Earthing a Yamaha AW16G Recording Unit, any help would be appreciated...(WEST YORKS)

[Nick7222]

Hi

I own a Yamaha AW16G recording unit which I use for recording music. I regularly get a strong back ground buzz/hum when recording.
I have elliminated most of the possible causes for this that I can think of yet it still persists. Someone at Yamaha told me that having the unit earthed might solve the problem (it uses a 2 pin connection at the moment), but that he isn't allowed to officially recommend such a procedure. Has anyone got any thoughts on this? or know anyone reliable they could recommend to do it? (I live in Brighouse, West Yorkshire).

cheers

Nick

 

[UKMeterman]

Re: Earthing a Yamaha AW16G Recording Unit, any help would be appreciated...(WEST YOR

Hi,
I am local at the moment (HD2) it does sound like a shielding problem, have you checked contiuity from your guitar to the recorder. An external mains earth spike is probably not going to help, it may be the case that a connection between mains earth and the outside of the 1/4" guitar plug may help. Have a look round the emc information here. EMC Information Centre - The EMC Journal (Free in the UK)

 

[Nick7222]

Re: Earthing a Yamaha AW16G Recording Unit, any help would be appreciated...(WEST YOR

Hi

I'm far from being an expert on this subject, I don't know what you meant by checking continuity. Thanks for the link, I hadn't realised there was a whole branch of electronics devoted to this kind of problem. Are you qualified in this area?
Your suggestion sounds promising, is it possible to come to some arrangement if you are local?

cheers

Nick

 

[UKMeterman]

Re: Earthing a Yamaha AW16G Recording Unit, any help would be appreciated...(WEST YOR

Hi,
Have you tried a DI box such as BEHRINGER|DI100|ULTRA-DI DI100 RUGGED DI BOX | CPC

 

[trev]

Re: Earthing a Yamaha AW16G Recording Unit, any help would be appreciated...(WEST YOR

Behringer gear is awesome. I had a cab from them which was worth far more money than I paid for it. Their powered desks are great too

 

[Rockingit]

Re: Earthing a Yamaha AW16G Recording Unit, any help would be appreciated...(WEST YOR

Ah.... if the problem ONLY exists with guitars, AND you really DO have overhead lines directly very close then it's possible that you'll be stuck with this. The reason is simply due to inductance - the pickups on the guitars sense the electromagnetic disturbances from the power lines (if you think about it, it's how they work, what they're meant to do). The same thing happens in live performance venues with hearing loops - the loop (a big inductance loop) creates havoc with the guitar pickups.

Borrow a mates front room for half an hour that doesn't live underneath lines, and see if the fault follows the equipment or the location.

If it is that, then the only possible solution (and it probably won't work very well but worth a try) that I can think of other than building yourself a Farraday cage (not a sensible option!) would be to record some of that exact noise, sample it into SADIE or whatever you use, and do an audio subtraction / negative overlay just on the guitar track.

 

[UKMeterman]

Re: Earthing a Yamaha AW16G Recording Unit, any help would be appreciated...(WEST YOR

Hi,
The problem is that the mains frequency is not constant, so can't sample and then overlay...

 

[Rockingit]

Re: Earthing a Yamaha AW16G Recording Unit, any help would be appreciated...(WEST YOR

Agreed in principle; most audio finishing / mastering systems contain the facility to 'average' sample, so in audible terms the odd variation in .01 multiples in frequency shift effectively become inaudible. Also, frequency filters will look for dominant peaks and invert them as well, on the fly. Success tends to be dependant on how expensive the system is!!!

But this is a far-cry from where the OP started out, so let's stick with the basics first!