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 Forum index » Instruments and Equipment » Alesis Andromeda
Noisy voice problem
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pinealapoptosis



Joined: Nov 07, 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 9:05 am    Post subject:  Noisy voice problem
Subject description: Hearing sounds with VCOs and VCFs off
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Hi everyone.I wanted to hear users input on these funny little problems I have.

If I open the default program,turn off both oscillators,bypass filters and make sure everything else is off,I get a very loud white noise type sound on voice 2.This happens when the oscillators are on as well but obviously it is very noticeable when both VCOs are off.
This is a very clear and distinct white noise(static) sound.It doesn't sound distorted or crackly,very clear infact.As mentioned before,this happens only on voice 2.Noise level at 0.

Also,a few other voices still generate a tone when everything is off.I can change the pitch and level of the tone with the oscillator controls(semitone knob,pre filter levels,ect).If I turn the OSC level up but leave the SUB OSC level down I hear it and vice versa.If both OSC level and SUB OSC level are down,I do not hear it.This happens on both oscillators and the sound is very distorted and crunchy sounding.Is this normal?

These problems happen on all outputs.
I tried calibrating the VCAs via the advice for "hearing noise with filters off" in section 20.6 in the Tips&Tricks document,to no avail.I have not tried a hard reset yet.

Does anyone else have this problem?Is there a solution,or atleast an explanation?

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Last edited by pinealapoptosis on Tue Dec 08, 2009 11:08 am; edited 3 times in total
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:04 am    Post subject: more info Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

After further investigation,I have noticed that I do not hear the white noise sound on voice 2 if I completely turn off the Noise/external(soft knob 1).Also,if I leave the noise/external on and turn off AUD IN(soft knob 8 ) this also stops the noise.

Changing the noise generator from white to pink to red noise also changes the sound on voice 2.

I tried a hard reset to no avail.

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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Anyone have any suggestions on the voice 2 noise issue?Is it possible a fresh OS install will help?

If servicing is necessary,I would like to go ahead and send it off asap.

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sunny pedaal



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

really no que,
restoring the os can't be a bad idea at all, also recalibrating the vca's once again, after tuning warming up etc.
if it's only on voice two it might bad a voice or filterchip, if it's on more voices , i'm out
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Thanks for the suggestions.

I cant recall if I let it warm up before calibrating the VCAs,so I will give that as well as OS re-install a try.

Guess if this doesnt work then I should give Alesis a call.

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Numina



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 11:46 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hi - I haven't replicated your settings (not at home at the moment) but I have noticed some noise and faint sounds of a tonal frequency coming through the audio when all my oscillators are zero'd out too - but it's not loud like you say. I think this is a common issue, but hopefully it's imperceptable when you're playing notes as it is this way for me.

It seems that each A6 is an little different - some better than others.

J.

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sunny pedaal



Joined: Nov 16, 2004
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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 3:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

well someleakage is normal, but it should be within certain limits and overall almost the same for all voices. i understood it was too loud ,en spec with voice two. indeed maybe an mp3 example with rotating voice could shed a bit more light. on the otherhand i presumme it's not oke
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

The sounds that leak through on various voices,the sound that seems to be a very distorted sine wave sound,are not too loud.As I mentioned before,both OSC 1&2 and SUB OSC 1&2 need to be zero'd in the pre filter mix for this not to happen.If either is increased,I can hear the sound.I am not to worried about this noise.It seems to be normal bleeding to me,but I will let you guys be the judge

The "white noise" sound on voice 2 is pretty loud.Sometimes I cannot hear it on certain patches at higher octaves,octaves that are at the same frequency,I would assume.For the most part though,it is a very loud noise and is causing problems.

I will post an .mp3

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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 12:21 pm    Post subject: .mps examples Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Here are the .mp3 examples of the problems I am experiencing.


Voices 1&2 no OSC.mp3
 Description:
This first one is voice 1 and voice 2.It is just the default program with all waveforms off,PWM off and filters bypassed.You can clearly hear the white noise sound on voice 2.

