crackling static sound during live recording

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Level 1

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crackling static sound during live recording

while recording acoustic guitar and vocals, I keep getting this crackle static sound. I am using a presonus firebox, apex 460 for vocals, apex 185 for acoustic guitar. My levels were low so I do not think I was clipping. No peaks showing up in either tracks clip decector. Not sure where else to look to clean up the recording process. Any suggestions?

imac, Mac OS X (10.4.5), For music creation only

Posted on Jul 3, 2007 6:13 AM

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Answer 1

KOROS

Level 2

290 points

Jul 3, 2007 8:07 AM in response to angelman

Do you have good quality cables from the microphones. Balanced cables are bet.
This could be caused by poor connection in a cable/plug, poor quality cable, mic cables running close to mains cables, poor connections elsewhere between the mic and the computer.
Are you recording through any processing in the computer or is it direct microphone to Firebox to Logic track?

Set up a record session and just gently move the cables near the plugs to see if you have a loose connection. If so the problem will show up obviously.

How much RAA do you have?

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Answer 2

angelman Author

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Jul 3, 2007 8:36 AM in response to KOROS

Thanks for the help, I will try all your suggestions. I am recording directly through the firebox to the logic track, but I am not sure what RAA is. I'll check my cables and keep them seperated from everthing. Thanks again

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Answer 3

KOROS

Level 2

290 points

Jul 5, 2007 1:04 AM in response to angelman

Sorry, typing error, I meant RAM

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Answer 4

angelman Author

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Jul 5, 2007 5:59 AM in response to KOROS

I have 512 RAM. I am using the iMac just as it came out of the box. So far I have not increased the ram. I am not using much of the hard drive as yet. I have only insatalled LE7 and not much else, and when recording, I delete unwanted audio tracks right away. Any tips on what I should look for while recording to avoid overloading the system?

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Answer 5

Jul 5, 2007 6:28 AM in response to angelman

Hi. If you have updated to OS-X 10.4.10, that may be the reason why you´ve been having audio problems. Apple have just released a separate audio update to solve these problems. Go check it out, if you haven´t done so already. There´s also a OS-X 10.4.10 (v 1.1) combo update, which includes the audio update.

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Answer 6

angelman Author

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Jul 6, 2007 5:15 AM in response to PsychedelicFarmBoy

Thanks for the info. I must admit I am new to this and have been reluctant to download any of the many updates offered by apple. I will look for the audio update and install it and let you know if it helps. Thanks again

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Answer 7

Aug 9, 2007 8:21 PM in response to angelman

any solutions yet. I've got the same problem

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Answer 8

Aug 9, 2007 9:53 PM in response to jukebox man

I to have had this problem but not until I started using Amplitube 2 and only on one track. Apparently the track I tried to record on had some residual information on it from a previous use. It caused a crackling sound when I tried to record on it with Amplitube but not with any other plug in. Although I did not solve the problem wih that particular track I was able to record with Amplitube on another track without a problem. So while it may not solve the problem in any real sense, you could try simply using a different track. It worked for me.

Greg

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