software

A while ago I was plagued with a really noisy setup, and I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. I checked every cable I use, tested all of my pedals, checked my pickup wiring, and was contemplating trying some sort of custom sheilding inside my guitar . . . . eventually I figured out that my guitar was only noisy when the computer was turned on, so I was trying to find a way to put distance between my guitar, amp, and computer (not easy when trying to use my computer to record) thinking that the fans or chips were causing some sort of EM interference. Well, the other day I had a little flash of insight.
It turns out that the cheap power supply on my computer is really dirty, constantly spiking and dipping . . . so I moved it to a different wall outlet than my guitar amp. SILENCE!! Hopefully, if there is anyone else out there with the same problem, they'll read this and be able to quiet their amp down too.

Yeah, power makes a big difference in your noise floor when recording. Have you considered getting a power conditioner for your recording setup?

I have it on a surge protector, but the only power regulators that I can think of are those big Uninterruptable Power Supplies and they're pretty expensive . . . are there other ones that I don't know about?

I had the same problem. The cheapest work-around is to run your computer on the battery power during the recording cycle. When I did that, all the noise went away and the result is crystal clear sound. The only drawback is that we can only get about 3 hours of useful recording time before the battery runs out of gas.

However, that assumes you have a battery powered laptop, not a desktop PC.

Luckily, I haven't had problems with this computer interference besides the old monitor on with single coils lol.


Originally Posted by SabeI had the same problem. The cheapest work-around is to run your computer on the battery power during the recording cycle. When I did that, all the noise went away and the result is crystal clear sound. The only drawback is that we can only get about 3 hours of useful recording time before the battery runs out of gas.

However, that assumes you have a battery powered laptop, not a desktop PC.

Assuming of course that he uses a laptop

I had the inverse occuring... I purposely put my PC on a differnt breaker hoping to rule out that mid-freq spike... Nada....

I then put it on the same circuit as my guitar rig, and silence... Wierd how that works out... I AM running my entire guitar rig through a conditioner, but not my PC...

Glad to hear yours worked out....

Allen