Playing guitar through computer - high pitched noise

thecolourbox

Hi all

I invested in the Steinberg/Line 6 guitar recording thing where you got Cubase, an interface, and Helix Native, and so far it's been quite disappointing. First of all the first interface blew up, and since I've been struggling to get some good sounds out of the Helix Native especially with the massive volume jumps between clean and drive sounds. I don't get much playing time so it's quite frustrating to have to keep twiddling with gates (which cut your sound off) and levels and eq just to get a sound that isn't noisy as hell (and is still rubbish, just less noisy)

I'm getting a high pitched noise that I mainly get when playing through a computer, although my (much better than Helix) Digitech modelling unit gets it also if i've left my computer monitor switched on. But the noises in the following video are not with a monitor, just with my laptop on:



Is there a way around this? If not I may have to go back to cheap mini pedals and try to find a way to feed to my studio style speakers or headphones (amps are too loud for house) or find a longer midi cable to try and use the GSP again instead.

As you can probably hear on that video I have an input gate on fairly high which is cutting the notes off awfully but also the noise is clearly still there

Guitar is a Mustang with Lace Sensor pickups. Windows laptop (lenovo), steinberg UR22C interface into Cubase 11 Artist. I get the same with my crappy dodgy DIY SG style with humbuckers

Thank you

mrkb

Is it a laptop? If so try running on battery only and see if noise goes away. My cheap laptop psu gave a usb ground loop, I replaced it and it’s gone away.

thecolourbox

Yeah it's a laptop, just tried it on battery, sounds the same

Heartfeltdawn

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202580/laptop-blowing-usb-interfaces-any-ideas#latest

Following on from your thread here, did the repair shop ever give you an explanation for why the laptop may have blown the first interface? 

'cos if the laptop has previous history of being dodgy and it's now giving you sounds like that, I'd still be looking at the laptop. My laptop sits in the kitchen and runs Helix Native too: ain't never heard it buzz like that. 

thecolourbox

Heartfeltdawn said:

https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/202580/laptop-blowing-usb-interfaces-any-ideas#latest

Following on from your thread here, did the repair shop ever give you an explanation for why the laptop may have blown the first interface? 

'cos if the laptop has previous history of being dodgy and it's now giving you sounds like that, I'd still be looking at the laptop. My laptop sits in the kitchen and runs Helix Native too: ain't never heard it buzz like that. 

I know what you mean but I'm positive I've had this with other laptops as well. But I suppose I either just need to get a new machine or just shut up about it!

Edit, I didn't answer the question. But then neither did the repair people, they said it would cost too much to work it out which I assumed meant they couldn't be bothered

fastonebaz

Search for the audio drivers giving high pitch noise and you may find loads of tech posts saying a particular audio driver version causes it and advice about which version doesn't cause it.  Then visit the audio card website download that driver version and bobs Yr uncle.  Happened to me with my dell laptop couple years ago. 

Nerine

Have you got any WiFi extenders/networking adaptors running on the mains??

stratman3142

Below are occasions when I've experienced high pitched noise. Not sure if any of these apply.

When I (absent mindedly) connected my monitor speakers to my audio interface using unbalanced leads.

Using single coil pickups, picking up noise from my display monitor. Turning the guitar away from the monitor can help with that.

Connecting the unbalanced jack-out from my Helix LT to the unbalanced jack-in on my audio interface, whilst also having my Helix LT connected to my computer by USB. 

thecolourbox

Thanks chaps for the ideas but I think I just need to move on from trying to use Helix Native on the computer in this way, hopefully there's a way to sell/transfer the licence and I can put it towards something better.

Cheers

thecolourbox

I have tried a few different variations this evening, with the aim of checking that I can record my Digitech GSP1101 without the noise but found something else interesting.

Using the GSP1101 with all effects bypassed, into the interface via an xlr, and then added Helix Native to that, and it sounded better... Not great, but adequate. To be honest the Digitech with its effects still sounded better than the Helix ones. If only Digitech did something with the routing of Helix...

So does that mean it's a DI I need really perhaps, who knows

stratman3142

thecolourbox said:

I have tried a few different variations this evening, with the aim of checking that I can record my Digitech GSP1101 without the noise but found something else interesting.

Using the GSP1101 with all effects bypassed, into the interface via an xlr, and then added Helix Native to that, and it sounded better... Not great, but adequate. To be honest the Digitech with its effects still sounded better than the Helix ones. If only Digitech did something with the routing of Helix...

So does that mean it's a DI I need really perhaps, who knows

Is your audio interface on the Hi-Z setting, in which case you shouldn't really need a separate DI unit?

