Talk me off the ledge

As I said, before, I have a $300 snake with eight cables, AC, Midi, 4CM, XLR, etc. I needed a way to get from my snake to TRS to the fractal, why wouldn’t the Hosa jumper work?
 
I think I must have a faulty unit. Because there’s no way it should be this difficult to have a noiseless system with these connections. Even just putting it in the loop of my amp.
 
It's either a faulty unit or your cables aren't working well with it. No offense, but using a cable snake you've had for years, no matter how much it cost you, makes me suspect the issue lies there rather than with the unit. I'd suggest trying different cables first and if the problem persists, contact Fractal support. It would be annoying to send it in then get it back, have the same problem, and then find out it was actually just the cables. Just a suggestion though. You do you. :)
 
“Wait...Hosa jumpers? Is that what you're calling Humbuster cables?”

I’m not an electrical engineer, but if you have TRS on one end, and TS on the other with no ring. That is exactly the same as a Hum Buster.

No, it is not exactly the same. It's not only about the connections at either end but also what happens in between the connections. Humbuster needs the Tip Ring and Sleeve connections to be separated all the way to the other end and only connect the ring and sleeve wires together as close as possible to the amp (in the TS connector connected to the amp), otherwise it will not be effective. A short TRS to TS adapter before the actual cable run (or snake) will eliminate any benefit Humbuster might be able to give you.
 
… if you have TRS on one end, and TS on the other with no ring. That is exactly the same as a Hum Buster.
A TRS to TS adapter is not the same as a Humbuster cable. Notice the ring wire from the TRS being shorted to ground on the TS sleeve. When the TRS is plugged into the modeler, it can sense any ground-loop noise and counter it. It’s not perfect but it’s an improvement.

613A8C74-0914-4C12-975C-02779E350405.jpeg

https://wiki.fractalaudio.com/wiki/index.php?title=Humbuster goes into it much more.
 
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Yes, this is a silly question, but since I didn’t notice it mentioned…

Is there an amp or cab block in your preset?

If so, shouldn’t be. If not, disregard…
 
With regards to my snake, my entire live rig is built around this. Cables for Guitar wireless, amp channel, 4CM, XLR, midi, power, etc. No reason it shouldn’t work as long as I have the proper adapters.
 
Because I keep hearing these issues I went ahead and connected my FM9 Turbo in 4CM with my 5153 50w Stealth (I've done this with the FM3 and the FM9 but hadn't with the Turbo).

I used all regular TS cables (Mogami Silver).

Guitar > input 1
Output 3L > amp input
Amp send > input 3L
Output 1L > amp return

Grid is:
In 1 > out 3
In 3 > delay > out 1

Zero ground hum. Zero weird noises.
I did this exact same thing before I bought the bad Hosa jumpers. Maybe its the output levels, like someone mentioned.

BUT, when running a TS cable from Output 3 (no +4/-10 option on this output) to my amps loop return, just as a power amp, it's a noisy mess.

Maybe I should try output 1 or 2 instead.
The reason I went OUT 3 to my amp, is that it's the only thats 1/4" only, so i was gonna use OUT 1 and OUT 2 XLR to FOH, and IEM respectively.
 
BUT, when running a TS cable from Output 3 (no +4/-10 option on this output) to my amps loop return, just as a power amp, it's a noisy mess.
This should NOT be the case. I believe you said you tried this with multiple amps? If so, then yeah, you may have a unit with a faulty output 3. Try running output 1 via TS straight to the amp's fx return.
 
Yup. I tried it with 3 different amps like that.
I'll try another output before my gig tonight. I'm really hoping to use it tonight.
 
I just did a bunch of 4CM testing with a SSS Strat, a RedPlate Blues Machine 66, and the FM9 using the factory 4CM Template preset. I turned the noise gate off in the Input 1 block of the FM9, left all the effects bypassed. The idea was to see how much noise I got with the unit hooked up vs. plugged straight into the amp. The amp was turned up about half way (50 watt amp), and set fairly clean with a little "hair" (I'm not a high gain player) so it was pretty loud. I am using humbuster cables.

Honestly, I really can't say that there was any more noise or hiss with the FM9 in 4CM than there was just plugging straight in. There was a difference in the volume levels, the FM9 was pushing the FX return to the power amp harder and it was louder in 4CM vs. going straight in without anything in the loop. I could have turned down output 3 to compensate, I had it all the way up, but since the noise level was about the same as going straight in I didn't bother.

I did just check and I see that there is also a noise gate assigned to the Input 3 block. I did not turn that off (didn't think to look) and I'm not hooking it up again to test that. So, I'm sure there would be a little more noise had I turned that off.

I don't normally use 4CM so this was just a test. I do have to say that this is the first time I have tried the FM9 in 4CM since the last update to the Drive block. I really liked what I was getting from the Drive block in front of the amp.

Anyway, that that for what it's worth. I would be satisfied using the FM9 with my amp based on this test.
 
I'm running my FM9 4CM with my RedPlate Magica and it is dead silent. Not even a tiny bit of noise added and no impact on the tone of the amp at all. If this is happening with multiple amps and you're sure cables aren't the issue, then it appears there's something wrong with your FM9.
 
So, without having the proper fractal cables, yet,( I ordered them) I’m having the best luck going out quarter inch output 1, into a Hum eliminator, and then to my amp loop return. It’s at -10 and sounds robust. The Hum eliminator is doing the hum buster job I guess for now.
Sounds way better than what I got out of output three. I wonder what three is used for. Besides 4 cable method.
Straight TS cable out of any output from the FM nine into my amp loop results in quite a rolling hiss and 60cyc hum.
 
Another digital unit that I own had ground lifts in several places. I think there are 4 of them in total. They recommend that you never turn all of them off. I have not dug into the FM9 deep enough to see if it has something similar. I know with the other unit I have there was something I was doing with it and found that by lifting all but one of them it made things dead quiet. If I engaged more of them, I had hum.
 
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