Hi everyone, I hope someone can help me as I have no idea what’s going on, thanks in advance.
As I describe in this thread, I have a “ghost signal” problem in the inputs as soon as I open and connect the interface to Cubase, the sound card is a Focusrite 18i20 2nd Gen.
The problem is a constant signal, which when Cubase is playing any project, stimulates that ghost signal in the inputs. I tried to record it to determine if it affects the recordings or not, but nothing is recorded, just noise and at a very low level.
I tried the interface with another DAW and it does not show that ghost signal, so I deduce that it is some situation with Cubase and Focusrite directly.
I work with Windows 10 operating system.
Any information that can help would be greatly appreciated.
Doesn’t look like it from your screenshot. The only signal shown is from a Retrologue Instrument Track.
Does this happen if you start an empty project (no templates)? Do you have an Expression Map on that track perhaps?
They’re talking about the low level signal shown on every audio input channel.
I would guess that you have some kind of self noise in the interface…it’s possible that the metering in Cubase is more sensitive at lower levels than the other apps…I would test in your other DAW and Cubase with the same vst meter and maybe take a look at a freq analyser to see what range the noise is in…if it’s all 50Hz (or 60Hz) then you know you have a grounding issue.
I’m having a buzzing issue and I tried an empty track and the noise did go away. I’m not seeing any meters jump when the noise is present and the sound is not recorded…just aggravating though.
It looks like this is ‘minor’ noise generated by the analogue inputs of your Focusrite? All analogue inputs generate some noise. It’s not a big deal because it looks like it’s somewhere between the -30 and -62 db range? I myself have also noticed that the meters in Cubase are generally more sensitive than in for instance Reaper. So that might explain why you don’t see this in another daw?
If it bothers you and you are not actively using all these inputs you can just disable those that you don’t use in the Focusrite mixer. Or mute them in Cubase?
On the other hand, this noise is not recordable nor will it be audible. So you might as well ignore it?
At least it shows you the noise level of any individual input channel of your Focusrite.
After several days of testing and checking the cables, ground loops, etc., it seems that the problem is the interface itself, as @Grim said. It is not a ground problem since the noise is generated from 7 khz upwards with harmonics. Maybe some electrical component is broken because if the interface is with the main volume knob at 0, the problem disappears.
I could certainly notice that the Cubase inputs are much more sensitive than those of Reaper, so the problem is not visible in Reaper, but the spectrum analyzer confirms it.
Actually, as @Nickeldome says, to “solve” it at least visually by muting the inputs in Cubase, that annoying input stops showing, but the noise itself would be present when recording any take.
I have contacted Focusrite support since it seems that it is a problem with the device.
I appreciate your kind responses and I’ll share any valuable information added to the case by the Focusrite team.
