Updated to FW 9.01...Getting Really Strange Noise.

J

jshirkey

Experienced
I upgraded my FW last night. Tonight I started to hear a strange sound coming through my monitors. It's a predictable, short burst of what sounds to me like static (or at least static-like) that lasts for not even half a second. It repeats every 5 seconds or so. It's relatively faint, but it's terribly annoying. It's definitely not normal. (Aside: If any of you have ever used those air fresheners that randomly shoot out a burst of spray, it kind of sounds like that--only not quite as loud and startling.)

I started trouble shooting everything--my computer, and esp. my monitors. I've been able to pinpoint the sound to the Axe Fx II. The sound comes through even when I'm not playing. It's present on every preset, so it's not some strange effect I have turned on in one preset, but not in others.

I have no idea if it's something stupid and/or inadvertent that I did by accident while fiddling around with Axe Edit. Or is it something glitchy that occurred when I installed the new FW? Is it (gulp) a hardware problem with my Axe FX?

I could use some more help troubleshooting to pinpoint the cause and hopefully find a solution.

Thanks for any help.
 
Do you ever get the sound when there's no guitar cable plugged into your Axe-FX8?
 
Hi jshirkey
Do you have a global noise gate, or a noise gate setup on all presets? That can sometimes juuuust be triggered and cause that type of thing.
Thanks
Pauly
 
Can you hear it in headphones with PC and monitors turned off? Also with different guitar?

First thing that comes to mind would be check noise gate settings.
 
I had a preset go corrupt several firmwares back after an update with a similar noise . Does this happen on all presets or only one? What is the CPU of the preset, or presets were this occurs?
 
paranoid said:
I had a preset go corrupt several firmwares back after an update with a similar noise . Does this happen on all presets or only one? What is the CPU of the preset, or presets were this occurs?
Click to expand...

All presets. CPU tends to be in the 70s.
 
pauly said:
Hi jshirkey
Do you have a global noise gate, or a noise gate setup on all presets? That can sometimes juuuust be triggered and cause that type of thing.
Thanks
Pauly
Click to expand...

I never set up a global noise gate, but I just checked the input gate, fiddled with a few parameters, and it didn't change anything.
 
maxdown said:
Can you hear it in headphones with PC and monitors turned off? Also with different guitar?

First thing that comes to mind would be check noise gate settings.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I have a pair of headphones around anymore that I can use, but I'll dig around. I may have a 1/4 adapter I can use with a set of earbuds.

The sound occurs even when a guitar is not plugged into the Axe Fx.
 
Rex said:
Do you ever get the sound when there's no guitar cable plugged into your Axe-FX8?
Click to expand...

Yes. It's constant--with or without a guitar plugged in. Each burst is about 3 seconds apart.

It seems to be interrupted while I'm changing presets. As soon as the new preset loads, it starts again.
 
If you haven’t yet, unplug your USB from computer and check for the noise also share your computer OS, please.
 
I Have had this before.
I put it down to a corrupt preset. (preset was fine before though) I think I just imported a block from a differnt preset and somehow the axe didnt like it at all.
I took note of all the blocks and settings, then erased the whole preset, switched the unit off and then on again, and built it up from scratch and voila - it was fine.
 
bradlake said:
If you haven’t yet, unplug your USB from computer and check for the noise also share your computer OS, please.
Click to expand...

I unplugged USB at the Axe end and the computer end. The noise persists.
Mac OS 10.12.6 Sierra

Also: I reinstalled FW 9.01, and then I reverted to Quantum 8.x. Nothing has changed.

Thanks for your help.
 
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imograss said:
I notice the same little burst of static as well since the update. It's faint but consistent.
Click to expand...

Mine really isn't all that faint. I guess it is if I'm playing--then it's surely drowned out. But if nothing else is coming out of my monitors, this sound is enough to torture you in just a minute or so. It's the sonic version of water boarding.
 
54321pj said:
I Have had this before.
I put it down to a corrupt preset. (preset was fine before though) I think I just imported a block from a differnt preset and somehow the axe didnt like it at all.
I took note of all the blocks and settings, then erased the whole preset, switched the unit off and then on again, and built it up from scratch and voila - it was fine.
Click to expand...

When this happened to you, was every preset affected? I can try deleting the preset I originally had loaded when I first heard the problem.


I just compared the level of the noise I'm hearing through different presets. When I went to a preset in the 80s (I think it may have been Hell's Glockenspiels) the frequency of the noise changed; the noise was higher in pitch slightly. I'm now on preset 25 (Vibrato-King), and the noise is quite faint, but it's still there. Originally I was on preset 6 (Top Boost).
 
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Actually Im not 100% sure, It was one of those situations where-by when it happened I just went into auto pilot to try and source the problem, and fix it ASAP... Although something in the back of my mind is telling me it wasnt that simple, it could have been a situation where-by all presets which used the block I imported (think it was a drive block but not 100%) had the problem... Even though they were fine before... :confused:
Either-way, erasing and completely building the preset from scratch sorted it out... I do remember it being a Pain at the time because the preset was pretty loaded with small deep parameter adjustments.
 
54321pj said:
Either-way, erasing and completely building the preset from scratch sorted it out... I do remember it being a Pain at the time because the preset was pretty loaded with small deep parameter adjustments.
Click to expand...

When I erased the preset (using Axe Edit), the noise stopped. As soon as I toggled to a different preset, it resumed.

I just want to make sure I know what I'm doing. I need to erase the preset, then turn off the Axe Fx. Restart it. (Will my preset still be empty?) Then rebuild the preset from scratch?
 
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