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Humming / Buzzing Noise When Using Rane 57SL
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Humming / Buzzing Noise When Using Rane 57SL

firstclassalltheway 7:50 AM - 15 April, 2010
Hi. I spin a few nights a week at 2 venues where I bring my own 57SL. First venue I bring my own technics 1200's and my Rane 57SL and just use their rca's to plug into their system with no problems whatsover... but at the other venue they already have two technics 1200's and a pioneer mixer hooked up to their system. So I show up, unplug their pioneer and use my Rane Mixer and their tables. Everytime I plug into their system I get a loud buzzing/humming noise as if something isn't grounded. They have both booth and master rca's, and I convert the booth to 1/4" with adaptors. All the other dj's that use their mixer with a serato box have never had that problem and there's even another dj who brings a numark ns7 and doesn't have any problems either. Sometimes the humming will go away for a few seconds then come back, sometimes it's there all the time. And I've tried everything from using a different power source for the mixer, to using different needles, only plugging in the master rca's, only plugging in the booth rca's, switching the master and booth rca's all together, and pretty much everything else you can imagine. So now I need help. Any help is appreciated and feel free to contact me directly. Thanks.

ps. my fader knobs fall off all the time so if someone could help me out with that I'd appreciate it too.
terrible1fi 5:18 PM - 15 April, 2010
might be those adapters picking up noise. why don't you use a cable that is xlr on one end and rca on the other
firstclassalltheway 7:59 PM - 15 April, 2010
I figured that might be the problem too, so I tried taking the adaptors off while the noise was happening, but it never stopped. The adaptors are brand new too. Maybe they're cheap though... I'll def. try an rca to xlr adaptor this friday.
jwhispers 9:06 PM - 15 April, 2010
I was going to say try plugging in the AC cord somewhere else but you've already tried a different power source.

My 57 buzzes at home, and it happened once to me at a gig (wedding hall). I narrowed both down to the power source. Plugged in elsewhere and it went away. If you can, try finding an outlet that's on a circuit that isn't loaded with tons of stuff plugged in.
firstclassalltheway 10:17 AM - 16 April, 2010
yeah... I tried plugging the ac cord into a different power strip with one or two other things plugged in. didn't really seem to help either. and I just remembered, I normally plug the master rca's straight into the aux rca's and use that as my master like I do at the other venue. then I take the booth and use rca to 1/4" adaptors and plug that into booth. but I've tried switching them, and I've also tried unplugging booth all together and still buzzing. :(
latindj 9:45 PM - 16 April, 2010
not just a different power strip, try a different outlet that's not on the same circuit as the one you were using before....
djjoefresh 12:38 AM - 19 April, 2010
I had this problem last night. I plugged in to the house system from my TTM57SL using 1/4"-to-XLR and got a lot of buzzing (the 1/4" was plugged into my mixer and the XLR was plugged into the house system). This happened even before turning the mixer on.

Then I switched cables and used XLR-to-XLR instead, and the buzzing went away.

There's only one power outlet where I'm set up, but I use a Monster power strip that grounds everything, so the buzzing shouldn't be from that, but I'm not sure.

So my only guess is that using that 1/4"-to-XLR cable caused the buzzing, going from unbalanced to balanced signals.
ta2423 4:48 PM - 19 April, 2010
Had the same problem here. This may be your fix. Unplug your laptop power and let it run on the battery. If the noise is gone this will fix it.
www.serato.com
firstclassalltheway 11:16 PM - 19 April, 2010
Hey, so last friday, it was buzzing as soon as I plugged the mixer in, without it even being turned on. And when I unplug the master rca's, the buzzing goes away and/or when I unplug the mixer all together the buzzing goes away. I always plug into another power strip, but it's probably from the same circuit so idk.... I'd have to bring an extension chord next time to see if that works. And I've tried unplugging my computer from the outlet, but that doesn't work either. : (
TFRASER 3:23 PM - 18 July, 2010
hey peoples i,m having the same problem with my ttm i tried unplugging my laptop from the same source but that the mixer is plugged into but still the same humming sound that goes away and come back i,m curious what solution did firstclassalltheway came up with please let me know if you are anyone that was having this problem came up with a solution thanx fellows
MTBScab 7:10 PM - 20 August, 2010
I get a buzz coming out of the TTM57SL constantly until I unplug my laptop. (Especially audible in the headphones.) It doesn't matter if I am plugged into my Monster power conditioner or not. Unplug the laptop, the buzz goes away. Anyone aware of how to fix this issue? I run a venue in town and I have had several djs say they have the same problem.
ta2423 7:31 PM - 20 August, 2010
Had the same problem with my pc. Went to guitar center and bought the HUMX. www.amazon.com Thanks to terrible1fi for info. www.serato.com You plug your power into it from the laptop to the outlet. Worked. Bought a new mackbook pro17 and dont have the problem anymore.
terrible1fi 10:34 PM - 20 August, 2010
word up ta2423.

