Will TRS cables help me?

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fountain2
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:40 am

Will TRS cables help me?

Post by fountain2 » Wed Jun 16, 2010 4:44 am

I'm a relatively new LIVE user. I'm currently looping live guitar (gibson les paul) into ableton (with the help of an m-audio profire 610) and out to a Fender Blues Deluxe reissue. I'm plugged into input 1 which has the built in pre-amp.

I am trying to eliminate as much back ground noise as possible. I was able to figure out that my external monitor, when plugged into my macbook pro, cause a hell of a lot noise out of the amp for some reason. Nonetheless, even with less noticeable noise when the monitor is unplugged, i am still not satisfied with the sound quality and background hum coming out of the amp.

I'm using standard monster 1/4" guitar cables in and out of the profire 610. Will a TRS 1/4" cable plugged in the output of the profire 610 to the amp help eliminate the noise? I currently do not own any TRS cables.

Extra question: what in/out sample rate would you guys recommend I use?

Thanks a million.

Paul

EnjoyRC
Posts: 693
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2004 12:02 am
Location: USA

Re: Will TRS cables help me?

Post by EnjoyRC » Wed Jun 16, 2010 11:11 am

What country are you in? (I don't know if that matters, but...)

In the USA, everytime I have all my keyboards setup and I add my laptop to the setup, there is DC noise. I have to use a 'ground lift' plug. (3 prong to 2 prong adapter). Then everything is perfectly quiet. I always use TRS balanced when a device supports it.
MacBook Pro (MacOS 13.0.1) i9 Processor, 32gb RAM, 4tb SSD
(STUDIO I/O) MOTU UltraLite mk5 (w/ADA8200), (LIVE I/O) Behringer X Air XR18
Ableton Live Suite 11 (Live performances), Studio One 5 (Studio Stem Creation)

fountain2
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:40 am

Re: Will TRS cables help me?

Post by fountain2 » Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:19 pm

USA. Yeah, that is a good suggestion. So u use that plug adapter for your laptop?

Ill buy a TRS cable and see if that helps. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but will a trs cable work directly plugged into my gibson?

EnjoyRC
Posts: 693
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2004 12:02 am
Location: USA

Re: Will TRS cables help me?

Post by EnjoyRC » Wed Jun 16, 2010 5:44 pm

fountain2 wrote:USA. Yeah, that is a good suggestion. So u use that plug adapter for your laptop?

Ill buy a TRS cable and see if that helps. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but will a trs cable work directly plugged into my gibson?
Gibson most likely is standard TS cable. Not balanced. And Yes, the 3>2 prong adapter is used on the laptop power supply.
MacBook Pro (MacOS 13.0.1) i9 Processor, 32gb RAM, 4tb SSD
(STUDIO I/O) MOTU UltraLite mk5 (w/ADA8200), (LIVE I/O) Behringer X Air XR18
Ableton Live Suite 11 (Live performances), Studio One 5 (Studio Stem Creation)

fountain2
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:40 am

Re: Will TRS cables help me?

Post by fountain2 » Wed Jun 16, 2010 9:12 pm

My laptop already has a two prong plug by default. Its plugged into a surge protector that itself has a three prong plug going into the wall... Suggestions?

fountain2
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:40 am

Re: Will TRS cables help me?

Post by fountain2 » Thu Jun 17, 2010 5:47 am

EnjoyRC wrote:What country are you in? (I don't know if that matters, but...)

In the USA, everytime I have all my keyboards setup and I add my laptop to the setup, there is DC noise. I have to use a 'ground lift' plug. (3 prong to 2 prong adapter). Then everything is perfectly quiet. I always use TRS balanced when a device supports it.
i read on wikipedia that the "ground lift" plug is unsafe... i.e. u can get electrocuted.... anyways I just found out that when i unplug my laptop a significant amount of noise goes away. Also found out that when I use the adapter on my macbook pro power cable to make it longer which also introduces a 3 prong at the end it gets quieter (though not as much as when I completely unplug it). Also interesting is that by trying different plugs around the room I get different kinds of noise.

fountain2
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:40 am

Re: Will TRS cables help me?

Post by fountain2 » Thu Jun 17, 2010 5:52 am

More news...

Using a 3 ft cable instead of a 21ft cable from the profire to the amp dramatically cut noise as well. thats intuitive i guess

EnjoyRC
Posts: 693
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2004 12:02 am
Location: USA

Re: Will TRS cables help me?

Post by EnjoyRC » Thu Jun 17, 2010 12:41 pm

fountain2 wrote:anyways I just found out that when i unplug my laptop a significant amount of noise goes away
That's what I noticed... that when my laptop relied on it's battery, it was completely silent. As soon as I plugged it in, I heard noise. The ground lift fixed it for me. My laptop did have a 3 prong plug.

Hope you find it.
MacBook Pro (MacOS 13.0.1) i9 Processor, 32gb RAM, 4tb SSD
(STUDIO I/O) MOTU UltraLite mk5 (w/ADA8200), (LIVE I/O) Behringer X Air XR18
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fountain2
Posts: 22
Joined: Wed Jun 02, 2010 2:40 am

Re: Will TRS cables help me?

Post by fountain2 » Thu Jun 17, 2010 9:36 pm

EnjoyRC wrote:
fountain2 wrote:anyways I just found out that when i unplug my laptop a significant amount of noise goes away
That's what I noticed... that when my laptop relied on it's battery, it was completely silent. As soon as I plugged it in, I heard noise. The ground lift fixed it for me. My laptop did have a 3 prong plug.

Hope you find it.
Funny thing is my laptop is a 2 prong! doesn't quite add up. Regardless, from what I'm reading I strongly recommend you buy a transformer and stop using the ground lift so you don't get electrocuted!

EnjoyRC
Posts: 693
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2004 12:02 am
Location: USA

Re: Will TRS cables help me?

Post by EnjoyRC » Fri Jun 18, 2010 11:50 am

fountain2 wrote:Funny thing is my laptop is a 2 prong! doesn't quite add up. Regardless, from what I'm reading I strongly recommend you buy a transformer and stop using the ground lift so you don't get electrocuted!
Transformer? Electrical, or line level transformer? I know many DI's have ground lift on um.
MacBook Pro (MacOS 13.0.1) i9 Processor, 32gb RAM, 4tb SSD
(STUDIO I/O) MOTU UltraLite mk5 (w/ADA8200), (LIVE I/O) Behringer X Air XR18
Ableton Live Suite 11 (Live performances), Studio One 5 (Studio Stem Creation)

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