RFI or EMI or?

S

Spaceace7

Member
Hello All.

Hoping for some assistance. I'm having an issue when playing or recording with the AxeFx III, listen to attached audio file.

Doesn't matter the guitar, single coil or humbucker. Tried 4 different guitars.
Tried multiple cables, no difference.
Close or far from the monitor/computer/Axe FX III.

This example is with a strat, but happens with humbuckers as well. All the lights and other devices in the house turned off. I'm about 9 feet away from the computer/monitor.

I don't know if this is RFI or EMI or something else? Just trying to see if there is anything I can buy that would eliminate the issue?

I hear this oscillation on the recording. It dies down and dies out with the string vibration until it stops.

Chain is: AxeFX III- RME UCX - Computer via usb to Cubase.

The strange thing is, I can disconnect the Outs on the Axe FX from the RME and only listen to the audio from the Axe Fx headphone jack and the RFI/EMI is still there before it ever gets to the sound card to record.

All my guitars are professionally set up so its not me trying poor wiring. Cables are good quality.

Can anyone clarify what type of noise this is and is there a soultion for this type of issue? Power conditioners, hum busters products etc?

The npose gate on the Axe dosent get rid of the issue as you can heat it oce it becomes louder than the guitar sound as the note dies down.

I really just want to keep the sound off the recordings, particularly on quieter part where you can hear it along with the notes.

I've read a lot of posts and exactly what this is, is not clear to me.

Appreciate any feedback.


Thanks.
 

Attachments

I had a 15 year old Samsung monitor that was awful for emi that the Axe-FX II picked up like radar.

I replaced the monitor with something more modern and my problems disappeared.
 
Thank you both for the feedback. 1. Yes I've turned the monitor off and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I did move away from the computer /monitor to almost 10 feet away and that's where I recorded the clips. 2. Monitor is fairly modern as well.

The thing that gets me is with only: Guitar into AxeFx out to headphones, no signal coming to the audio card or computer, I still get the same noise. So it seems like something is effecting the Axe. If it sounds like electrical interference it seems to be effecting the axe internally?

I don't recall having the issue be this severe in the past, don't hear it much on older sound clips I've made. And nothing new has been added to the music room. The only change I've made is the update to Fw 27. That's when I started noticing it more, but that doesn't make any sense to me, not from a firmware update?

Appreciate the Furman suggestion, will consider that if I can find an inexpensive version to at least try. I like the idea that it effects both EMI & RFI if it works, I can try a few things but I don't want to keep buying things to find they don't work for my situation and wasting money.

Has anyone tried this? Looks like it may effect the type of sounds I'm encountering:
ISP Technologies Hum Extractor + Decimator G Noise Reduction System
 
jeffgoobs said:
Do you have a second guitar to test with to determine whether or not the guitar itself is the issue?
Click to expand...
He said he tried 5 different guitars, same issue.

OP did you try unplugging the guitar and everything else from the Axe, and listening through headphones plugged directly into it? That would tell you if the noise is affecting the Axe itself.

Does it happen if you take your Axe to a friend's house?
It's possible the power in your house is dirty.
Are you by any chance close to a radio or TV tower? Those can emit interference that gets into everything.

I wouldn't expect the "filtering" in an inexpensive plug bar to be very effective. Maybe talk to a local sound company, see if you can rent their most effective power conditioner for a day, see if that helps.

I've never used any of the ISP devices, and i see they have some less expensive ones now, but I doubt those are as good as their bigger models. One of them might be worth a try, best one you can afford, but IMO you're much better off reducing the noise at its source than trying to filter it out.
 
he buzzing sounds like normal Strat single-coil buzz. But on the off-chance it's something more: are you using a Windows PC? If so, are you using a glass case? A GPU?

You said you tried it without the Axe connected to the computer, but was the computer still on? If so, try it with your computer and monitor completely shut off.

PCs, especially gaming PCs, are usually a nightmare for audio, especially electric guitars. GPUs and motherboards spit out a ton of EM interference, and because they're usually built piece by piece they don't have to adhere to FCC regulations regarding harmful interference. All the pretty LEDs put out a ton of noise too, and your pickups will hear all of it. Glass cases may as well not exist when it comes to blocking the noise, too.

One of the many reasons I just stick with Macs these days for recording is they have excellent shielding for this stuff (not perfect, just less headaches than with PCs for me personally).

If you still get the noise with your computer and monitor turned off completely, then it's probably something else in your environment. Bad electrical wiring in the house can sometimes cause noise like that.
 
Does the noise go away when you turn down your guitar volume or unplug the guitar cable from the Axe III? If so, it's coming in through your guitar and/or cable.
 
How is the wiring in your house?how close are you to transmission towers or cell RC radio towers? I would check for noise on your main power outlets. I had one hospital that had 9VDC coming across their hot to neutral. Played heck with troubleshooting some lab equipment until I measured the outlets. Just a thought. If you don’t know or have proper gear to check have a pro do it. You can be damaged if you mess up.
 
