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i've posted several times recently about how my guitar amp periodically picks up noise from my computer. This happens on multiple amps, 2 quilters, a markbass amp, an aguilar tonehammer, etc.
t's not the amp. My signal is grounded.
I've turned off my phone, my monitors, my wifi/router and the noise still persists.
So, i theorized that maybe the neighbor's wifi signal is radiating into my guitar amp.
Today, I realized that I'm hearing electronic noise anytime I type a character on the keyboard. The keyboard is going into a USB port. i.e. it's not wireless.
Any thoughts?
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04-10-2023 04:09 PM
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I've had computers where I could hear how hard they were working, via very faint sounds reminiscent of modem or fax transmission sounds. I'm pretty certain those were frequencies being picked up by the built-in sound system. Theoretically you can also get better sound quality in your headphones by plugging them into an external USB soundcard rather than in one that sits inside the computer and is subject to all kinds of interference.
So yeah, I'm not surprised that sensitive amps can pick frequencies emitted from your computer. You'd have to figure out what is acting as an antenna, and maybe move your keyboard away. Or maybe just turn off your amps when you're working on your computer?
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Pressing a key means closing a switch, which I guess could result in a small amount of electromagnetic radiation (after all, that's how Marconi did it ...), but it's hard to imagine that it's a strong enough signal to be picked up by an amp. FWIW, my living room abuts my apartment building's elevator, and sometimes my guitar amp hums a little when the elevator stops at our floor.
Originally Posted by jzucker
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It's possible to intercept keyboard input to computers from more than a block away, given the right equipment. The military used to keep all computers inside a shielded building for security reasons. I suppose that's gone, but when I was in the Army Signal Corps it was absolutely enforced. Not so hard, since there was usually only one computer on a base. PCs hadn't come along yet. But if you're paranoid, you should know that the FBI, CIA, et al can monitor your computer use from a rather long distance unless you have it in a room that's a Faraday cage. It's no surprise that a guitar amp can pick it up.
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It's absolutely being picked up by something in my amp. I can demonstrate over and over. And not just the one amp. Any amp! Originally Posted by John A.
And to the other poster, I do use a USB based, extern sound device but the sound device shouldn't be having anything to do with this issue because I'm not recording , not connected to the input, and the sound device volume is at zero. This is energy being transmitted from the computer to the guitar pickups.
Notice the last 2 words . IT'S THE GUITAR PICKUPS. I just realized that this minute. I noticed that if I move the guitar over to the stand, the noise generation does not happen. And the guitar has humbuckers. So the electromagnetic signal from the keyboard is being picked up by the guitar pickups...
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It's a thing. I just googled 'electromagnetic noise from computer keyboard'
Eavesdrop On Keyboards Wirelessly | Hackaday
Below the videos some guys are geeking out about it, and one guy says that guitar pickups can hear it.
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I've experienced similar with a nearby AM radio. I can hear a quiet but raspy hiss in the audio background with each keystroke. That's with an IBM Lenovo T460. No keystroke noise from my Dell Inspiron 16 Plus. Originally Posted by jzucker
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That makes more sense than the amp itself detecting it. Originally Posted by jzucker
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I didn't say you were, I just referred to this as an example that analog circuits can pick up (and amplify) interference from computing hardware. Originally Posted by jzucker
Ah, yes of course. Back when computer monitors were still using CRT tubes there was even talk about how you could reconstruct the image they showed from the electromagnetic signals they gave off. (I honestly can't remember if this was ever more than an urban legend.) Originally Posted by ccroft
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I get random crackling noises into my recording setup and I've absolutely traced it back to my USB keyboard. It's definitely a real thing. I suspect there's solution but I'm not sure what it is. Perhaps a keyboard with better shielding?
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I have found that, often, these weird fax-like sounds are being generated by mobile phones. We take our mobile devices for granted and tend to have them with us always so we sometimes overlook that they have radio signals constantly coming in and out. Easy for an amp to pick up those emissions. Originally Posted by RJVB
In re-reading jzucker’s original post, I see he says the phone is off. So it must be some other electro magnetic interference.Last edited by rolijen; 04-11-2023 at 02:16 PM.
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Yes, they have gotten a lot better at not doing that (cf. the DAS rating, I presume) but there was a time I'd hear a call announced in my computer speakers before my phone started to ring... Originally Posted by rolijen
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There is a huge amount of electromagnetic radiation everywhere now. It can be difficult to pinpoint the exact source that is causing interference. Computers, phones (they're general purpose computers, after all), lights, TVs, routers, overhead and underground power lines, radio and TV stations, cell towers, satellites communicating back to earth, the sun, the rest of the universe, and the list is almost endless. But mostly now it's computers of some sort, because they're ubiquitous. Computers are so noisy that it's possible to intercept the CPU information wirelessly, and they're literally everywhere in modern industrialized society.
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My guitar pickups pick up my watch ticking. (I wear my watch on my right hand). So I have to take my watch off in lots of playing situations. One solution for you is to stop typing while you are playing the guitar.
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Interesting - mechanic or quartz watch? If mechanic that might be useful in adjusting them - watches I mean. Normally the devices used for that use a regular mic but in DIY/software versions it can be tricky finding a sensitive enough microphone. Originally Posted by WilliamScott
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No matter how much I hate noise gates, they make it possible for me to use a computer with a SC guitar.
Out of all my limited experience and dislike of noise gates, the pigtronix one has bothered me the least so far. However, I have only had it for about a month. It clamps ok, the release is not to my liking, but it seems pretty transparent. I have not done a critical listening. Also, I always love a noise gate at first, but they end up bothering me too much.
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It's a Citizen Eco-Quartz. No batteries but it puts out a strong click through the amp that competes with metronomes. Originally Posted by RJVB
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these are humbucking pickups! Originally Posted by st.bede
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My amp buzzes when I touch my laptop track pad. I also get amp buzz when I'm watching TV and the TV is showing something with a very white background or image. There's one particular news channel that has a lot of white on the screen as part of their broadcast and when it comes on my amp buzzes. If I change channels or the image changes to darker graphic the buzz stops.
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Not sure if this is any help, but I always use a transformer isolation box when using my computer for recording.
They seem to eliminate the hum from electrical equipment.
I have a Orchid Dual Transformer Isolator, but single are available.
Dual Transformer Isolator
"Simply a pair of high quality isolating transformers - this is a valuable item for preventing hum loops between equipment.
Useful for connecting lap top computers to PA systems to ensure noise free results. "
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If there is noise, then at least when you are not playing there will be no noise. I understand, sometimes I just leave my gate on with HBs anyway. Originally Posted by jzucker
I assume you guitar is grounded. Sometimes as the ground gets ready to come undone, you can get intermittent noise.
Also HBs are not 100% all the time but that could be my experience with grounding on guitar coming undone. For whatever reason it seems to happen more since I moved to the Fresno area… maybe lack of humidity. IDK
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grounding on the guitar? Maybe? It is a guess. Originally Posted by street
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