[Update, no fix yet] Axe-Fx 3 Insane Hum From PC?

UberGuitarDude

UberGuitarDude

Member
Hey folks,

Relatively new Axe Fx 3 user here (had an Axe 2 XL+ for 2 years and loved it). Anyway, I seem to be having some serious issues with a hum that's occurring on all of my guitars. I think I've isolated it to something with the PC emitting EMI/RF (could be wrong on terminology, been trying to research this) and causing an issue with the hum? But the fact that it's happening on every guitar seems weird.

Tried posting a dropbox link to the m4a (recorded from my iPhone in Voice Memos) but the site wouldn't let me post it? I tried converting to an mp3,but that didn't work either. I have no way to show the sound I'm trying to show.

Basically if I'm just sitting at my PC where I normally play, I'm getting an insane hum, a noticeable pitch even, almost a ring? I notice the closer I get to my PC, the worse and louder it gets, whereas stepping away makes it quite a bit less noticeable - this however isn't conducive to sitting down, writing, recording, and jamming. I've also noticed that if I scroll through any programs (used Steam as an example), I think I was able to hear my PC actually working through the guitar hum. I am on a higher gain preset, but I'm not sure where the hum is coming into play.

My setup is:
Guitar (tried 4 different guitars, all the same hum) -> Axe FX 3 -> XLR output 1 (L & R) -> input 11 & 12 of my Antelope Audio Orion Studio -> USB into PC -> Pro Tools Input 11/12 for recording.

This is the setup I've used for years with the Axe II XL+ and I don't know if getting the 3 made me notice it more because I'm experimenting with new tones or if it just showed up. Any ideas, input, feedback, or educational advice is welcome as I have plenty to learn and this hum is driving me crazy. I've taken to just gating it out for now, but I know it's a bigger issue than that. That being said, for what I do I prefer not using my axe as an interface as my Antelope Audio Orion Studio is used for all my PC output/mic input, so running the axe through it, like a DI, makes more sense for me - though I don't know if that's still the best way to do it for this instance. Any help is appreciated!

Things I've tried to nullify the hum so far:
-Checking I/O to make sure it's set to 60Hz (I'm in the US)
-Plugging Axe FX into a different outlet than the interface
-Unplugging USB from the Axe FX
-Monitoring through my headphones on the Axe FX 3 unit itself instead of through the interface
-Different cables (swapped from XLR both ends to a 1/4" XLR in the humbuster outputs).
-Unplugging both the interface and the Axe FX from the Furman power conditioner.
-Pressing the Ground/Lift button (again I'm clueless with wiring stuff, so I'm just throwing shots in the dark).
-Different instrument cable and pedal/FASLINK cables.
-Different USB ports with both the interface and the Axe FX.

If anyone has any ideas feel free to throw them my way. Or again, if there's any suggestions I'm always open to those too. Thanks for the help in advance. I never post on forums so I apologize if this is in the wrong spot or if I didn't follow proper etiquette with anything.

UPDATE 11/26/19:
I'm assuming my guitars are properly shielded, but I'm not sure? I have a pretty trusty tech that I take my guitars to and he's done pup swaps on most of them aside from a Schecter with some active EMGs in it.

A cellphone near any of my guitars (active and passive pups) causes some gnarly noise, very similar sound though a bit more crackly maybe?

According to the nice power strip I've got as well, my outlet isn't grounded.

Wrapping PC in foil to cover the windows (as best I could without blocking ventilation) solved nothing, bought some ferrite(?) cores as well and placed them on almost everything I could just as a spitball attempt, also solved nothing.

Aside from moving to the other side of the room, which isn't plausible or practical, I don't know how to fix it.
 
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UberGuitarDude said:
It does indeed! I managed to post the link to the reddit post as well, which includes the dropbox link of the audio. Here's a picture of my PC as well. Windowed case, facing me where I play - excuse the dirty case. xDView attachment 60460
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There's your problem. No shielding. All that noise is coupling into your guitar.

Windowed PCs are one of the dumbest ideas ever. It's also essentially illegal but since they sell the cases with nothing installed it's a loophole in the FCC emissions requirements.

I need to build a new PC and it's getting hard to find non-windowed cases. This stupid RGB craze and windowed cases is frustrating.
 
FractalAudio said:
There's your problem. No shielding. All that noise is coupling into your guitar.

Windowed PCs are one of the dumbest ideas ever. It's also essentially illegal but since they sell the cases with nothing installed it's a loophole in the FCC emissions requirements.

I need to build a new PC and it's getting hard to find non-windowed cases. This stupid RGB craze and windowed cases is frustrating.
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Wait seriously? Would you have any recommendations? I mean, I guess that means I have to rebuild my PC with a new case (gross) but there must be something to do in the interim.
And yeah, I could care less about the RGB to be honest. I have a hefty rig because I stream for a living (games/music) and I noticed last night during my stream and today that my amp is just blaring that hum at me. I don't know if you got to hear the clip from my dropbox in the previous post, but it's nuts.
 
