DAW for hardware synth effects

[thecontrolcentre]

Is the noise there when the synth is disconnected?

[rubez]

disconnected from what?

with no USB or cable going to the audio interface, the noise is there. sounds like white noise, not a hum. it is on all patches, even with the delay internal delay turned off, and 'noise' knob on the minilogue turned down too.

only with headphones connected and the noise is still there. some suggested electrical interference, though i ran it off a power strip/mains conditioner that is supposed to stop interference and the noise was exactly the same.

[JoseC.]

You most probably have a ground loop between the interface and the minilogue. Try plugging one of them in a different wall socket.

[JoseC.]

If it does not go away, you might need to use a box to convert the synth unbalanced output to balanced before going into the interface. Behringer makes a two channel one for about twenty euro, IIRC.

[JoseC.]

This one

http://www.music-group.com/Categories/B ... 00/p/P0387

[BertKoor]

That is a Hum Destroyer, not a WhiteNoiseKiller.
I'd say this is due to improper gain staging.
Your synth's volume knob should be set to full blast (ok, back off a little bit from there)
Input trim of the interface should be around 12 o'clock but depends.

If you got that reversed (synth is soft and interface full gain to compensate) then no wonder you hear noise.

[rubez]

yeah, it's not like a ground hum, it's white noise.

don't really understand the rest of what you said, but you mean like it's a badly calibrated unit?

if a reverb helped kill some of the white noise, could a limiter plug-in help kill it off? never used limiters or anything like that before, but i seen something like that before in a tutorial video i'm sure.

[Shabdahbriah]

yeah, it's not like a ground hum, it's white noise.

don't really understand the rest of what you said, but you mean like it's a badly calibrated unit?

if a reverb helped kill some of the white noise, could a limiter plug-in help kill it off? never used limiters or anything like that before, but i seen something like that before in a tutorial video i'm sure.

So, to recap for those who missed it... You hear this noise through your headphones, even when the synth is not connected to anything else, in any manner, correct?

i.e.

with no USB or cable going to the audio interface, the noise is there. sounds like white noise, not a hum. it is on all patches, even with the delay internal delay turned off, and 'noise' knob on the minilogue turned down too.

[thecontrolcentre]

disconnected from what?

Disconnected from the audio interface. Is the noise from the 2i2 or the synth? Sounds like you could have the gains set wrong on the interface. Are you monitoring from the synth or the interface?

[BertKoor]

don't really understand the rest of what you said, but you mean like it's a badly calibrated unit?

Nope, I meant it's simply pilot error...

Your synth's volume knob should be set to full blast (ok, back off a little bit from there)

That would probably be the knob at the top left of your Minilogue labelled "Master". Turn that all the way up, so the synth's sound gets louder, effectively making the background noise relatively softer.

Input trim of the interface should be around 12 o'clock

Now the synth's output is set louder, you should compensate that by lowering the "Gain" knob at the front of your interface. Also note that the line/mic switch should be set to Line.

if a reverb helped kill some of the white noise

Reverb will let you hear some sound while the synth itself stopped playing. That will put the white noise more to the background. Your brain will concentrate on that sound then and ignore the noise.

Also if you are listening with headphones at a loud level, you'll hear such background noise much more prominent than with monitor speakers at moderate level.

could a limiter plug-in help kill it off?

Nope, what could work is a noise gate. That works on the other end of the dynamic range. A limiter or compressor would actually make it worse because it amplifies soft sounds. A expander or noise gate will lower the volume (to zero) if it is below the threshold.

[rubez]

not sure if it is me being unclear.

the noise comes from the minilogue itself. i noticed it instantly the first time i powered it up and plugged in my heaphones. even before the 2i2 was even delivered. just the minilogue. nothing else attached to it except the power adapter and heaphones.

the higher i turn up the master volume knob on the minilogue, the stronger (louder) the white noise gets.

[BertKoor]

[edit] never mind.. Thought it could be the minilogue's delay but you ruled that out already.

Just to get an idea of the severity, what's the level in dB of the background noise if you record it?

search.php?keywords=noise+floor&t=454395&sf=msgonly

S/N or SNR of modern analogs is usually between 80dB and 60dB, most old analogs around 60dB.

[rubez]

no idea, can't record it. sequencer gets triggered and goes nuts when you try to record.

the noise at 50% master is as far as i'd want to go, otherwise the white noise is overbearing. i keep it half way between 0% and 50%.

my allen + heath 92 mixer has the same white noise problem. maybe it's just shitty wiring in the house.

[JoseC.]

That is a Hum Destroyer, not a WhiteNoiseKiller.

That is a passive box to convert unbalanced to balanced or balanced to unbalanced. The "Hum Destroyer" moniker is just a marketing name.

I have had ground related noise problems that went beyond the 50 cycle "hum" and were pure white noise, and that went away with some kind of ground lift.

Of course if the synth is not connected to anything and makes white noise (the OP does not make this too clear), the synth is defective and using a noise gate will only mask the problem, but not solve it.

[thecontrolcentre]

no idea, can't record it.

Why not? Plug the synth into your interface and record in your DAW.

my allen + heath 92 mixer has the same white noise problem. maybe it's just shitty wiring in the house.

Could be ...