I'm picking up FM radio.

[Bret Brizzee]

I use a Heil PR40 through an ART Tube MP Project Series Pre-Amp and an M-Audio digital-analogue unit.

I've just recently moved to Boston, and I live in a large building.

With my headphones on and the Gain +20 button in on my ART Tube MP, I'm hearing 92.3 FM in a sort of scratchy, "white noise from the nether world" form.

Is my microphone picking up radio signals for any particular reason?

:S

Bret

Edit: Moving around my XLR cables seems to strengthen and weaken the signal. I feel like I'm putting up an antenna on the roof. "No! No! Left left left! GOOD GOOD! KEEP IT THERE! No! You moved it!"

[billelder]

That's a good clue. Those long wires can be just like antennas. Have you recorded and listened back to see if the radio is being recorded or just being picked up by your headphone amp?

Use the shortest cables you can. Is everything grounded? Is there a cable from a television or VCR plugged in to your system in any way? Just try unplugging things and seeing if it goes away. Then, let us know.

[Bret Brizzee]

Hey Bill! Thanks for sleuthing!

I have recorded and played back the recordings, which do include the eerie radio static. My headphone amp is also my audio interface (M-Audio Fast Track Pro).

I'm fairly sure everything is grounded - it's all plugged in to an APC Performance Surge Protector, and I know it's engineered with clean circuits. Unfortunately, I can't be sure if the occupant of the room next to me is on the same AC circuit or otherwise. Who knows what they could have plugged in over there.

Tried unplugging one-by-one, but that didn't eliminate the radio ghost. I think your suggestion to shorten my cables might be my best option. For now, I'll just have to be content with carefully moving them around.

Thanks again!

Bret

[RonaldTRobinson]

Try calling the radio stations's engineer. He/she'll be happy to have someone to talk to.

Otherwise, you might consider joining their Frequent Listener Club for great prizes, discounts, coffee mugs and a free newsletter. :smiley:

[Tom Reed]

I use a Heil PR40 through an ART Tube MP Project Series Pre-Amp and an M-Audio digital-analogue unit.

I've just recently moved to Boston, and I live in a large building.

With my headphones on and the Gain +20 button in on my ART Tube MP, I'm hearing 92.3 FM in a sort of scratchy, "white noise from the nether world" form.

Is my microphone picking up radio signals for any particular reason?

:S

Bret

Edit: Moving around my XLR cables seems to strengthen and weaken the signal. I feel like I'm putting up an antenna on the roof. "No! No! Left left left! GOOD GOOD! KEEP IT THERE! No! You moved it!"
If shortening the microphone cable doesn't completely eliminate the interference then you might have to use a shielded cable.

[billelder]

AM radio uses ground wires that can cause awful interference if you're near or over them. Folks used to pick up the 50,000 watt AM ion their telephones here. FM uses direct line of site from the antenna to your radio. Also, having all of the audio chain on the same strip can help eliminate noise and interference.

Then there's this. The Monster Cable MP PRO 2500 (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Monster-Power-MP-PRO-2500-Rack-Power-Center?sku=182650) which may be a necessity if you're VO-ing from an apartment. I've never used one and most of the feedback seems to say it helps buzz and hiss so it may not do what you want.
And, Ron's idea of calling a radio engineer is a dandy one. They may be a big help.

[PierceVoice]

Can you ask them to play Boston's "More Than A Feeling"? Tell 'em it's for Kristi. She'll know.

[Jacoby]

Brett,
are all your cables balanced?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_audio

[Grant Holmes]

Sort of on subject... YEARs ago, I was a cook at a restaurant that used a "Queuing" of customers. As the line got longer, they used a wired intercom to get orders in quicker to speed up service.

One night I realized that I was hearing CB chatter on the intercom speaker ("breaker, breaker 1-5"). As it was turned down at that point, I was the only one that heard the voices. (Wait, that's another thread...) Anyhow, the next night was the night that managers stayed lated to do weekly paperwork. So, after finishing my closing duties, I turned the speaker up to full and departed.

About 45 minutes later, a buddy and I pulled into the parking lot right beside the building. The managers were sitting in the dining room working on their stuff, so I tuned my CB (yes, it was that long ago!) to the proper channel, keyed the mike and scared the bejezzers out of them.

I did get yelled at, but everybody did have a good laugh.

