Focusrite 18i20 Initial Set Up And Noise Issues

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JosephDignamMusic
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Focusrite 18i20 Initial Set Up And Noise Issues

Post by JosephDignamMusic » Tue May 06, 2014 9:24 pm

Hello there,

As I am currently on a very steep learning curve in home recording, I wont even begin to make out that I understand how to use focusrite's mix control, however I believe I may have an issue but unsure if it is related to settings in the Mix Control or not. I cannot find anything directly related to this topic so hopefully it is something simple.

Problem 1) No matter what input I use on the front or the back of the unit, I am having to turn the gain right up to nearly maximum to get any decent volume from the headphone jack on the interface. The LED lights on the front display will only reach the "orange and red" level if the gain for that channel is wound almost to maximum.

Problem 2) All inputs no matter if its a mic (im only using dynamic mics), electric guitar or acoustic guitar, I am getting a lot of noise in the signal. EG: The mics are quiet when no audio is detected, but if you tap them, or if the mic picks up a sound, the signal will be destroyed with a mid-high frequency "electronic interference" sound.

I am using a Shure SM58 dynamic mike with a XLR to XLR cable - Exactly the same set up that is flawless when connected to my Behringer PMP6000 powered mixer therefore I don't believe there are any issues with cables and mics etc.

Any help you can provide would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Joe

peteT
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Re: Focusrite 18i20 Initial Set Up And Noise Issues

Post by peteT » Wed May 07, 2014 4:28 am

Hi Joseph,

I have previously had a similar issue with my Focusrite 18i6 which was solved by returning the unit for repair. In my case I was getting this on line in 7 & 8 only. In the end it was a connection issue between the jack socket and the internals of the unit which was solved. Check when you have a mic connected and tap the unit itself while monitoring on headphones. If you can hear microphony noises with subtle ringing noises as you tap then this is likely the problem with the unit. Also test with no mic connected on the other end of the cable for same.

Have you checked the unit on a PC or Mac to see if you get similar results? Also check that the locked light is showing on the unit to ensure it is syncing at the appropriate sample rate.

Are you recording at 44.1 / 48k or 96k. There are issues with recording on iPad @ 96k with the 18i20 which Focusrite knows about. See my recent thread under bugs on this forum.

Hope this helps,

Pete

JosephDignamMusic
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Re: Focusrite 18i20 Initial Set Up And Noise Issues

Post by JosephDignamMusic » Wed May 07, 2014 5:04 am

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the info,I have done a few more tests as follows:

Ran a XLR to TRS Cable (with a microphone connected) to all other inputs on the interface and gave the microphone a tap and observed the same "staticy" noise through the headphones.

I then removed all inputs to the interface and turned up Gain 1, Gain 2, Gain 3, Gain 4 as far as they would go and the static feedback noise is unbearable through the headphones. Each gain knob seems to individually contribute to the overall noise.

No noticeable feedback can be heard when tapping the casing of the unit on the bottom, top or sides.

The interface is plugged into a Furman PL-Plus CE Power Conditioner, I have even bypassed this, and tried the interface on several different power points with no improvement.

This interface was literally collected and installed yesterday so I will be disappointed if it is an internal problem.

Joe

Matt.Focusrite
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Re: Focusrite 18i20 Initial Set Up And Noise Issues

Post by Matt.Focusrite » Thu May 08, 2014 7:19 pm

Hi Joseph,

With an issue like this, the best thing to do will be to contact our support team directly so that we can work with you to isolate the cause of the issue and address it accordingly. Here is the contact for Focusrite support:

http://us.focusrite.com/answerbase/contact

JosephDignamMusic
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Posts: 29
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Re: Focusrite 18i20 Initial Set Up And Noise Issues

Post by JosephDignamMusic » Fri May 09, 2014 3:58 am

Matt.Focusrite wrote:Hi Joseph,

With an issue like this, the best thing to do will be to contact our support team directly so that we can work with you to isolate the cause of the issue and address it accordingly. Here is the contact for Focusrite support:

http://us.focusrite.com/answerbase/contact

Thanks for the link Matt - I was actually looking for this page but kept getting the FAQ section.

Joe.

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