Download
 Filename:  Voices 1&2 no OSC.mp3
 Filesize:  458.44 KB
 Downloaded:  839 Time(s)


Voices 1&2 with OSC1.mp3
 Description:
Here are voices 1 and 2 same, scenario before but with some sine wave on OSC1.You can still clearly hear the noise over the top of it.

Download
 Filename:  Voices 1&2 with OSC1.mp3
 Filesize:  816.56 KB
 Downloaded:  840 Time(s)


All voices no OSC.mp3
 Description:
In this file,all voices are being triggered 1 by 1 starting with voice 1 and ending with voice 16.It is the default patch with all waveforms off,PWM off and filters bypassed.By default both OSC1 and OSC2 are at 35.00 in the pre filter mix.

Download
 Filename:  All voices no OSC.mp3
 Filesize:  1.54 MB
 Downloaded:  850 Time(s)


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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

As I stated earlier: The noise on voice 2 goes away if I turn NZ-EXT to off.

Also if NZ-EXT is on with the noise level at 0.00 but the AUD IN is set to off,the noise goes away.



Could the R73 and R74 resistors be swapped?

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Numina



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 2:01 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Hmmm... yeah, that does seem a bit excessive. I'm not a techie so I can't help you with the electronics side of things, sorry. I do get some hiss and oscillator bleed even with all waves turned off, but nowhere near as much as your examples and, as I say, it's imperceptible when waves are turned on. - J.
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sunny pedaal



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

example1: noise can be heard,
example 2 : not really disturbing?
example3: guess eveything is put on a high volume , hearing the "keyclick":
sounds like chip vcf voice two is worst, also 5,9,12,14,16, not "perfectly clear.
depending how hard the volume you had when recording it might be an idea to switch some (b.e. 1/2osc,, 5/6vcf, 15/16vcf ? ) of them.
having said that : it clearly disturbs you so maybe get it serviced.
however when they change the whole board, you might get the same problem of voices 5.9.12.14.16 back , but then on other voices, so maybe trying to change voice-chips only ?
on both hands: i'm no technical expert,( by example still doubt if voice two noise is osc chip while other crackled voics are vcfchips??) so maybe anybody else can give idea too?

Last edited by sunny pedaal on Sat Dec 12, 2009 2:40 pm; edited 2 times in total
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Numina



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 2:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

BTW, if you want to post the sysex file for the setting you have on those 3 examples I'll try it on mine. - J.
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Sat Dec 12, 2009 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

sunny pedaal wrote:
example1: noise can be heard,
example 2 : not really disturbing?
example3: guess eveything is put on a high volume , hearing the "keyclick":
sounds like chip vcf voice two is worst, also 5,9,12,14,16, not "perfectly clear.
depending how hard the volume you had when recording it might be an idea to switch some (b.e. 1/2osc,, 5/6vcf, 15/16vcf ? ) of them.
having said that : it clearly disturbs you so maybe get it serviced.
however when they change the whole board, you might get the same problem of voices 5.9.12.14.16 back , but then on other voices, so maybe trying to change voice-chips only ?
on both hands: i'm no technical expert,( by example still doubt if voice two noise is osc chip while other crackled voics are vcfchips??) so maybe anybody else can give idea too?



On example 3 I turned the recorder up a bit.So it is a lot louder than the other 2 examples


If they change the whole voice board woudlnt that solve the problems with the filter chips as well as the osc chips?

