I've been having the problem of hearing the high frequencies on my records make a scratching or static sound for quite sometime now. (I've actually posted about this a while ago, but i can't find it)
So over the past few months I attempted to fix the problem by doing two things:
1) Replace the wire I was using to record.
2) Upgrading my cartridges from the Stanton 500B to Shure M44G
Yet still, it makes the same static sounds.
Here's a sample of what I'm talking about : Sample
My current set up is:
2x Stanton T.80 Turntables
2x Shure M44G
1x Numark DM1002MKII Mixer
Does anyone know why this happens? Could it be my mixer or turntables that are causing the problem? Also I had some trouble installing my carts (because of cheap plyers) so the wires were a bit roughed up... so could it be the wires between the cart and the headshell?
When i first got my M44Gs they where shocking for weeks. They broke in and are settled good now. It might be the vinyl.
Play your PC to your mixer and record it back again so you can figure out if its the cables or mixer.
Listen to it in the headphones and speakers to see if its the comp or the mixer-PC cable.
Dec-26-2005 14:36
m2j
Music Addict
Registered: Nov 2004
Location: Toronto, Canada
quote:
Originally posted by DJ 00 Tommy
When i first got my M44Gs they where shocking for weeks. They broke in and are settled good now. It might be the vinyl.
Play your PC to your mixer and record it back again so you can figure out if its the cables or mixer.
Listen to it in the headphones and speakers to see if its the comp or the mixer-PC cable.
I've been using the M44Gs for quite a few weeks now... how long did it take till your carts broke in?
And its kind of weird, because it happens with only some of my vinyl, not all of them. But most often with tracks with vocals that have an "S" sound... although not all of them.
I emailed Stanton in regards to whether its a grounding issue, since the Stanton T.80 do not have grounding wires. But apparently their digital turntables do not require grounding.
Here's their response:
quote:
Hello,
Sibilance is what I think you are experiencing and that is a tone created during the formation of consonants within the frequency range of 4-10K. Technically the shure m44G is more prone to sibilance than the Stanton. I would suggest trying the 680 HP or the 680 EL II.
Thank you, Aaron Perry Aka; DJ Illnaughty
Could it really be a cart issue? You dont have this problem do you, DJ 00 Tommy?
Haha! That respone is hilarous!
"No its because our porducts are better then theirs, buy us!!"
Thats a load of bull because Shure is one of the best when it comes to carts are styluses.
It does happen on some records and not others because not all vinyl is pressed exactly the same. What are all the tonarm settings?
I still give my carts some time to warm up before i start mixing.
I dont know if i changed something or if mine just broke in but they work fine now.
Dec-29-2005 07:23
m2j
Music Addict
Registered: Nov 2004
Location: Toronto, Canada
I know eh... they just want me to buy more stanton gear, lol
Btw, the tonearm has about 1.5g of trackin on it right now.
Also, I tried feeding some audio from my PC to my mixer, and listened to it from my headphones. It just blared as if it were too loud for the headphones.
I might try replacing the wires between the headshell and the carts to see if thats the problem, because they are quite roughed up. Can a roughed up Cart wire be the problem? or is that not likely?
A few have told me it maybe the mixer itself. It maybe cutting off the frequency shorter than the signal sent from the turntables. But then that'll mean i'll need to replace my mixer
When you connect the computer to the mixer you have to make sure its not set to phono. Make sure its set to line. Or plugged into the plug that says line.
Dec-30-2005 12:07
m2j
Music Addict
Registered: Nov 2004
Location: Toronto, Canada
when i set it to Line or plugged it into the Line plug the volume is so extremely low that I cant tell if there are static noises or not.
Dude, that's just how some records are pressed. Some are pressed better than others. I also am a hip-hop DJ, and I have quite a few vinyls from small remix services that aren't pressed very well, and they make that scratchy sound. Some of my nicer trance vinyls and retail hip-hop singles don't make that noise.
Jan-04-2006 03:49
m2j
Music Addict
Registered: Nov 2004
Location: Toronto, Canada
hmmm... it maybe just the way the vinyls are pressed. But there are more records with the static sound than not. And some of them are from big trance labels like Coldharbour, ASOT, Monster, and so on.
But I'll try and take a few records to a friends house to hear them out, and see if thats the problem.
The link does not work, but since you mentioned high frequencies, I suspect it could be your stylus. Maybe you should check for any accumulation of dust and brush it off gently. If that is the case, that should fix it.
Jan-05-2006 07:52
m2j
Music Addict
Registered: Nov 2004
Location: Toronto, Canada
quote:
Originally posted by dj_palm
asot vinyls usualy good, monster not so good, coldharbour hmm aint that armada? should be good. is it dust on the vinyls? or the slip mat? in case u flip the vinyl
I use a vinyl brush like this one:
and I'm using the Stanton Slip Mats that came with the turntables... they seem to be okay.
I also used the small brushes that came with the M44G's to wipe some dust off the needle.
Didn't help much... still have some problems... I'm starting to think it might be faulty gear all together. I'm gonna try and run some tests on some friends gear to see where they problem lies. Meanwhile, I'm gonna replace the cartridge to headshell wires.
For now, I advise anyone buying turntables to STAY AWAY from Stanton Turntables and Numark Mixers.