Btw. I use Helix Native for pretty much all of my guitar recordings these days.

thecolourbox

stratman3142 said:

thecolourbox said:

I have tried a few different variations this evening, with the aim of checking that I can record my Digitech GSP1101 without the noise but found something else interesting.

Using the GSP1101 with all effects bypassed, into the interface via an xlr, and then added Helix Native to that, and it sounded better... Not great, but adequate. To be honest the Digitech with its effects still sounded better than the Helix ones. If only Digitech did something with the routing of Helix...

So does that mean it's a DI I need really perhaps, who knows

Is your audio interface on the Hi-Z setting, in which case you shouldn't really need a separate DI unit?

Btw. I use Helix Native for pretty much all of my guitar recordings these days.

The noise was the same whether it was in hi z mode or not, the only thing that worked better was either recording the gsp1101 directly into the interface without helix Native, or bypassing every effect on the gsp1101 and using an xlr from the DI output of the gsp1101 into the interface

Bizarre

stratman3142

I can get quite a bit of noise with (non-humbucking) single coil pickups, which can be greatly reduced by turning my guitar.
Also, the noise is reduced by reducing the Bias setting within the Amp+Cab block in Helix Native.

Cirrus

I will send you the requested clips today @thecolourbox , but just thought I'd also post in here that laptops can be famously noisy in this way - some are fine, a lot have massive electrical interference and not a lot that can be done about it. The problem is that computer chips use very high frequency switching which dumps high frequency noise to ground, and then it's just a question of the layout of the components and case etc as to where that noise ends up.

I had a desktop PC that was very noisy on audio inputs when I used a firewire interface - the noise floor was around -80dB, but multiplied across 16 tracks. You could hear clicking from the mouse moving, as well as constant digital hash. The fix? I scraped away the powder coating where the Firewire PCI card touched the case. That meant the ground noise could get into the case rather than finding the firewire cable as the easiest path to ground.

On a laptop, there might not be a lot you can do about it.

thecolourbox

Thanks chaps - though it does make me feel like I just need to put up with it and use my Digitech instead of Helix Native, because it seems like I could drop a load of money on a new computer and still get the same problems and not know how to fix them. Or then I find that the problem is in fact the house, so then I need to get somebody around who is an electrician, sound technician, and IT whizz all at the same time to fix the problem, only for me to be too thick to know how to use Helix Native even if it is fixed! 

Alvin

I'm not sure how these things are hooked up together .   But are you also going through an amp and connected to the computer with a usb lead ?   If yes the it is probably a ground loop problem and the solution "could" be as easy as slicing open ( carefully) the usb lead and then cutting a section of the outer shielding and inner ground wire out   .    I had this problem , spent hours on the net looking for solutions and then thought why do i need a ground between  an effects unit and the computer when the effects unit has no earth at the mains plug .   It took me ten minutes and it worked .    

     How much is a usb lead - £1.50 ?  Worth a try  ( if it is connected by usb).    

ICBM

It could also be the opposite - *lack* of grounding. Is any part of the set-up earthed? Laptop power supplies often aren't, and if if the interface/multi-FX/whatever you're running the guitar through isn't either, you will get noise.

If so, you can fix it by connecting it to an amp that's earthed - it doesn't even have to be switched on, if you don't want the sound in the room. Just connect any spare output (or even input, it doesn't actually matter) to the amp when it's plugged into the wall.

thecolourbox

Thanks chaps. The recording of the noise above is just the guitar straight into the interface, connected by usb to the laptop. So the lack of ground is possible I suppose. Going through the Digitech multi effects into the interface improved the sound quite a bit although not perfectly, perhaps the Digitech is grounded?

I've grabbed a cheap DI and am charging the battery for my wireless thing to see if either of those will make a difference as well. I'm not confident to buy a new computer because I'll probably just end up buying something with the same problems again, so hopefully either using the Digitech or the DI/Wireless thing will do the trick and I can just accept that I don't have the brain power to use Helix

JohnPerry

Dunno if you're still struggling with this but I had a v similar noise issue a month ago (sounded similar to your clip) when I first connected a new Focusrite soundcard to my PC via USB. I have used Firewire for years so this was a first. 

Very noisy, even the mouse movement picked up through the monitors. The fix was incredibly simple. I had a little five-quid USB splitter lying around, connected that to the PC's USB, then connected the Focusrite to the splitter. Noise gone. No idea of the electrical logic to that, but the extra "layer" sorted it instantly (and the Focusrite is fab).