Recommend me a Windows VST Host for live gigs

[Mighty Motif Max]

23 minutes ago, zephonic said:

How about going from the headphone output of the Surface? I do it all the time with my MBP.

I need more outputs than a simple stereo line out will allow - kick, snare, toms, overheads, and hihat are the plan now, and a stereo L/R hard panned mix for my monitors.

[Ibarch]

It doesn't sound like an earth loop. More like RF interference. Is it just one venue it happens at? Could be lights, dimmer switches for example. 

 

Are you  using HDMI or any USB hub? These can be sources of interfere too. I had an issue this week with a very similar sounding noise in my studio. It only happened when my usb hub was plugged in. Tracked it down to an unshielded 3.5mm audio cable going from my monitor audio out to the speakers. It was picking up the noise from the monitor HDMI. The noise stopped if I unplugged the HDMI. Replaced the audio cable with a properly shielded one and the noise was gone. 

 

So I would check all your cables that are in your audio path, try swapping them out for others. One may be that ariel that is picking up the interference. 

[Ibarch]

Also, do your drums provide balanced line outs and are you using balanced cables? A standard jack cable is unbalanced but you can get balanced variants too, balanced lines arnt only found in XLR cables. 

[Mighty Motif Max]

31 minutes ago, Ibarch said:

It doesn't sound like an earth loop. More like RF interference. Is it just one venue it happens at? Could be lights, dimmer switches for example. 

 

Are you  using HDMI or any USB hub? These can be sources of interfere too. I had an issue this week with a very similar sounding noise in my studio. It only happened when my usb hub was plugged in. Tracked it down to an unshielded 3.5mm audio cable going from my monitor audio out to the speakers. It was picking up the noise from the monitor HDMI. The noise stopped if I unplugged the HDMI. Replaced the audio cable with a properly shielded one and the noise was gone. 

 

So I would check all your cables that are in your audio path, try swapping them out for others. One may be that ariel that is picking up the interference. 

 

No USB hubs or other stuff or connectors - 5-pin MIDI from the drum set to the Focusrite interface, then the interface straight to the Surface Pro over USB-C. Audio out on balanced TRS cables from the Focusrite into a few DI boxes.

 

This is likely the only venue I'll consistently be using this setup at vs an acoustic kit; I've not had issues before with electronics there but haven't used an laptop/interface rig there before either. I have occasionally had a noise issue like this when using a powered USB hub with too many things plugged in when I'm recording elsewhere, but that's about it, and that hub isn't in the equation this time.

 

25 minutes ago, Ibarch said:

Also, do your drums provide balanced line outs and are you using balanced cables? A standard jack cable is unbalanced but you can get balanced variants too, balanced lines arnt only found in XLR cables. 

 

The Focusrite interface uses balanced 1/4" outputs according to their website, and I'm using TRS balanced cables for everything.

[Ibarch]

Worth swapping cables over in case one has broken. Have you run the exact setup elsewhere without issue?

 

Did you try with the Surface Pro power adapter unplugged from the power socket? 

[Mighty Motif Max]

Just now, Ibarch said:

Worth swapping cables over in case one has broken. Have you run the exact setup elsewhere without issue?

 

Did you try with the Surface Pro power adapter unplugged from the power socket? 

I've never run this exact setup previously. I did swap out different balanced cables, some unbalanced cables as well, plus different outlets, and switching from the power strip I was using to the rackmount PSU I had in the rack but wasn't using. Running the Surface Pro on batteries alone did not get rid of the noise. I believe I covered the previous questions as well in my first post from tonight; if you want to read that one a second time in case it answers any other questions, that may help as I'm going to be logging off for the night (it's past 2am in my time zone and I have a funeral to plan). Thanks for the assistance thus far - much appreciated!

 

3 hours ago, Mighty Motif Max said:

Had the gig tonight. To VST Live's credit, it wasn't the source of any issues - no crashes, ran smoothly enough. Note that it needs to be restarted to see any changes made in one instance of a plugin (like a custom midi map preset) if you're using different instances in the project - even if it's a global setting, it needs to register that that preset has been created before it will populate to other instances).

 

However I had significant issues with noise in the signal that is present despite using balanced TRS cables to DI boxes, powering all from one power strip (that supposedly had RFI filtering), and didn't change whether the Surface Pro was running on battery or power. I'm thinking it's some sort of a ground loop issue, but it is interesting that it only occurred once a program that used the Focusrite 18i20 interface was opened, like Halion Sonic or VST Live. As soon as those programs were closed, it would go away. I troubleshooted cables and power sources after the gig but have not found a solution thus far. A nice tinnitus-like whine with what sounds like fax machine noises in the background - it gets louder with higher sample rates as well. Loud enough to compete with the drums themselves sadly. The noise is present even with the interface volume set to zero and outputs muted.

 

...

 

[Ibarch]

No worries. Have a good night. 

 

Test the setup again when you get time. Physically unplugging power adaptors can be different from running on battery. The transformers are active whilst power is going into the brick, which can still generate noise. 

[davinwv]

Are you certain that the noise wasn't due to you running too low a buffer size? It would be worth trying to increase the buffer size in VST Live (and play with higher latency for a few minutes) just to see if that helps.

[AnotherScott]

USB is indeed susceptible to ground loop noises that can produce the kind of sounds you're talking about.  Assuming it is ground related, you can get a USB ground loop isolator, like the one at https://hifimediy.com/product/hifime-high-speed-usb-isolator-v2/ 

 

(Also, possibly the reason running the Surface off of its battery didn't help was that the Focusrite was still plugged into AC.)

 

 

[PaulArtola]

Gotta throw this into the mix, since it is my solution for hosting VST...

 

...VCV-Rack Free + Host/HostFX modules!

 

- Paul "Uncle Chrome" Artola

  Ellicott City, Maryland

 

[JimboKeys]

Just seconding AnotherScott's suggestion of a USB ground lsolator.  Any time you've got audio and USB connections to the same device, there's potential for a ground loop with accompanying 1kHz noise.  (I always use an isolator in such situations.)

 

- Jimbo

[GuitarMage]

Some ground loop/electrical noise recommendations: https://community.gigperformer.com/t/laptop-power-supply-electrical-noise/2577/5?u=npudar