VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

Okay, so I replaced my Blue mic cable with a Mogami Gold cable, and still I have a lousy hiss. Here is a file to listen to it:

Hiss-what_the-heck_is_this.mp3 (345.2 KB bytes) => https://www.onlinefilefolder.com/4seBNtmX6XW8CZ

Any ideas as to what might be causing this? I can't record anything for actual use until I get this fixed.
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Mushmelon · Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 6:51 pm Post subject:

I have gotten that same sound in the past when my mic cable was inadvertantly crossing over one of my power cables. I would have thought that my mic cable would have been shielded enough for that not to happen. But once I moved the mic cable and ran it parrallel to the power cord the sound went away. Not sure it is the same in your case but it's someting you might want to check...just a thought
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Drew · Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 6:16 am Post subject:

Got the same hiss myself. Discovered among other things (a tube going out in my old mic), that when I toyed with the connection to the mic, I could make it go away for a short time. New mic and cable resolved it for me.
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Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

This clip was recorded using a mic that was recently given a major mod. It seems to be the mic, though I hear it to at much lower level with other mics.

It is much worse when I monitor through my ART MyMonitor headphone preamp when using my Speck solid-state preamp (which does not have a headphone jack). Dunno if that is relevant.

I have not made any changes to my studio set-up lately. No other new equipment, aside from the modded mic. I’m using a Furman Power Conditioning strip for my equipment.

The mic modder has been very responsive and will take the mic back to see what is wrong. The amount of noise I have with my other mics is acceptable, though I'd like to get rid of it entirely - especially so I can use my headphone amp again (maybe I need to replace it?).
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Philip Banks · Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 7:23 am Post subject:

Heard the noise before and it was coming from a Neumann TLM193. My friend thought it was his mixer, it wasn't it was the mic. Sent it away to Neumann for a service and all was right with the world.

Idea. Disconnect mic, leave everything else connected and then "record" if you still get the noise (ignore hum from a dsconnected mic lead) then the problem is elsewhere.

Dayo · Cinquecento Joined: 10 Jan 2008 Posts: 544 Location: UK

Sounds to me like a noisy tube.

Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

FYI - this is not a tube mic, nor does the preamp use a tube.
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

Okay, I'm assuming this is an MXL mod into the Speck?

The CS5 and the NTK weren't as noisy?

It doesn't sound like a power issue, and you changed cables. How about the cable from the Speck to the interface?

I think this could be a type of RF interference since it's so intermittent.

On the plus side, your voice sounds great and the performance is authentic. I believe you. Smile

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Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

Hmmmmm...

Yes, Lance, this is the MXL 909 modded by Mike Joly. I did not want to reveal that yet so as to not disparage his work unfairly. (So far, I *LOVE* it!). Glad I double checked - when I connected this mic to another cable outside my booth, the buzz went away completely! So this seems to prove that it is not the mic (though this mic seems more sensitive to the issue than the CS5 for example - haven't tried other mics yet).

In the booth, the XLR cable and headphone cable pass through a hole at the bottom of the booth, the same hole where a power cable for a Belkin SurgeMaster 6 outlet, umm, "thingie" (the proper word escapes me).

Now I know that can cause problems. That's why I had the power cable wrapped in aluminum foil. Up until now, since I got this thingie a few years back, I have not had any problems. If this IS the cause, I don't know what could have happened to it so that it suddenly brings this buzz.

I'll play around with it and report back.
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Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

Okay, I shielded the power cable with more aluminum foil, and moved the power cable up to the perimeter of the booth, as far away from other cables as I could. Hooked up the mic again - the hiss/buzz is STILL there! Arghhhh.

I just don't understand how this could suddenly be an issue with the Belkin power strip - I had not changed its position in a long time. It's a *major* hassle to pull my booth out of the corner to get access to the back and pull out the power strip. I'll have to do that unless someone has another idea.
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Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

This is getting more confusing to me.

Here is a file with 3 sound clips: the MJE-K47 *outside* my booth, with a very short mic cable (I hear fan noise but NO hiss); the MJE-K47 inside my booth (tons of hiss); and a Rode NTK inside my booth (NO hiss - the first few seconds were recorded with the door closed before I got it, and there is little to no noise).

https://www.onlinefilefolder.com/4sUnfuKYaNiHUT

If the mic isn't the source of the problem, then why would the MJE-K47 have this terrible noise inside the booth, but not the Rode? And if the mic IS the source, why is it fine outside my booth? I'm perplexed.
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Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

Is your mic cable run through an opening or?

Tom Test · DC Joined: 23 Jan 2007 Posts: 629 Location: Chicago, IL

The mic cable from the booth runs through the same hole that the headphone cable and electrical cord for the 6-plug Belkin outlet do, and always have for years - never a problem. So the fact that there is suddenly a problem now puzzles me.
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Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2281 Location: Atlanta

I still think it's "interference" that some of your mics are picking up noise from your booth and others aren't. What wireless devices are running in or near your studio?
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TheVoiceOfBob · Posted: Thu Nov 19, 2009 2:27 pm Post subject:

Did you ground that shielding?
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