[billelder]

Unfortunately, I can't be sure if the occupant of the room next to me is on the same AC circuit or otherwise.
This probably is a stupid idea, but have you thought of running a power cord to a plug on the other side of the room? Or, if you're coming out of the M--Audio in Digital, change it to analog (or the other way) to see if that makes any difference.

By the way, how do you like the Heil mic? I've heard very good things about it.

[Bret Brizzee]

Try calling the radio stations's engineer. He/she'll be happy to have someone to talk to.

Otherwise, you might consider joining their Frequent Listener Club for great prizes, discounts, coffee mugs and a free newsletter. :smiley:
I'll see if I can find a telephone number. I like the idea of getting free swag!


If shortening the microphone cable doesn't completely eliminate the interference then you might have to use a shielded cable.
As far as I know, all my XLR cables are shielded. Then again... some of these have been mixed around.


AM radio uses ground wires that can cause awful interference if you're near or over them. Folks used to pick up the 50,000 watt AM ion their telephones here. FM uses direct line of site from the antenna to your radio. Also, having all of the audio chain on the same strip can help eliminate noise and interference.

Then there's this. The Monster Cable MP PRO 2500 (http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Monster-Power-MP-PRO-2500-Rack-Power-Center?sku=182650) which may be a necessity if you're VO-ing from an apartment. I've never used one and most of the feedback seems to say it helps buzz and hiss so it may not do what you want.
And, Ron's idea of calling a radio engineer is a dandy one. They may be a big help.
I never knew that AM radio factoid, Bill! Interesting stuff. Everything from the MacBook Pro to the M-Audio to the Pre-Amp and the Terastation are on the same APC surge protector.

I'm interested in the MP Pro you linked to, but I don't think I have room (or the money) for it. I'll definitely keep it in mind for the future.

When I was in Vegas, I remember the engineer at one of my local stations to be helpful via e-mail. It took him 4 weeks to respond, and he never responded to my second message... but what information he did provide was worthwhile.


Can you ask them to play Boston's "More Than A Feeling"? Tell 'em it's for Kristi. She'll know.
Kristi, eh? If I ever do call this station, I'm sure I'll develop a great relationship with them. ;-)


Bret,
are all your cables balanced?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balanced_audio
These are all XLR cables, so they must be balanced, right?


Sort of on subject... YEARs ago, I was a cook at a restaurant that used a "Queuing" of customers. As the line got longer, they used a wired intercom to get orders in quicker to speed up service.

One night I realized that I was hearing CB chatter on the intercom speaker ("breaker, breaker 1-5"). As it was turned down at that point, I was the only one that heard the voices. (Wait, that's another thread...) Anyhow, the next night was the night that managers stayed lated to do weekly paperwork. So, after finishing my closing duties, I turned the speaker up to full and departed.

About 45 minutes later, a buddy and I pulled into the parking lot right beside the building. The managers were sitting in the dining room working on their stuff, so I tuned my CB (yes, it was that long ago!) to the proper channel, keyed the mike and scared the bejezzers out of them.

I did get yelled at, but everybody did have a good laugh.
Wow, Grant! Just goes to show what little span of frequency we all have to use. Do they still use intercom systems such as the one you mention in eating establishments? Seems like everything is conducted via computer monitor these days.


This probably is a stupid idea, but have you thought of running a power cord to a plug on the other side of the room? Or, if you're coming out of the M--Audio in Digital, change it to analog (or the other way) to see if that makes any difference.

By the way, how do you like the Heil mic? I've heard very good things about it.
Heh Bill, this room is 15 ft x 15 ft. It's quite possible that three rooms (mine and the ones on either side of me) could all share the same AC circuit. When you suggest switching the output of the M-Audio to analog, what do you mean? It's a USB interface.

I LOVE the Heil mic. The value at this price point is incredible. I don't know many who use dynamic in VO, but I find its frequency response to be well-suited to my voice. I should note that my overall experience with high-quality recording mics is limited. For example, I've never recorded on one of those $10,000 ribbon models. Even my experience with more approachable models (such as the RE20) is limited.

It sounds pretty good, so I'm happy. It's important to use a mixer or interface with a high-quality mic pre, just for the record. My $70 ART Tube MP Project works just fine.

Thanks for the help, everyone!

[Colin Campbell]

Bret.... station engineers are duty bound by the FCC to help you with any interference problems. One thing they don't want is complaints to the FCC.

