Line In Channel Humming

Tracker
1

hey there!

i am on the polyend tracker silver edition. when i open the line in-channel there is a very noticeable humming sound by default, no matter if something is connected or not.

this gives me a headache, especially when i just want my machinedrum’s sound to pass through as well as wanting it to be sampled. already checked if it’s the machinedrum itself, used different cables, different power outlets. no luck. i could understand it, when the humming noise disappears completely when something is connected to the tracker, but what is happening here doesn’t make sense to me.

of course i can adjust volumes to have it to be not so obvious when recording it into ableton, but naturally the humming is still present, when i make it louder afterwards, which is necessary when mixing…

long story short:

tracker line in channel (open) → humming

machinedrum → tracker → digitone = humming

machinedrum → digitone = NO humming

any idea or advice?

2

Two things i discovered. I have the Tracker OG and Medusa.

  1. As for the tracker. Try another power supply, the one in the package has significant ground hum. A standard usb charger with 5V 2A should be enough and the hum is gone. Second, dont use power over usb connection with your PC as this is nearly always leading to ground noise problems.
  2. Beware of symetrical to asymetrical connections.
    Use a mono ts cable instead of a trs cable, because the free not shortend connection is like an antenna causing to transmit noise to the trs input of the tracker. Medusas Leds are such a thing, they make noise alot. Just use a mono cable to get rid if it.
1 Like
3

thank you very much for the reply.
unfortunately both of the suggestions didn’t work for me.

i also have realised that the humming is present, when the tracker is turned off.

so:

machinedrum → tracker (turned off) → digitone = humming

as soon as i unplug the machinedrum (or any other device) from the turned off tracker’s line in channel the humming disappears… whatever kind of cable i put into the tracker the humming starts again.

i just tried:
tracker → machinedrum → digitone = NO humming

but this is not the setup i desire, because it would have been nice to record the machinedrum into the tracker.

this is utterly frustrating because it makes no sense. the only thing that seems clear to me is that this has something to do with the input of the tracker…

4

What kind of cable do you use for the input?

Mono or stereo?

5

Tried different cables of both types. Didn’t work for me.
Bought a ground loop isolator now, which helped to tame the humming a little, but it’s still not perfect.