What the hell is that noise?

nneilboss

Member
Hi - had my FM9 about a month now. Has been going great. I transferred all my presets and setlists over in preparation for a gig next month. Just practicing , playing along to Ableton backing tracks using my home setup , when all of a sudden this incredibly loud blast of static comes through from the FM9 while I am playing. The volume pedal doe not seem to reduce it. Persists for a minute or so and then stops and preset goes back to normal. Happened a few times and nearly scared the hell out me and blew my already damaged ears out. I managed to capture on video. If I could upload it you can hear how loud it is through the headphones and the audio interface clipping.

Has anyone experienced this? Worried now that this will happen at my gig - will blow out the PA and kill everyone's hearing.

Only different thing in my practice rig is that I have just upgraded the Mac Studio to Ventura

Setup is FM9 -> Steinberg UR44C -> Audio Output via UR44C headphone jack
USB is connected to control FM9 via FM9 Edit as I like to tweak presets when I practice

The CPU load is around 76% as I am using a dual amp stereo setup, but that should not cause it , just shuts down audio usually if it overloads
 
There's been a similar report just days ago. FAS concluded it might be hardware related.

This thread, I think...
https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/first-rehearsal-disaster.188064

Seems what you have in common is Ableton?

Maybe @Admin M@ can retest with Ableton instead of Logic, analyze the stream, inquire with Ableton, ...

It would sure beat a hardware issue. This kind of thing can give you a real trauma and lasting fear of using it. Hoping for positive updates on this...
 
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I'd try to reproduce. Then pull the USB to see if it stops. It kinda sounds like the audio could falsely be triggered via USB and just sent to Out1. Just something to consider and troubleshoot.
 
Tried reproducing today, but not doing it today, with the same setup as yesterday. Was a bit reluctant to put the headphones on again. Ran MIDI monitor , the only messages I can see on the Mac are Sysex messages coming from the FM9. No MIDI clock or other messages discernible on any of the ports, not even when I change scenes (not surprising to me since the Mac Studio is not directly connected to the main MIDI hub).

The scene change messages in the MIDI block are sent via the FM9 MIDI DIN out to a MioXM hub. The MioXM is not connected to the practice rig Mac, and distributes MIDI to BOSS VE500 and DMX lighting controller. The whole setup gets its MIDI clock from a Disaster Area microclock, connected to one of the host ports on the MioXM. The FM9 receives its midi clock via the MioXM - this has worked perfectly well with my Axe FXIII for a couple of years. It has also been working with the FM9 for a month, so not sure there is necessarily any connection to stray MIDI messages and the sound I heard. Ableton does not receive or send a clock in this setup, the BPMs are hardwired - not using it to run a show, just for practice playback.
Attaching the preset: it makes use of an outboard Mimiq Doubler pedal between Out3 and In3.

This is still a bit worrying as I do not know when/if it will recur. Will send the video to support.
 

Attachments

  • Bohemian.syx
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Just had this occur to me while playing my FX3 (20.04) at very low volume through headphones. Was noodling around auditioning some cabs when this unbelievable burst of static/screaching came through. Scared me half to death that I just instinctly threw the headset off and turned off the FX3, so no idea how long it would have gone on. Never had anything like that happen before. Guitar and headphones plugged into front jacks. FRFRs turned off. FC6 connected but not in use. No other pedals. No MIDI. Macbook connected via USB. Was using third-party preset and cabs, so can't post them.
 
Hope this isn’t a common or increasing issue. I just picked up an FM9 turbo today! Don’t need a high dB crazy noise scaring the house and my band mates!
 
This just happened again, and I've been able to identify the specific cab IR causing the problem. Since I'm able to reproduce it at will, I'll contact the maker. Does not seem to be a Fractal issue in my case 👍
Who’s IR is it? I have some imported ones as well. You can PM me if you don’t want them in the thread. Thanks!
 
This just happened again, and I've been able to identify the specific cab IR causing the problem. Since I'm able to reproduce it at will, I'll contact the maker. Does not seem to be a Fractal issue in my case 👍
So you know for sure that the noise is coming from the Cab block?
 
So you know for sure that the noise is coming from the Cab block?
Yes, I've was scrolling through 55 different cab IRs today for a specific preset and it's happening on the same cab every time. The third time it happened, I muted the cab block. Unmuted 5 minutes later and it was still squealing. This is all without playing a single note.
 
I'd copy that IR out. Shove it in another location and see if it does the same thing. I'd also send it to Fractal for analysis via a case. It's possible the IR is fine, but the firmware is triggering this artifact more readily for this particular case.
 
I'd copy that IR out. Shove it in another location and see if it does the same thing. I'd also send it to Fractal for analysis via a case. It's possible the IR is fine, but the firmware is triggering this artifact more readily for this particular case.
Thanks, that's exactly what the IR vendor asked me to do as well and it worked. Problem solved.
 
Thanks, that's exactly what the IR vendor asked me to do as well and it worked. Problem solved.
Help me understand this. You put the IR into another preset, and it "worked?" Meaning the same problem happened, or no problem happened? Does that mean that the solution was to change the preset?
 
Sorry if I wasn't clear or misunderstood your suggestion. I deleted the IR from my user bank and then copied it from my original download media right back to the same slot, and everything was back to normal. Guess that specific one must have become corrupt somehow.
 
Sorry if I wasn't clear or misunderstood your suggestion. I deleted the IR from my user bank and then copied it from my original download media right back to the same slot, and everything was back to normal. Guess that specific one must have become corrupt somehow.
I'm glad it's working for you, but it's a bummer that you deleted it. As far as I know, you were the only person who could reliably reproduce the problem. That would have been valuable information for Fractal.
 
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