[billelder]

Bret,

I'm grasping at straws but by analog I meant coming out of a "line out" analog audio jack to send the audio to your computer to see it it's a cable picking up the signal. Sometimes computers and their cases aren't very well grounded as far as audio is concerned. But USB interfaces are usually excellent qualtiy with no computer noises. Maybe I should just throw in the towel on this one? <g>

[Bret Brizzee]

Colin - That's valuable information. If the problem persists, I'll get on it.

Bill - Ah, I see. As it is now, as long as I keep the cables positioned a certain way, the signal is clear enough to record. I'm interested in your thoughts and the thoughts of others in case the problem becomes unavoidable.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

[Grant Holmes]

Bret, the intercom story was circa 1976 or so. Ancient history!

[vic44139]

Bret, shut down your WiFi (wireless antenna) while recording. :afro:

[Bret Brizzee]

Bret, shut down your WiFi (wireless antenna) while recording. :afro:
Definitely a good suggestion! I don't use WiFi personally, but I know there are routers running around the floor. My MacBook Pro's antenna is off.

[billelder]

Just thinking out loud. Have you tried setting up this same configuration anywhere else besides your home/apartment, like a friend's house or something, to see if it's your actual wiring or the proximity of your location?

[Bret Brizzee]

Just thinking out loud. Have you tried setting up this same configuration anywhere else besides your home/apartment, like a friend's house or something, to see if it's your actual wiring or the proximity of your location?
I have not, that is a great idea. Setup takes at least 25 minutes for me, however, so I don't make a practice of transporting all this gear to different locations.

If an outside recording zone becomes available, I'll set aside some time to try it out.

Thanks again, Bill!

[Bret Brizzee]

Alright. I've switched to 6-ft and 3-ft Mogami cables. Same issue. I'm thinking it could be the pre-amp?

Chain is like this:
Heil PR-40 -> Mogami 6-ft -> ART Tube MP Project Series -> Mogami 3 ft -> M-Audio Fast Track Pro -> USB Cable -> MacBook Pro

I've also made an interesting discovery. If I unplug my microphone from the ART Pre-Amp but leave everything else plugged-in and on, I continue to hear the 80% of the FM static. I have a feeling this means that either the ART is responsible, or the 3-foot Mogami path from the ART to the M-Audio is responsible.

I've attached a 15-second MP3 with audio amplified +30 db. This sample is taken with ALL parts of the chain properly connected and switched on.

Any more ideas? Maybe someone will lend me an ultra-expensive pre-amp for comparison testing? ;-)

Bret

[Lynn Benson]

Hey,
I was just looking around and came across this topic. So...still having trouble...! Something is not grounded. CALL THE RADIO STATION. I have had radio signals from station I worked get in to folding chairs at concerts and telephones at homes. It is something that the station wants to stop.

Picture a comm college getting ready to have a guest speaker and they hear me playing...well we won''t say who...(it was long ago)

Lynn

[JoeActor]

Musical Folding Chairs - I see a new "must have gift" this year!

Joe J Thomas
Joe J. Thomas Acting Portfolio (http://www.JoeActor.com)

[jsgilbert]

One word for you - Exorcism!

Seriously, there are several possiblities here. Individuals have reprosted that their computer speakers and sometimes headphones pick up taxis, radio stations, etc. but since you are actually getting this sound recorded, I think we can eliminate those as poterntial sources.

My next suggestion is to try replacing the cabling you have, onecable at a time with a better quality cable like Mogami. This is an relatively easy way to trace the problem down although, id I had to guess, I would say that your culprit is the ART Tube mic-pre. It's only about 3 transistors and resistor away from being a radio receiver and it's very likely the culprit. Try borrowing another mic pre and see if that's what your problem is.

I've met Bob Heil and know a lot about the man and his microphones and I'd be willingto bet dollars to doughnuts that the mic is not your problem, but this would be the last thing to check.

I'm beeting it's the ART Tube though. Any takers?

[jsgilbert]

OOps - I missed page 2 and much of my post is redundant. Still pretty sure it's you pre. Just so you know, the tubes in those things are swappable. Lots of people are claiming they can get SRT Tube toi be as good as some $500 mic pres by using Seimens or Telefunken NOS tubes in them.

I'm pretty sure that it still uses a 12AX7 tube and these range in price and aquality considerably. You can find out more about the tubes here:
12AX7 / 7025 / ECC83 Types (http://thetubestore.com/12ax70ectyp.html?gclid=CLipmtS8mZACFR3BYAodPmLbqA)

[Bret Brizzee]

Thanks for the help, guys.

