why does the universe want me to quit so bad? focusrite 6i6 issue

[ashgallows]

so, yeah thought I would be all cool and move my setup into another room where i could use my nearfields and possibly have a better mix, after comparing with my current setup i thought better of it and moved everything back to the room it was in before. now i have an issue where if i say record a d.i. bass track into my scarlett 6i6 a small amount of bleed from the main outs of the mix get into the recording i.e. you hear drums ticking away in the background like i miced it or something so now i cant make shit lol.

here are the things i've tried:

1.switched every power cord thats plugged in around to make sure it wan't a grounding issue

2. tried a different 1/4 inch to the input as well as a different usb cable to the interface.

3. tracked with headphones to make sure my speakers weren't to blame.

4. reinstalled reaper and updated to the latest version

5.reinstalled the scarlett's drivers and mixcontrol software to latest version.

6. checked the routing matrix for anything looking out of place

7. checked mix control to make sure all the "direct" inputs are muted.

mind you all i did was unplug everything and plug it back in the same way it was, i can't believe that would do this but here it is.

setup is win 7 64
any advice?

 

[ashgallows]

update, it seems that when i have a cable plugged in to the interface with nothing else connected to it, turning up the monitor master knob makes it worse inside the daw. still not sure what to make of this...tried switching cables again but yea, somehow there is a feedback loop between the mains and literally anything i plug in to the input even if it is just a bare cable.

 

[Pickasso]

I had a similar problem with a Focusrite Saffire. It would record the bleed from the metronome and other tracks in Reaper. In my case I was using headphones and recording direct guitar tracks, so there was no reason for any bleed. Whenever there was a break in the playing, you could hear the metronome clicking away on that track. Sorry, wish I could remember exactly what the fix was, I wanted to reply here because no one else has.
The solution was in the Mixcontrol software. I remember trying all kinds of different settings, finally something worked, and the bleed was gone.

 

[ashgallows]

thank you for replying. i've been emailing focusrite and messing around with the setup for days. what i've learned is that it is probably some bizarre grounding issue. I am pretty sure it isn't mix control because they asked me for a screenshot of it and said i should call later because i guess it looked alright to them.

this is where i'm at. i went and grabbed an old mbox 2 which for all intents and purposes is the same deal just without an external power supply. i plugged it in and got ground hum instead of feedback. eventually i realized that the power supply was plugged in to the 6i6 and unplugged it...all gone. what a pos power supply i thought and grabbed a different one that would power it...the hum came back. this hum is there whether or not the power supply is plugged into the same wall outlet or a different one than my computer stuff (which is all on the same strip). so the mbox2 has a loud hum if any 2 prong power supply is plugged in anywhere in the room and the 6i6 creates an audible feedback loop or simply lets bleed into the line in. anyone ever encounter this?

Is this something where i just need to get a furman power strip or is there some sort of failed component i should be looking for?

 

[ashgallows]

o.k., update i reinstalled everything again and bought am ebtech hum-x for the computer. the hum-x did nothing so i'll be returning that.

things have changed though...strangely. now i have the high pitched piercing "digital noise" on input in the 6i6. rather than the "delay effect".

here's the interesting part, if i have the 6i6 plugged in (not turned on mind you) and use the mbox 2 the mbox will get that 60 cycle hum on input when the 6i6 has the power cable plugged in, but only if it is resting on top. if i lift the mbox up about an inch or two it's all good.

I'm thinking something in the 6i6 is not grounded right internally, because it seems to to be the culprit in all these scenarios.

Am I making sense or am I leaving something crucial out?

 

[ashgallows]

so, i've tried pulling out my old laptop and loading a similar setup on it. there is just something wrong with the 6i6 interface on both systems. i also tried the mbox and it had a strange issue, the audio would stutter and crap out as soon as i armed the track, but would be fine the second i disarmed it. i tried pulling the plug thinking i could at least see if it was a bad power issue, but everythgin was the same.

i realized my wife has a focusrite 2i2 and went and tried that with my main computer and it plays o.k. except the input has some crazy static when a track is armed, even if i unplug the 1/4 inch. I realize that all amp sims amplify hiss and such, but this isn't normal. I seriously dont know what to do at this point. i almost feel like if i throw it all in a big bonfire and buy everything fresh it's still going to be the same. wtf.

 

[Pxz]

Man, what a bummer,it seems like you are doing all the trouble shooting you can at this point. Focusrite stuff is super common where i'm from, but never heard bad experiences with them. Are they know for unreliability issues?

 

[ashgallows]

update. i have sent the unit back to focusrite per their request. no matter what drivers are installed it still shows the unit having 12 outputs when there are only 6. I am using the mbox now and things are more productive. i think i got hit with 3 things at once and that made it crazy to troubleshoot. I think there is definitely some sort of issue with the focusrite which is one.

two is my amp sim of choice is bias which i recently found out was causing a lot of the problems because i only use it for the preamp seeing as all the best impulses have power amps in them already...the plugin doesnt like that and when you start the session up it makes the weird echoes and lopsided output which was most of the problem i was experiencing. the solution to that by the way is to pull the power amp, output transformer, and cab sim back into the signal path and pull them back out. and you have to do this for each instance of the plugin each time you start a session. i told the guys at bias and they don't seem to be having the issue there, but they are looking into it.

three is just simple positioning. whereas i dont have florescent lights and all that around me i do have wall warts and such plugged in and just the proximity of the 1/4 cable to them was causing some more interference on top of the other issues. it's strange what even a 1/2 inch move can make with that. i ordered a countryman 85 to sort of make no excuses about interference from now on as well as to see if there is any sonic improvement although i think that the d.i.'s are pretty clear by this point.

only downside is that i like running at higher sample rates and the mbox doesnt have that capability, so it's just a matter of waiting for the focusrite to come back now.