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Please help me kill this hum.

Asked 59 day 16 h | Viewed 318 times | Updated 33 day 23 h |

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Gravatar photo steve

I have a hum in my recording studio, and I can't find where it is coming from.  After unplugging and removing any possible device, I still have it.  At the simplest form I have:

- MacBook Pro (unplugged from the wall, working on battery for testing purpose)

- M-Audio Fast Track Pro (connected via USB without any power adapter)

- A good guitar cable

- A guitar or bass.

So I don't have anything plugged in the wall.

The hum is bigger on my Fender Jazz bass.  It's softer in a cheap bass.  It's a little bit softer on a Statocaster single coil.   Softer on the Strato humbucker but still there. The noise is inexistent if I select both single coils.

We could walk around, me with the Mac, the interface and headphones, the bassist following behind connected to the interface, and anywhere we would go (in the building, even outdoor), we would still get that hum.  Except at home or in my car (but that's not the most comfortable recording studio I have seen).

Anyone have a clue?

Thanks!

4 Answers

  1. Answered: 57 day 15 h (0) | Permalink

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    Gravatar photosydneygalbraith

    It sounds like an interference issue with your pickups. Try other instruments, cables, etc. or try introducing a transformer between the instrument and the interface. The other option might be to use a passive DI instead of the instrument input of your interface. You may simply have a bad circuit on there.

  2. Answered: 35 day 2 h (0) | Permalink

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    Gravatar photoguest

    Do a sientific analysis. Use a different cord and see if that does the trick. If the cord is not the problem maker, try using a different sound interface. If that doesn't do it, you may have an interference problem in your studio. Try turning off all electric devices (like phones, unneeded amps, keyboards.) around you, excepting lights, fans, etc.

    My expectation is that your M-Audio Fast Track Pro is damaged.

    Try one of the babies: http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/FireWireSolo.html

    Awesome stuff!

    HTH!

  3. Answered: 29 day 6 h (0) | Permalink

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    Gravatar photoSoundnerd

    I would try a DI with a ground lift.  Does your bass have a battery in it? 

  4. Answered: 42 day 17 h (0) | Permalink

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    Gravatar photoguest

    For the records, I have bought Electro Harmonix's Hum Debugger.  Wonderful.  The hum is completely gone.

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