High pitched whistle

R

rjspurling

Member
Hi there, I recently bought an AX8 and love it. However, I am experiencing a high pitched whistle. This occurs on all presets, with varying volume.

My setup is basic:
Guitar -> AX8 -> output (speakers, headphones, or into my recording interface).

I have tried changing the following:
-Two different guitar cables (both high quality).
-Using different outputs and different XLR/TRS cables.
-Different speakers and headphones.
-Different guitars.
-Different power sources.

Here is an audio clip. I have turned the noise gate off. You can hear that the whistle is still present when a note is being played. At the end of the clip, I also turn the guitar volume to 0, and the whistle can still be heard.


I noticed if I turn the "In 1 (Instrument) pad" in the I/O menu from 0.0 db to 18.0dB, the whistle is slightly reduced, but it's still present.

Has anyone else had this issue? The whistle has a slight pulsating rhythm to it.

Cheers,
Rob.
 
philipacamaniac said:
Sounds like computer CPU EMI, have you had the AX8 USB cable plugged in during your testing?
Click to expand...
Hi Philip,

Thanks for the reply. The whistle is still present whether I have the USB cable connected or not. I have tried a completely separate room, with nothing but the AX8, wall outlet, and some headphones. The sound is the same.

Cheers,
Rob.
 
yek said:
Tried the ground loop switch at the rear?
Click to expand...

Hi Yek,

Yes I have. No difference is made. I've also realised that the slight pulsating nature of the whistle follows the tap tempo, which may suggest that the sound is originating from the AX8 internally.
 
Is the noise present without the guitar plugged in? BTW, listened to some of your other tracks on SoundCloud. Very good stuff!
 
nicolasrivera said:
does it do it with out any blocks on the grid?
Click to expand...

Hi Nicolas,

When I remove all blocks, and simply have the input connected to the output, I can still detect the whistling, but I have to max out the output levels and volume to hear it because it's really quiet. Once I introduce an amp block, the whistling becomes easily detectable.
 
rjspurling said:
Hi Nicolas,

When I remove all blocks, and simply have the input connected to the output, I can still detect the whistling, but I have to max out the output levels and volume to hear it because it's really quiet. Once I introduce an amp block, the whistling becomes easily detectable.
Click to expand...

ok, i tried that this mornin with my unit and it is dead quiet, so pretty sure something is wrong with yours.
 
Email Fractal support. From what you describe it is AX8-generated CPU noise on the AX8 input which shouldn't be there (mine is dead quiet).
 
philipacamaniac said:
Email Fractal support. From what you describe it is AX8-generated CPU noise on the AX8 input which shouldn't be there (mine is dead quiet).
Click to expand...

I had my AX8 replaced, and the replacement is whistle free, so it looks like you were correct Philip. I bought mine from Independent Music in Australia, and they shipped the replacement immediately with express shipping. Great customer support!

Thanks to everyone for the replies.
 
wow i loved your music! i loved the futuristic melodic guitar centered aspect... can you share with us the gear used to record your guitar tracks?
 
Last edited:
Agree with @Ralph K , your compositions on SoundCloud are very enjoyable! Glad you got it sorted out, It appears FAS's international partners are on top of it, as would be expected.
 
Ralph K said:
wow i loved your music! i loved the futuristic melodic guitar centered aspect... can you share with us the gear used to record your guitar tracks?
Click to expand...

Thanks Ralph, I'm not sure what track you listened to, but here is my usual setup.

Guitar (Gibson Explorer Pro, or Les Paul Classic) --> 1991 Laney LH50R --> FX loop Send --> pedal board (TS9, MXR EQ, Eventide Timefactor) --> Recording interface --> Cab IR in my DAW. I have a dummy load connected to my amp, so I can record silently with headphones.
 
rjspurling said:
Thanks Ralph, I'm not sure what track you listened to, but here is my usual setup.

Guitar (Gibson Explorer Pro, or Les Paul Classic) --> 1991 Laney LH50R --> FX loop Send --> pedal board (TS9, MXR EQ, Eventide Timefactor) --> Recording interface --> Cab IR in my DAW. I have a dummy load connected to my amp, so I can record silently with headphones.
Click to expand...
Thanks... well yes it sounded so organic...
 
So, despite posting before that the replacement unit was whistle free, it looks like it is behaving the same way as the original unit, and I am still experiencing the high pitched whistle/ring. It seems the noise occurs when the footswitch lights are lit (this is why I didn't detect the whistle when I first tried the replacement unit). Here is a video showing how the footswitch lights produce a sound in the output. You can hear how the whistle/ring increases when more footswitch lights are enabled. When pressing F1 to choose a preset, all lights start flashing, and the whistle/ring is at its loudest. This sound occurs regardless of whether a guitar is connected or not. I also tried this in a different room. Does no one else experience this sound?

 
I just tried fired mine up and there is no whistle. From the video it seems to be when you press switch 7 that it is noticeable. I really don't know what it is but (sorry to state the bleedin' obvious) it is pretty unlikely that you would get 2 units with the same issue. If it was a batch related issue then others would surely have reported it. Have you tried it somewhere else entirely, as at this point I would suspect it s something in your environment that is causing it.

Good luck, hope you get it sorted soon.
 
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