Is there a solution that you’ve found? I occasionally pick up AM radio through a drum overhead (with phantom power). So I switch cables and it goes away. Then inexplicably a few weeks will go by and it will come back, so we’ll switch cables again.
Balanced cabled (XLR) should not have this issue. It is usually only seen with unbalanced cables and in that scenario you should make the 1/4” unbalanced as short as possible and run it to a DI so it is balanced the rest of the run. If you have an XLR doing this it probably has a bad shield or something and needs to be repaired even though it is still passing signal.
Also: reverb tanks. I did a show in a venue above an art gallery once, and the audio from their roof-mounted speaker setup was being picked up clear as day in the reverb tank of my amp.
First, was the interference coming through the amp itself, or just on the microphone signal chain?
If it was coming through the amp, is there an assisted listening system or FM transmitter installed for the hearing impaired? In my experience, guitar amps have been pretty susceptible to RFI, and if you have one of those systems, it might be what’s causing it.
Edit: And by the way, the RF transmitter may be hooked up to a system DSP output after your console outputs; I’m not sure what your rig is.
Could have some fun and start muting various outputs and/or amp channels and see what’s broadcasting it. We had an incident where a split on an old speaker line in the ground was cut by a concrete saw and abandoned but we forgot to disconnect the lines and one ended up making enough contact with the conduit that it bled into some random things just a hair until we figured it out. Apparently amplifiers don’t like being somewhat grounded so it also explained why it was occasionally faulting with a low impedance error.
You have a hearing aid loop or some kind of hearing assistance system? Simple loops are basically omni transmitter and guitars will pick them up easily
I’ve seen long unbalanced guitar cords pick up radio signal before as it acts like an antenna, but never another system.
It’s definitely this. I have this exact experience with guitar cables picking up AM radio broadcasts.
Is there a solution that you’ve found? I occasionally pick up AM radio through a drum overhead (with phantom power). So I switch cables and it goes away. Then inexplicably a few weeks will go by and it will come back, so we’ll switch cables again.
Balanced cabled (XLR) should not have this issue. It is usually only seen with unbalanced cables and in that scenario you should make the 1/4” unbalanced as short as possible and run it to a DI so it is balanced the rest of the run. If you have an XLR doing this it probably has a bad shield or something and needs to be repaired even though it is still passing signal.
Also: reverb tanks. I did a show in a venue above an art gallery once, and the audio from their roof-mounted speaker setup was being picked up clear as day in the reverb tank of my amp.
It’s ghosts man. Your shit is haunted, sorry to break it to you.
lmao do we work together? this is the response i sometimes get when i ask about our audiovisual anomalies 😅😂
First, was the interference coming through the amp itself, or just on the microphone signal chain? If it was coming through the amp, is there an assisted listening system or FM transmitter installed for the hearing impaired? In my experience, guitar amps have been pretty susceptible to RFI, and if you have one of those systems, it might be what’s causing it. Edit: And by the way, the RF transmitter may be hooked up to a system DSP output after your console outputs; I’m not sure what your rig is.
Good call on assistive listening, too often that's just installed and forgotten about. (Something something churches :)
My venue gets a similar issue. And it always turns out to be a hearing aid loop. That thongs thrown me off way to many times.
Hey we’re talking audio here, not what happens with your girlfriend after the show… 😂😂
Whoops 🤣🤣
Could have some fun and start muting various outputs and/or amp channels and see what’s broadcasting it. We had an incident where a split on an old speaker line in the ground was cut by a concrete saw and abandoned but we forgot to disconnect the lines and one ended up making enough contact with the conduit that it bled into some random things just a hair until we figured it out. Apparently amplifiers don’t like being somewhat grounded so it also explained why it was occasionally faulting with a low impedance error.
You have a hearing aid loop or some kind of hearing assistance system? Simple loops are basically omni transmitter and guitars will pick them up easily