Power and noise floor- solutions?

Recording Techniques, People Skills, Gear, Recording Spaces, Computers, and DIY

Moderators: drumsound, tomb

Post Reply
User avatar
gavintheaudioengineer
gimme a little kick & snare
Posts: 78
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 5:24 am
Location: UK

Power and noise floor- solutions?

Post by gavintheaudioengineer » Mon Jun 11, 2012 2:24 am

So as my signal chain becomes better I'm now noticing how dirty the noise floor is in my studio. Especially when I need to record more delicate tracks such as acoustic guitar and vocals.

The studio was inherited and the built in snakes are likely to be 20 years old. The main power supply is single phase and runs all the power outlets in the building. I'm no building expert, it's possible that this could be running the lighting too?

I've learned enough to know that improvements are usually a sum of parts as opposed to a single magic solution. So I guess my question is to ask what you guys have done to help 'clean up' your supplies and minimize noise floors in your systems. Does making changes to the power supply help with noise floor issues? Does old cabling degrade in quality over time?
"When you can't find the solution, you can always admire the problem."

User avatar
Nick Sevilla
on a wing and a prayer
Posts: 5555
Joined: Mon Mar 03, 2008 1:34 pm
Location: Lake Arrowhead California USA
Contact:

Post by Nick Sevilla » Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:26 am

Hi,

I would solve you power issues.

20 year old cables should be ok, unless they were extremely cheaply made, with crappy insulation.
I have some cables from the 1960s which still work just fine, for the mics that they are used for.

Cheers
Howling at the neighbors. Hoping they have more mic cables.

User avatar
Snarl 12/8
cryogenically thawing
Posts: 3510
Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 5:01 pm
Location: Right Cheer
Contact:

Post by Snarl 12/8 » Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:27 am

The only thing I'd be worried about with 20 year old cables is the ends. If there are cold solder joints or bad punchdowns (depending on how it was wired) they could be a point of weakness in the system. It's also a place where you can have a hole in your shielding if the installer wasn't meticulous.

But really, by "single phase" you mean, essentially, the building was wired with 120v power, not 240 (or whatever voltages they run in the UK?) where you can put the lights, fridge, a/c, etc, etc. on one leg and your studio on the other? In that case, it sounds like you'd be an ideal candidate for one of those power isolation transformer thingies.
Carl Keil

Almost forgot: Please steal my drum tracks. and more.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 52 guests