You could try covering the inside of the window with aluminum foil.

Without a Faraday cage there's a ton of EMI going right into your guitar. A Faraday cage is a metal box. The window destroys the shielding and is a dumb, dumb, dumb idea. Whoever came up with it should be drawn and quartered.
 
FractalAudio said:
You could try covering the inside of the window with aluminum foil.

Without a Faraday cage there's a ton of EMI going right into your guitar. A Faraday cage is a metal box. The window destroys the shielding and is a dumb, dumb, dumb idea. Whoever came up with it should be drawn and quartered.
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LOOOOL Well, I guess I can try the aluminum foil thing as a temp fix. Not really looking forward to just rebuilding my whole PC just for a new case though. Gross. Thanks for the replies by the way. :D I was kind of thinking my routing was causing an issue with the Axe into interface via XLR, then recording to pro tools like that instead of using the axe as an interface. Glad that's not an issue.
 
I have the same issue on a windowed pc I bought in the last year. Wish I would've read threads like this, would never have bought it. Would foil on the window make any difference if the rest of the case is plastic?

What worked for me to get the noise down a lot was disabling every power saving scheme in the bios.
 
FractalAudio said:
You could try covering the inside of the window with aluminum foil.

Without a Faraday cage there's a ton of EMI going right into your guitar. A Faraday cage is a metal box. The window destroys the shielding and is a dumb, dumb, dumb idea. Whoever came up with it should be drawn and quartered.
Click to expand...
Well, I did a few different attempts at covering the window (and other sides) of the case with foil and none of it made a difference. I'm thinking it's either impossible to actually cover a case because of fan ventilation and maybe it's another issue? Or some amalgam of a few issues. The only thing that's noticeably helped is trying to move my PC case further away, which is proving to be a harder endeavor than I thought - and not an ideal one in this case either. I'm kind of feeling a bit defeated at the moment. =\ Attaching a pic at one of my "attempts" at covering the main window with foil. Proceeded to tuck it into more nooks and crannies but nothing even made a SLIGHT difference with the foil.Photo Nov 24, 4 12 08 PM.jpg
 
Way back in the day, a buddy’s record label picked up a Synclavier for him (~$250k), and he put the computer in another room from the studio (Noise issues in the studio). I realize that’s not pragmatic for most of us.

But really all that EMI is just coming through your guitar pick ups from your PC and other sources.

Faraday cages aren't a half bad idea.
 
∞Fractals said:
Way back in the day, a buddy’s record label picked up a Synclavier for him (~$250k), and he put the computer in another room from the studio (Noise issues in the studio). I realize that’s not pragmatic for most of us.

But really all that EMI is just coming through your guitar pick ups from your PC and other sources.

Faraday cages aren't a half bad idea.
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Yeah that seems to be the relative consensus, but it's not realistic at all to move my PC even across the room. I thought moving the window to face away from my guitar and moving it further to one side would make some semblance of a difference but nothing has helped so far.
 
Did you check to be sure you have electrical 'continuity' between the case and the tin foil? The tin foil needs to be grounded to the case.
 
BillyZeppa said:
Did you check to be sure you have electrical 'continuity' between the case and the tin foil? The tin foil needs to be grounded to the case.
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I'm assuming so long as the foil pieces were touching part of the metal anywhere on the case, then yes it should have been grounded properly. I creased it over mostly to hold it in place over the window, but also made sure each piece was still flush with metal parts of the case.
 
It's probably your monitor (screen). Those put out a ton of noise that will come through quite clearly at higher gain settings. You have to rotate the guitar to find the sweet spot where your pickups will reject the noise.

I cut down a ton of noise moving from a poorly shielded PC case to a Mac Mini for my DAW computer. The monitor is still a noisy sumbitch tho
 
Seems extreme, since you should be able to do something simpler to fix this, but look for Microwave oven shielding material (basically creating a faraday shield.)

Moving things farther away would probably have the same effect...but YMMV.
 
Another thing to check would be your PC monitor(s). These can emit noise as well, and the fact that you say you hear something when you scroll through some windows could indicate that the monitor is involved. Had a case like this with an older TFT panel where every time I scrolled in firefox I heard a corresponding noise in my studio monitors (without any guitar connected). Try to turn the display(s) off and see if it improves.
 
rossipedia said:
It's probably your monitor (screen). Those put out a ton of noise that will come through quite clearly at higher gain settings. You have to rotate the guitar to find the sweet spot where your pickups will reject the noise.

I cut down a ton of noise moving from a poorly shielded PC case to a Mac Mini for my DAW computer. The monitor is still a noisy sumbitch tho
Click to expand...
Unfortunately it's only present the closer I get to my PC case and not the monitors. The sound is also not present in any other situations (through my studio monitors, through my interface, listening to audio through headphones through interface, etc.) It's only present when the guitar is running - so it's clearly something happening with either internal noise, EMI from the PC case, grounding issues, etc. The audio can be heard on the reddit post in case you missed it. The forums won't let me post my own dropbox link or upload it.
 
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