Feedback problem

[Tommy Sports]

My pal is using Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro 3 to record demos of acoustic tunes and is having trouble with feedback. He's using a mic directly into his P.C.

In his words...

"If i've got the headphones in there's a hiss, and if i monitor the input, there's a building white noise which reaches massive levels. All the time the mic's plugged in there's a loud background hiss which is accentuated now and again, and i think that's what's causing the build up of feedback, but it seems to be the same even without the mic plugged in. Like there's some kind of background noise the pc's making that gets in the way"

Anyone got any suggestions?

[njw]

"Like there's some kind of background noise the pc's making that gets in the way"

[hooligan]

computer has on board mic as well? faulty input-output line? something inside the pc thats not earthed properly? i don't know anything tho, just trying to help.

[mrlizard]

Originally Posted by Tommy Sports

My pal is using Cakewalk Guitar Tracks Pro 3 to record demos of acoustic tunes and is having trouble with feedback. He's using a mic directly into his P.C.

In his words...

"If i've got the headphones in there's a hiss, and if i monitor the input, there's a building white noise which reaches massive levels. All the time the mic's plugged in there's a loud background hiss which is accentuated now and again, and i think that's what's causing the build up of feedback, but it seems to be the same even without the mic plugged in. Like there's some kind of background noise the pc's making that gets in the way"

Anyone got any suggestions?

onboard soundcards are noisy. Is it a laptop he's using, sometimes the power supply can cause noise problems, try it running off the battery and see if it helps. Also make sure the internal mic is muted.

If you've got a sensitive mic with too much gain and the headphones turned up too loud you might be getting feedback from that. If both of those things don't fix it, you might have a software or a hardware problem. Might be worth getting a cheap interface.

[ubermensch]

Originally Posted by mrlizard

Might be worth getting a cheap interface.

On that note Mike, I'll be selling mine soon for cheaper than chips. Geez a shout.

[TheHolyWeed]

Try breaking the Ground Loop by lifting the earth on your main power source, but then again it probably is because your using a shitty mic pluged into your stock pc card.
A good interface, Mic & Preamp is yer best bet. or if its just muckin around on an acoustic, get one with a pickup & preamp built in.

[njw]

No. Dont do what he just said. NEVER remove the earth from your main power source, especially when were talking about a PC or other consumer electronics here!

Yes, it is a practise sometimes used to remove mains hum and interference, but in this case, thats almost certainly not the problem.

Dont mean to be a dick, but people give that advice too often without considering how irresponsible it is.

[TheHolyWeed]

Go on, Live a Little..I Smoke in Petrol Stations.......................

[njw]

Smoking in petrol stations is safer than advising people to remove the earth from their appliances willy nilly - not just for earthing reasons, but just for the fact that the majority of foo's dont know what theyre doing when theyre fiddling about inside a machine.

Useful link: Q. What is a Ground (Earth) Loop?

I've had the misfortune of "becoming earth" at a venue where the bloody idiots had removed earths left, right and centre in their PA and forgot to reconnect them. It's not much fun.

Harris, are you an ex-perth college student perchance? Thats the kind of information that is 'taught' there.

[mrlizard]

Originally Posted by njw

No. Dont do what he just said. NEVER remove the earth from your main power source, especially when were talking about a PC or other consumer electronics here!

Yes, it is a practise sometimes used to remove mains hum and interference, but in this case, thats almost certainly not the problem.

Dont mean to be a dick, but people give that advice too often without considering how irresponsible it is.

Only ever remove the earth on something if you are linking audio cables between two devices that are both earthed, and only ever remove one. If you're not sure about it, don't do it.

In this case removing the earth would do absolutely nothing (apart from kill you if a fault developed)

[TheHolyWeed]

Its like a product of elimination thing, if he tapes over the ground and the hum is eliminated then he knows what the problem is and can fix it I.e "try another outlet, use a d.i Box before his monitors/headphones" & with the Di Box he wont have to lift the ground....

[njw]

Yeah, you could do that - but only if you know what youre doing. By posting it here as advice, anyone who searches for 'feedback problem' on google will probably find this and try it at home, thus making KJ in part responsible for people meddling with what they shouldnt be touching.

[TheHolyWeed]

Ha Funny you should say that, I did do a year at perth (nc sound engineering)when i left school bout 9 years ago, but to be honest I know guys who own there own Pa companys in Aberdeen & Dundee, Lift Grounds on their equipment with no problems, but yes of course, im not an Idiot an understand the Safety Aspect of this approach,Although i was lucky enough to witness an on-stage electricution At the old Cotton Club Years ago, which i strongly suspect was due to a bit of "ground-loop bodgering"......Great times!

[njw]

Yeah but (as robin said) lifting an earth on interconnecting audio equipment and on a PC is a whole different ballgame.

If it wasnt for a lifted earth, I'd still have my eyebrows... but sadly, I now look like this:

[Thee Alex]

They've worked plastic surgery magic there, Nico.