it's caused be a groundloop, search around on the internet I've seen it go for less than 65...
MTBScab 2:04 AM - 21 August, 2010
Used a 25 cent two prong adaptor on the laptop power supply and viola. No buzz. Thanks terrible1fi.
DJ Vay-JJ 2:47 PM - 10 September, 2010
Also when in the unbalanced realm ( RCAs ) you can get a ground loop isolator from Radio Shack ( sad but true going into $40K sound system here...) for $25, fixes it immediately. But when you can, stay balanced/XLR or TRS, everything plugged into same ground plane and you shouldn't have issues.
DJ Tomkat 9:13 AM - 22 September, 2010
Ive noticed a problem with many users with the "humming noise" too. The fix is strange but simple. You must plug your laptop on a different power strip than the mixer or amp. Try it, I promise you this will make a huge difference!
ta2423 5:10 PM - 22 September, 2010
Quote:
Also when in the unbalanced realm ( RCAs ) you can get a ground loop isolator from Radio Shack ( sad but true going into $40K sound system here...) for $25, fixes it immediately. But when you can, stay balanced/XLR or TRS, everything plugged into same ground plane and you shouldn't have issues.


Did a video test on screens before gig this sat. Took the 57 and laptop in only and connected through the auxillary outs and caught a hum. Sounds like this may squash this problem?
DJ Vay-JJ 5:29 PM - 22 September, 2010
It should. I am also going to buy a couple of those HUMX products mentioned above; though how it keeps the ground intact while fixing the hum I don't know.

I have an extra mackie 1202 mixer lying around so I am going to use that as a swiss army knife for our problem as well. We have a live sound board, monitor mixer, crappy mixer in manager's office for sports games feed, and two DJ systems all tied together in 3 rooms with spaghetti wiring,balanced and unbalanced. Not my design but I am making it work with CAT5 baluns and these ground loop isolators.
ta2423 6:33 PM - 22 September, 2010
Yeah got to love looking at someones wirring and think wtf were they thinking. Just a huge cluster and god only knows how they all got tangled up into knots
SELECT 6:22 PM - 24 September, 2010
check your cables also. I had one bad xlr for months and I thought it was the mixer or power surger. I kept getting light humm until I changed it.
SELECT 6:25 PM - 24 September, 2010
It was the xlr I was using the mic, not that it matters, but its like one bad cable will give you that humm.
ta2423 6:50 PM - 24 September, 2010
My hum was 57 auxillary outputs to their source. Bought a ground loop isolator if that doesnt work I bought 1/4 to rca to run through booth. Of course i get the pleasure of running through what they have and looking at their wiring gave me dry heaves.
MPC3000 9:55 PM - 26 September, 2010
serato.com

Rane will try to tell you otherwise but its a problem due to cheap phono amps.
SlimSilmma 4:04 AM - 21 December, 2010
I had the same humming problem from my 57SL mixer. (everywhere I plug in at).
The problem was I needed a power conditioner to keep the power consistent and clean.
Plug in the 57SL to the conditioner and no hum. You can get a power conditioner at any music store.A Furman conditioner is what I pick up.
Try that out, It should fix the hum problem
ta2423 6:48 AM - 21 December, 2010
Turned out to be a faulty usb treminal... Actually was traumatizing my sound all the way around.
funkeejunkee 5:00 AM - 27 January, 2011
I got the wierdest buzz so any help is appreciated. My one turntable when plugged onto my 57 buzzes when in analog mode. I removed everything from the power bar so only the mixer is plugged in and i still get buzzing. So the turntable when plugged in, rcas only, so no power even plugged in, it immediately starts to buzz?? Ground? RCA? how do you receive a signal even when unpowered. If you remove one RCA end and tap on it you can hear drumming through the speakers like your tapping on a muffled mic.
firstclassalltheway 5:01 PM - 14 May, 2011
Late response/follow up, but we finally figured out the buzzing noise problem, it turned out to the be the power circuit on the wall all the equipment was plugged into wasn't grounded properly and all the other equipment had 2 prong power chords hence no buzzing. We found this out by getting an extension chord and trying a different circuit all together and that eliminated the buzz/hum. Also, getting a cheap 3 ---> 2 prong power chord adaptor will fix this too. I swear my TTM57SL is seriously built like a tank. Anytime there's a problem with anything it's also something else. : )

Hope this helps anyone else out there with similar problems.
DJ Lambie 1:51 PM - 14 July, 2012
without going into all the tech jargon the bottom line is connect a "direct box (D.I box)" between your mixer and your amp/house amp (it relates to balanced & unbalanced realms & the distance your mixer is away from the house amp), this will take away any humming or noises. If you want to know more about a "direct box (D.I box)", Google it or YouTube it.

Good luck :))