High pitched whistle

What is your gain staging like? I wonder if you are running so low to the noise floor that this just becomes obvious. If you use the VU meters, are you near the 0db line on the AX8? Either way, I hope you can get this sorted out.
 
blackmoreguitar said:
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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I have tried it in another room, directly into the wall, with the same result. I'm eager to try it at a completely different location, although I've never had any issues with other electrical equipment at my house. I am wondering if it is indeed a batch issue.
 
biskitboy said:
What is your gain staging like? I wonder if you are running so low to the noise floor that this just becomes obvious. If you use the VU meters, are you near the 0db line on the AX8? Either way, I hope you can get this sorted out.
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My patches are mostly above 0db. I experience the same noise on the factory presets. I just find it so odd that the sound is directly proportional to the amount of footswitch lights being lit. If I have the tap tempo enabled, the noise pulses along with the flashing light. It's so odd that two units in a row have the exact same issue.

Thanks everyone for the replies.
 
Now im wondering since the first unit arrived to FAS maybe someone would chime in if the unit behaved similarly on FAS premises?
 
rjspurling said:
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?

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Wow, looks crazy.

I'd 100% try to use it in a totally different place (at work/friend's house, etc) and see if the same behavior happens.
Also, (if not tried yet) use different USB cable or disconnect it at all.
Try XLR or SPDIF connection to see if any of this affects the whistle.
I also noticed your OUT1 is turned all the way up - is there a reason for it? Have you tried lowering it?
 
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FractalAudio said:
Do you have USB connected? This sounds like a ground loop through the USB.
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Hi there, I have tested the AX8 in a spare room with no other electrical equipment, and nothing connected to it besides some headphones. Wall outlet -> AX8 ->headphones. I still get the weird whistle.

Does anyone else's unit make a beeping noise when all the footswitch lights are flashing (for preset selection after pressing F1)? It sounds like a truck backing up, as you can hear in my video.

Guillaume Lortie said:
it's comming form the input stage. s he press the delay switch we heard the noise get into the effect, I suspect a bad ¼ jack in the inputs or guitars picking it up with bad pickups / wiring
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Hi mate. Ralph is correct. I can hear the noise even when there is no guitar or guitar cable connected. Very odd.


Barmaleus said:
Wow, looks crazy.

I'd 100% try to use it in a totally different place (at work/friend's house, etc) and see if the same behavior happens.
Also, (if not tried yet) use different USB cable or disconnect it at all.
Try XLR or SPDIF connection to see if any of this affects the whistle.
I also noticed your OUT1 is turned all the way up - is there a reason for it? Have you tried lowering it?
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This is definitely my next step. I will try it at a completely different household/location. The sound is the same through all outputs (and monitoring devices). I turn the OUT1 to max because I find the line out volume is low when recording the AX8 into my interface (it's set to +4db). I have the OUT1 set at around 9-12 O'clock when listening through my FRFR speaker however, and I still hear the noise.
 
I've just discovered something else. If the unit is turned on cold (off for a decent amount of time), the noise is very quiet (almost undetectable). After about 3 minutes of the unit being on, the whistle/ring reaches full volume, and stays that way. I'm not sure what this indicates, but I'm sure it's useful information. Could it be fan related?
 
From what I know there's no fan inside the AX8. It used to be a problem in the past when using cheap switched power supply wall warts, however, I'm sure this problem has been taken care of in the FAS h/w design.
 
FractalAudio said:
Do you have USB connected? This sounds like a ground loop through the USB.
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Cliff-a-nator, any chance the power regulator from 110-220/240 is causing some sort of noise in the output? Land of Oz is on 220-240V so I'm curious if others have reported this issue at all in Europe, Australia or other regions.

As others mentioned, I would try bringing the unit to a completely different location with your reference speakers/headphones to see if it still occurs. Always possible of some EFI noise within your place of residence. Cheers.
 
I think it might be noise floor related.. and will likely never be heard when playing or recording.. idk.
But that music of yours on SC is freakin' awesome..

IME - you really ought to try getting that album released state-side..
 
ChristThePhone said:
From what I know there's no fan inside the AX8. It used to be a problem in the past when using cheap switched power supply wall warts, however, I'm sure this problem has been taken care of in the FAS h/w design.
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Ah I see. Could there be anything else in the AX8 that would be affected by heat/warming up?

Barmaleus said:
Btw, did it ever work normally, i.e. without the whistle? Or it was like that from the very beginning?
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I noticed the whistle straight away in both units when pressing F1 to switch to different presets, but I thought this sound was intentional, as it sounded so distinct, so I didn't think of it as a defect/issue. In terms of normal play, I noticed the whistle, but it wasn't distracting until I incorporated more than one footswitch light. I didn't realise the correlation with the footswitch lights until the second unit.

ibanezfreak4 said:
Cliff-a-nator, any chance the power regulator from 110-220/240 is causing some sort of noise in the output? Land of Oz is on 220-240V so I'm curious if others have reported this issue at all in Europe, Australia or other regions.

As others mentioned, I would try bringing the unit to a completely different location with your reference speakers/headphones to see if it still occurs. Always possible of some EFI noise within your place of residence. Cheers.
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I've also thought about this. I do wonder if it's due to a difference in voltage/country etc. I'll be taking it to work tomorrow to give it a try in a different location.

s0c9 said:
I think it might be noise floor related.. and will likely never be heard when playing or recording.. idk.
But that music of yours on SC is freakin' awesome..

IME - you really ought to try getting that album released state-side..
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Thanks S0c9! The problem is that I hear it while recording and rehearsing, which is why it has become such a nuisance. I assume you mean release the album in the US? It should be available through all the usual US sites (iTunes, amazon mp3, google play, spotify).
 
rjspurling said:
Thanks S0c9! The problem is that I hear it while recording and rehearsing, which is why it has become such a nuisance.
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Maybe my hearing is going, but I had to krank up the phones to hear it.., even with nothing played behind it.. It might be an age thing.. LOL ?

rjspurling said:
I assume you mean release the album in the US? It should be available through all the usual US sites (iTunes, amazon mp3, google play, spotify).
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I did yes... I did not look for it, but saw the AU press releases.. thanks for the info!
 
I am on a 220v grid and my AX8 is dead quiet... i suggest you try hooking it through ur PC UPS and check if the problem persists.
 
I brought my AX8 to work with me today to try it in a completely different location. I just connected the AX8 to power, and stuck in some headphones. I still hear the sound, and it sounds the same as always. I definitely believe it's something internal, and I've contacted my retailer to see if they can do some testing. I'm wondering if it's a batch issue.
 
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