First findings, hooked up my Far for the first time today. Calibrated, that was a bit of a hassle, but I found something that works and saved it.
I hooked up an Arturia Minilab 3 that was powered by my computer, and got horrible digital noise the moment I plugged in the MIDI-jack. Tried the MIDI output from my sound card (RME UFXII) and it was noticeably less, but still too much. I tried different things: a DI between the output, trying the different outputs, but the noise was still too loud, with everything I tried. Then I tried powering the Minilab with a separate adaptor, so not connected to my computer at all, and now the noise floor is workable. So beware, if you encounter issues like this, try powering your MIDI-controller from an independent source first.
Noise related to MIDI controllers
Re: Noise related to MIDI controllers
Was this using the hardware MIDI port or MIDI over USB?
With MIDI over USB this is a known issue because of the ground loop being created in between the USB cable and the audio cable. With hardware MIDI however this shouldn't be an issue - and either way, a DI box should remove any digital interference so that is strange. Is the instrument noisy even if you don't have any controller plugged in and just use the control box?
With MIDI over USB this is a known issue because of the ground loop being created in between the USB cable and the audio cable. With hardware MIDI however this shouldn't be an issue - and either way, a DI box should remove any digital interference so that is strange. Is the instrument noisy even if you don't have any controller plugged in and just use the control box?
Re: Noise related to MIDI controllers
It is when I use the MIDI jack in when my keyboard is connected to my computer for power. If I use a separate adaptor for the keyboard, and don't plug it in to the computer, the noise is gone.
I can't remove the noise with a DI though. Will investigate further. Maybe lend another DI from someone. Not being able to hook it up to a computer would be kind of a problem. Also having some issues with the calibration but I'll post that in the other thread.
I can't remove the noise with a DI though. Will investigate further. Maybe lend another DI from someone. Not being able to hook it up to a computer would be kind of a problem. Also having some issues with the calibration but I'll post that in the other thread.
Re: Noise related to MIDI controllers
Yeah not being able to hook it up to a computer is unacceptable - i will find out whats going on.
I'm thinking this could be an issue with grounding despite the fact that MIDI is supposed to work without a shared ground (kinda the whole thing). I had some issues when developing the hardware MIDI interface and left the MIDI input jack grounded and this might have been a mistake - i'm going to investigate. If you are able to, you can try and do a ground lift on whatever MIDI cable you are using, basically cutting the connection from the middle pin on the DIN contact / sleeve of the 3.5mm contact.
As for the DI this is really weird tho - what is the DI you are using? It has to be a true isolated DI, transformer based or some sort of active guy with a ground lift.
I'm thinking this could be an issue with grounding despite the fact that MIDI is supposed to work without a shared ground (kinda the whole thing). I had some issues when developing the hardware MIDI interface and left the MIDI input jack grounded and this might have been a mistake - i'm going to investigate. If you are able to, you can try and do a ground lift on whatever MIDI cable you are using, basically cutting the connection from the middle pin on the DIN contact / sleeve of the 3.5mm contact.
As for the DI this is really weird tho - what is the DI you are using? It has to be a true isolated DI, transformer based or some sort of active guy with a ground lift.
Re: Noise related to MIDI controllers
It is working for now. I changed nothing, but it is working today. The DI blocks the noise as expected. Will keep you posted if it occurs again.
(I'm using a Headway EDB-2)
(I'm using a Headway EDB-2)
Re: Noise related to MIDI controllers
So if im reading the EDB-2 manual correctly, the only way to get it to be isolated is to use the XLR out with ground lift on.
Regardless though, hardware MIDI should not create ground loops so i am still looking into this.
Regardless though, hardware MIDI should not create ground loops so i am still looking into this.