CAN'T BE THIS; WORKS IN INPUT 1.
#2 one of XLR connectors on the cable - TRIED ANOTHER XLR CABLE - SAME RESULTS; ALSO THE CABLE WORKS IN INPUT 1.
#3 the XLR connection on the M box - NOT SURE HOW TO TEST THIS. SEEMS LIKE THIS MIGHT BE THE PROB, SINCE XLRS WORK ON CABLES.
#4 the preamp in the mbox doesn't have enough guts to raise the level of the mic without bringing up noise. The sm57 is a close work mic. It requires a lot gain. Is there a pad on the mbox that you have engaged that's requiring more preamp gain? - NO PAD ENGAGED.
#5 there's a light on somewhere nearby using an SCR dimmer and the dimmer is not all the way up. - NO.
#6 Try a different mic. - HAVEN'T DONE THIS. WILL TRY.
#7 Try a different mic cable. - HAVE DONE.

Seems like the problem, based on the above, is with the XLR in the mbox.

Same questions still in place:

How do I fix this input? Do I need to take it in for repair? To who? Any idea how much this will cost?

Should I scrap the mBox and just get a new unit???

Thanks in advance, all!

Joseph Hanna · #13 01-19-2015, 09:02 AM

The MBox comes with an interim "software" mixer. Of course the intent is to monitor through that software first to keep latency at a minimum. It has (among other things) an input and output gain structure. I'm not entirely sure how and where it gets configured inside of Garage.

It's possible it's a hardware problem (M-box) but certainly it would be very, very low on my list of suspicions. The M-Box 2 is a strong performer and generally highly underrated. The pre amps are (at its price point) stellar and although I don't have the specs in front of me enough gain to ramp up am SM57 to the stratosphere. As I said it's possible it's the hardware but it's not possible that the M-box is an inferior design that needs replacing. Before I threw the baby out with the bath water I'd look into the Pro Tools suppled mini app software mixer.

Kip Carter · #14 01-19-2015, 04:57 PM

My configuration is totally different from yours but I ended up swapping out my interface to the computer to get rid of the hum I had. I was tempted to buy some hum killing devices but when looked at it and found the cost of getting a slightly better interface was about the same I figured I would go with the interface and if that didn't work I could always return it.

Well it worked like a champ.. Zero hum and only swapped out the interface. Then...took the old one and found that I could use it with my laptop for a portal recording studio on the run. So it was a win win!

ndog1980 · #15 02-21-2015, 09:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joseph Hanna

The MBox comes with an interim "software" mixer. Of course the intent is to monitor through that software first to keep latency at a minimum. It has (among other things) an input and output gain structure. I'm not entirely sure how and where it gets configured inside of Garage.

It's possible it's a hardware problem (M-box) but certainly it would be very, very low on my list of suspicions. The M-Box 2 is a strong performer and generally highly underrated. The pre amps are (at its price point) stellar and although I don't have the specs in front of me enough gain to ramp up am SM57 to the stratosphere. As I said it's possible it's the hardware but it's not possible that the M-box is an inferior design that needs replacing. Before I threw the baby out with the bath water I'd look into the Pro Tools suppled mini app software mixer.

Thanks, Joseph. What do you mean by "Pro Tools suppled mini app software mixer"?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kip Carter

My configuration is totally different from yours but I ended up swapping out my interface to the computer to get rid of the hum I had. I was tempted to buy some hum killing devices but when looked at it and found the cost of getting a slightly better interface was about the same I figured I would go with the interface and if that didn't work I could always return it.

Well it worked like a champ.. Zero hum and only swapped out the interface. Then...took the old one and found that I could use it with my laptop for a portal recording studio on the run. So it was a win win!

Kip - thanks. What do you mean by interface? Are you talking your DAW?