Nord User Forum

[daz1761]

I am very concerned about my 7-month old NE6

I have the NE6 plugged into a brand new Behringer mixer with the gain on half using new Van Damme cables with Neutrik plugs. The mixer is plugged into a pair of Yamaha HS50s active monitors again using Van Damme cables with Neutrik plugs.

I first noticed the royal grand piano just on particular notes giving some very faint distortion/noise but lately its got a lot worse on all of the notes. It is also on the organ and the sampler I noticed today but not as much as my XL grands.

First I tried the headphones with my sennheiser hd650s and all seems good, then i tried bypassing the Behringer mixer by first plugging the LEFT output of the NE6 into a single monitor then the RIGHT output of the NE6 in the same monitor, then did the same with the second monitor. Then I tried different cables direct into the monitors and still the distortion/noise was still present.

I thought maybe I had a faulty monitor but my testing shows its through both and they sound fine with my other hardware. I also experimented with the gains of each sound section on the NE6 but this made no difference.

I wanted to post this before I contact the vendor in which I bought the piano as I read if no fault us found I could be possibly charged. Maybe someone has a similar setup or has experienced the same, and if theres anymore testing I can do?

Also, I know this should be in a different post, but I noticed for the first time the other week that I can hear buzzing coming from the area where the power supply is - after doing some reading this seemed normal but thought Id mention it just in case it could be related to my issue?

[cphollis]

Is it just the Royal Grand sample? Or do you hear the same thing on EPs and other samples? You did a good job of isolating via headphones, etc. but there may an artifact in that sample that's causing resonance/distortion with those monitors.

[daz1761]

Hi. It’s the worst by far with the white and royal grands. I even tried the XL ones to see if it made a difference but it didn’t. Seems to be worse if you put the sustain on full and play a chord low down repeatedly.

As I mentioned above I can hear it in the organ section to on particular notes when playing chords. Seems to be the same noise/distortion artifact. It’s so bad it unplayable to a large degree.

[Mr_-G-]

Can you post a recording, please?

[daz1761]

Hi,

One thing I did notice is that my NE6 was on software version 2.50, so I updated it to 2.60 but sadly no difference.

I also plugged my HD650s into the mixer and could hear the artefact/distortion even through the headphones but not as prominent as the speakers.

Furthermore, I recorded the piano into Ableton live via my Behringer soundcard and the playback had the artefact/distortion too.

It looks like there is something wrong and has always been wrong with the output of the NE6 perhaps?

Anyway I have done 2 recordings on my phone and even on playback via the phone you could hear what I am reporting.

• Piano 2.m4a

• Piano 1.m4a

[Mr_-G-]

Hi. I can't I hear any noticeable distortion in those two recordings. I had a look at the files in an audio editor too. Maybe you are referring to audible harmonics? That is natural of the instrument recorded. It might be possible to dampen it a bit with the equalizer, but I think it is part of the sound. Somebody else might have better ears than mine.

[daz1761]

Thanks for inspecting the audio files, when I recorded the two pianos with my phone I could hear the noise through the phone speaker but I noticed you have to have the volume on full or you won’t hear it. Yes I tried to suppress the the harmonics if that’s what they definitely are with the equaliser at 1.5khz but It didn’t make much difference. I’m not sure what to do now as I feel gutted after spending so much money if this is normal but I can’t see how it can be.

[DJKeys]

Well, a phone recording and playback is probably the worst way to test any audio. As Mr G, I do not hear any distortion at all in those sound files. Which Behringer mixer are you using? My guess is that your gain staging needs to be redone. I loaded the first file into Studio one, and in addition to the recording being done at a low level, there is an audible noise floor before your playing even starts. That noise floor is about -42db, which is noticeable. The track meter moves noticeably and there is as slight thumping sound, all before you start playing.I don't think it has anything to do with the electro. I think it is your audio chain and/or how your gain staging is done. When I record my NS3 into Studio One using my Focusrite interface, the noise floor cannot be heard at all, and it does not trigger the meter. Watch the meters in the beginning of the attached clip.


-dj

20210713_125452_1_1.mp4

(3.25 MiB) Downloaded 84 times

[daz1761]

Thanks for the inspecting the audio. The mixer is a Behringer 2442fx usb (not using the usb) but this may not be relevant as I explained at the beginning of the post that I plugged my cables directly into the Yamaha monitors and I had the same issue.

There might be some confusion with the recordings I've posted, so I thought I'd better make it clear that they were done with a phone, and not directly into a soundcard (mine is a Behringer UMC1820, so if you were thinking the latter I imagine there will be some noise before I start playing. I can do some more recordings but via the soundcard if this helps?

If you are still thinking this is noise floor, how do I eradicate it?

[DJKeys]

I would try this. These are general tips only.

1. Connect the stereo ouputs of the Nord to two channels of the mixer with nothing else plugged in. Set both channels completely flat and turn all effects off on the mixer
2. Turn the master output of the Nord to 2 0'clock.
3. Solo and Adjust the trim on the mixer channels so that the peaks are around -10 db. Channels should be set to unity gain when adjusting the trim.
4. Listen to that signal via headphones connected to the mixer.
5. Then turn on your monitors and listen again.

Make a note of the results and then plug the two stereo outputs of the Nord into your soundcard and record in Ableton. Make sure you are recording at about -10db into the DAW.

This should allow you to find where the noise is coming from.

-dj