Is tube replacement a big job, or a simple task? Also, by any chance could you recommend the best fit if I were to seek a replacement tube? (That is, could you point me in the direction of the best fit for my ART?) The prices on the website you referenced seemed great.

I work in a really nasty noise environment, but I do my best to record when things are quiet. I've noticed with this Mic-pre that pushing up the gain/output creates a LOT of ... (I think it's called) line noise? It's a high buzz/hum that increases in volume as I increase output. Do better quality tubes fare better when it comes to this noise?

Also, what are the general recommendations for completely different Pre-Amp model? Unfortunately, I know of no one who would be willing to swap pre-amps with me in this area. =(

Thanks for the help, guys! You're awesome!

Bret

[jsgilbert]

It's just so bloody subjective, it's hard to even say where to start. Of course I could always drive everyone a little crazier and say are you making your auditions that ae pleasing to your ears or to those of the person you're auditioning for.

Generally I think for v.o., which really only requires a single mono channel of audio, that you want to keep your chain really simple.

I have heard really clean recordings on M-Audio Solos and M-Audio firerwire 416's. M-Audio is owned by Digidesign and both are compatable with M-Poweredd Pro tools and almost all ofthe other software out there. I had used them with Cool Edit, Logic and Sound Forge.

I have read posts from musicians all over the internet that say that the ART Tube mic pre to them sounds like a $600 mic pre. And that is with a stock tube. Others have mentioned upgrading the tube to Telefunken or Seimens, although I can't seem to find any specific posts on the web that deal with tube upgradingthe ART.

My personal experience with the ART Tube was that I also found it very noisy and it injected a slight hum into my v.o. recordings.

If you are under warrantly or even not, you might want to just contact the ARTcompany and talk with someone regaridng your issues. Suggest that you had heard a tube replacement or upgrade might help and see what they say.

There are a couple of really nice mic pre / strips out there including Joe Meek and Drawmer Front Ends. These will give you lots of gain and also provide for de-essing, compression, eq'ing and even with the Drawmer, something called "tube sound" which alledgedly makesthe recording sound warmer. That's why some folks are dran to the ART tube pre - very inexpensive way to get something to sound expensive??

The only question is How much of an engineer to you want to study to be?

Good Luck.

[Colin Campbell]

I've changed out a tube in a Presonus TubePRE before. Pretty simple and the directions were in the manual. I stopped usinig it because I didn't care for the sound but the TubePRE goes for $99. The recommended "upgrade" (which did improve the sound) was a Tungsol 12AX7.

[Bret Brizzee]

Thanks Colin! That sounds perfect.

In light of the presently hazardous snowfall (the roads have been locked for 2 hours, moving one foot per minute here in Boston) I JUST purchased a cheap ($50) Furman power conditioner at Guitar Center. I received a suggestion that my power situation may be the biggest contributor to the issue. Once I have it hooked up properly, I'll update!

Bret

[Bret Brizzee]

Power conditioner didn't do anything.

MUST be the pre-amp.

Bret

[Wendy Abbey]

I had a problem similar to what you're having. I bought an RE1 filter at my local discount store for a couple of dollars and no more radio station. I live in a large building also so there is lots of interference. Good luck. WA

[lanceblair]

Bret,

I used to live in Boston and I had that ART preamp that I used for home music demo recordings. It picked up FM radio, and I remember it being 92.5 WBOS. No joke.

I run my Heil PR40 with a True Systems P-Solo, and it even sounds pretty good through my Yamaha MG mixer. Attached is a quick sample of the Heil without and with processing through the True for reference. My advice is to get a nice solid state pre (doesn't need to cost a bunch) for the Heil: even though they don't need to be cranked as much as other dynamic mics, they still need a good deal of quiet gain. Keep it clean. The Heil has enough character for a dynamic that you don't need to introduce the character of a tube as well. If you want to smooth out the somewhat biting high end of a PR40, just notch out 8kHz to taste.

Good luck :)

[Brian Hart]

I remember it being 92.5 WBOS.

Well, at least it had good taste. I applied for a job there once.

[Bret Brizzee]

Thanks Lance! I'm definitely considering solid state for when the budget allows.

I believe I am getting 92.5 as well... must be a pretty powerful transmitter? Or just a unique attenuation.

[billelder]

Lance, Nice demo on the Heil and Art Pre. Sounds great.