In the worst case, there can be a noisy transformer in the alley, or sometimes (not very often) there's no ground rod at the meter box, or the wires to that ground rod have loosened up or come completely off! Many good idea's above as well on whats causing your noise floor to be higher than it should be. Good Luck in finding it!
 
spikey said:
In the worst case, there can be a noisy transformer in the alley, or sometimes (not very often) there's no ground rod at the meter box, or the wires to that ground rod have loosened up or come completely off! Many good idea's above as well on whats causing your noise floor to be higher than it should be. Good Luck in finding it!
Click to expand...
It is actually more common than people think. We have power companies routinely monitored a manufacture g location to only find out transformers are causing computer issues. Naturally they never pay for any damages caused by their faulty equipment. I see house issues all the time. I am not a huge fan of some of these new connectors being used in homes. Good luck tracking the problem down!
 
Thank you all for the replies. I've been trying some of the various suggestions. So far no change. I think I'll do as suggested and rent a furman unit with EMI/RFI functions and see if that helps this issue.

I've realized that while I've been focusing on this hum and buzz issue, I hadn't noticed that my Axe patches all sound really thin and distorted even on cleaner patches?

I've had an Axe and a Kemper for a long time, no issue with either whatsoever.

I'd updated to FW 27 for some time and have been loving it.
The Kemper still sounds the same, no change to its tone.

Im going to start another thread on this tone issue I guess. I'm really at the point its kind of unusable and it doesn't "feel" like it did after FW 27. It felt more like a real amp feel.
Now its thin and anemic.

I've optimized all the input and output routings from the Axe to my sound card. Still sounds wrong.

Maybe something happened in the chain when I was trying to solve the buzz issue? But I didnt change much.

Again Thanks all for your suggestions.

If I cant get this fixed I at the point of selling this, which I've never wanted to do. I love the Axe and just want it to work like it did.

Best wishes
 
Spaceace7 said:
Thank you all for the replies. I've been trying some of the various suggestions. So far no change. I think I'll do as suggested and rent a furman unit with EMI/RFI functions and see if that helps this issue.
Click to expand...
Those types of interference come in "over the air". That means thru your guitar or cable - they act as antennas...

I'm not sure how a power strip is going up reduce those things. Unless you hear them even with no guitar or cable plugged into the Axe Fx?

Have you tried turning on the Noise Reducer mode in the Input block Gate?
 
Spaceace7 said:
Thank you all for the replies. I've been trying some of the various suggestions. So far no change. I think I'll do as suggested and rent a furman unit with EMI/RFI functions and see if that helps this issue.

I've realized that while I've been focusing on this hum and buzz issue, I hadn't noticed that my Axe patches all sound really thin and distorted even on cleaner patches?

I've had an Axe and a Kemper for a long time, no issue with either whatsoever.

I'd updated to FW 27 for some time and have been loving it.
The Kemper still sounds the same, no change to its tone.

Im going to start another thread on this tone issue I guess. I'm really at the point its kind of unusable and it doesn't "feel" like it did after FW 27. It felt more like a real amp feel.
Now its thin and anemic.

I've optimized all the input and output routings from the Axe to my sound card. Still sounds wrong.

Maybe something happened in the chain when I was trying to solve the buzz issue? But I didnt change much.

Again Thanks all for your suggestions.

If I cant get this fixed I at the point of selling this, which I've never wanted to do. I love the Axe and just want it to work like it did.

Best wishes
Click to expand...
Contact support and arrange to have the unit evaluated/serviced.
 
Spaceace7 said:
Thank you all for the replies. I've been trying some of the various suggestions. So far no change. I think I'll do as suggested and rent a furman unit with EMI/RFI functions and see if that helps this issue.

I've realized that while I've been focusing on this hum and buzz issue, I hadn't noticed that my Axe patches all sound really thin and distorted even on cleaner patches?

I've had an Axe and a Kemper for a long time, no issue with either whatsoever.

I'd updated to FW 27 for some time and have been loving it.
The Kemper still sounds the same, no change to its tone.

Im going to start another thread on this tone issue I guess. I'm really at the point its kind of unusable and it doesn't "feel" like it did after FW 27. It felt more like a real amp feel.
Now its thin and anemic.

I've optimized all the input and output routings from the Axe to my sound card. Still sounds wrong.

Maybe something happened in the chain when I was trying to solve the buzz issue? But I didnt change much.

Again Thanks all for your suggestions.

If I cant get this fixed I at the point of selling this, which I've never wanted to do. I love the Axe and just want it to work like it did.

Best wishes
Click to expand...
I would start by reloading the firmware. There have been (extremely rare) instances of some soft corruption. Try that if all electrical solutions fail.
 
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