rubis Posted March 8, 2018 Share Posted March 8, 2018 Hi can anyone offer any advice on how to eliminate ground loop noise from my recording efforts The set up I am using at the moment is an Asus laptop, Audient ID14 interface and Reaper The drum tracks with BFD3 are, as you would expect, hiss/hum free, but when I add bass and guitar parts there is unacceptable background hum. This is still noticeable when I use my P bass (I thought the pickups were humbucking?) and it is very noticeable when I use my Gretsch 6 string which has dreaded single coils! I have tried using a Behringer HD400 hum eliminator, but this has marginal effect I should add that the laptop, interface and a mains powered USB hub are all plugged into a six socket extension lead Anyone had similar problems they were able to overcome? thanks in advance Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted March 9, 2018 Share Posted March 9, 2018 (edited) Yep! I'm very familiar with being plagued by ground loops And they can be difficult to pinpoint... you basically have to work through your signal chain, methodically unplugging/plugging stuff in until you find what's causing the hum... or not. With just a bass and amp (possibly also a mic?) it should be relatively easy, and from what you describe the culprit is almost certainly going to be at the guitar/amp end of things, caused by interference with any nearby home electrics. In the end I bought one of these and it solved the problem completely; literally no hum at all. They're quite expensive brand new, but if you're patient they do occasionally crop up quite cheap second-hand on eBay, which is where I bought mine: Ebtech Hum Eliminator HE-2-XLR Edited March 9, 2018 by Skol303 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFry Posted March 11, 2018 Share Posted March 11, 2018 Test to see if the noise persists if you try running the laptop on it's own battery . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted March 12, 2018 Share Posted March 12, 2018 I have the same issue and the behringer box want back to Amazon promptly. The way I tackle ground loop is this. When I record , I pull out the jack end of the power source for the laptop. This instantly kills the ground loop. I plug it back in when I listen to track or mix/master/edit. Someone recommended this. I have not tried it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubis Posted March 15, 2018 Author Share Posted March 15, 2018 Thanks for the replies, this is something to be getting on with I think the main culprit may be the guitar, a Gretsch 5420t, the pickups are not humbuckers and being hollow body it would not be possible to shield it I was thinking of trying some better leads, (I use Whirlwind at the moment) can anyone recommend anything optimised for recording (I don't gig anymore)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DB5 Posted March 16, 2018 Share Posted March 16, 2018 (edited) I get shielding type noise at home and I solved it by accident when I connected a mic cable to ground via the interface - i.e. the bass was connected to the 1/4 inch direct in and I also had a mic cable running from my amp DI output into the interface mic input. Amp doesn't need to be on but connected to the mains. I'm using an Audient ID4 and I was using Motu before. Give it a go! Edited March 16, 2018 by DB5 correctness Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubis Posted March 16, 2018 Author Share Posted March 16, 2018 cheers, I will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted March 17, 2018 Share Posted March 17, 2018 firstly, plug the laptop into a different power outlet to the rest. Second, buy a cheap passive DI with a ground lift switch. Use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubis Posted March 17, 2018 Author Share Posted March 17, 2018 Nice one bazzbass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bazzbass Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 It might not work, but it is the cheapest option to try and the DI should be in your arsenal anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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