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sunny pedaal



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PostPosted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 3:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

might be , although lot has been written about "quality control" already, might well be that some new chip on the new board also show " tolerances".
also it'll set you back financially more to swap a whole board instead of just 3 chips.
i had a big keyboard tracking problem(+-10cents ) therefore swapped the whole voiceboard ( under guarantee), on the new board i found the same little problems you experience , although not with the "noise-leakage-part", but with the "vcf-crackles"and with some oscillators not tuning very well. after changing 3 chips my a6 is tiptop now.
anyway probably someone more technical should take over from here , my guess.
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 3:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I am still under warranty.
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sunny pedaal



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PostPosted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 4:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

in that case you might indeed send it in, let them decide what to do,
then , if any possibility, pick it up youself and test it on the spot , if any personal contact might appear, let them change the worst chips ( max 3 or 4 as it's shitty percise work , take osc that can't be tuned properly even after repeated try, or frissle siszle vcf's ) . that way i guess you'll get most out of that.
good luck with the a6.
( on the moment somebody offers a prophet t8, i already have the a6 and jp8 so wonder if i really need another polysynth ?)
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Sun Dec 13, 2009 5:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Can you explain that again? I dont exactly understand what you mean.
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sunny pedaal



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PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

i meant: make use of your warrantly, send the a6 in and describe the voiceproblems.
if they replace the soundboard ( including all chips) , ask for a few spare osc and vcf chips so that ,when there are "new"problems with the new soundboardchips, you can let somebody change the most problematic voices. . will cost you maybe a 150$ or so but is always a good idea to my opinion.
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Mon Dec 14, 2009 2:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Ok.Thanks!
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:32 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

There was another problem that I would like to know if it is related to the vco or vcf chips.

The sub-OSCs levels seem to not be equal over the entire voice range when the sub-osc level is set below 10. On some voices the level of the sub-osc is "louder" than other voices and on atleast one voice I cannot hear the sub-osc at all.

I will post an .mp3 showing what I mean.I will run through all 16 voices starting at 1 with nothing but sub-osc 1 going.Sub-osc level is at 3.00.


sub-osc test.mp3
 Description:
All voices tested starting with voice 1.Sub-OSC 1 level is 3.

Download
 Filename:  sub-osc test.mp3
 Filesize:  1.31 MB
 Downloaded:  757 Time(s)


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zebastian21



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PostPosted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 12:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

I have the same problem on mine but on the AUX Output..... everything else works fine... Shocked
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 1:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

Which problem?The crunchy sub-osc sounds on a few voices when no waveforms are on?The white noise on voice 2? Or the inconsistent sub-osc volume levels on each voice?

This only happens on your aux outputs? hmmm

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sunny pedaal



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 2:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

i bet ,on the noisy output,
anyway, i really hope they'll fix all the problems mentioned. , make use of the warranty and descibe the list of problems well .
please keep us informed on the outcome
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pinealapoptosis



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PostPosted: Fri Dec 18, 2009 3:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote  Mark this post and the followings unread

The warranty I have is an extended 2 year warranty from the place I purchased the andromeda.My 1 year manufacturers warranty ran up last month.The place I purchased it from uses one specific company to service instruments.The woman who took down my service info and complaints didnt know what the andromeda was or how to spell alesis.So I knew my notes on the problems were not going to get to the servicing company the way I would have liked.I could hear when she was typing what I said and when she wasn't typing.I would have needed to include a note inside my andromeda box explaining my problems,the suspected culprit and how to recreate the problems on my synth.Needless to say I was a bit worried about the problem actually getting fixed.I'm also afraid they will damage it cosmetically(not covered in warranty) and claim it was like that when they received it.


After talking with a tech guy at alesis and hearing how he has seen people send their synth in with this problem only to receive it back with the service dpt. saying there was no problem,I have decided to take a different route.He suggested a place called TSI Repair and said that they have lots of experience with the andromeda.So I contacted them and talked a bit while I explained my problem.They seems really open to my input and assured me they would check everything especially the stuff I mentioned.

So the place I bought the andromeda from has the option to choose your own service company but you have to pay upfront and then they reimburse you after they review the service done and the price paid.If they believe it to be reasonable they reimburse you.
So I think I am going this route.


None of this is set in stone so if anyone has any suggestions for me,I'm all ears...

Oh the place I am going with is www.TSIrepair.com Does anyone have experience with them?They are located in New York.

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