Aeros loop studio: background noise

Greetings! I have recently got my Aeros loop studio. However, I’ve noticed a background noise issue with it and was wondering if it’s caused by wrong set-up on my behalf or if it’s an actual flaw.

When I have Aeros in my signal chain I’m having this unpleasant background noise that makes it impossible to use (even in the “bypass” mode, with 6 boxes menu on the screen).

Here’s my signal chain without Aeros in it:
electric guitar → amp’s in → amp’s out → DI box → audio interface
mp3 background recording example without Aeros in the chain: https://sndup.net/8z6s/d

And here’s with the Aeros:
electric guitar → amp’s in → amp’s out → DI box → Aeros left (mono) input → Aeros left (mono) output → audio interface
mp3 background recording example with Aeros in the chain: https://sndup.net/9nb5/d

All devices in the chain have exactly the same settings in both cases, however you can clearly hear from sound examples that without Aeros it sounds much less noisy. I even tried reducing the signal level in the DI box by -40dB, but it only made tiny bit difference and was still more noisy then with the regular settings (-20dB) and without Aeros.

Any help will be much appreciated. Sorry if this topic has already been discussed here. I found similar ones but the cases seemed a bit different.

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Can you please provide the AEROS firmware version as well?

Sure, OS version is aeros-3.0.0, SW version is SW-3.0.0. I believe it’s the latest, as it says “All up to date”.

I recently purchased Aeros Loop Studio recently and also had issues with background noise. It was not 50hz hum , but more of a static sound , it was noticeable when I connected to PA and got worse when I connected to other devices, including the beat buddy. I also have a headrush looper board using the same setup with no problems.
I found it unacceptable and sent it back for a refund
I was using the latest firmware.

Looks like I got unlucky too. Too bad, I really like the concept of Aeros. Hope this gets resolved, otherwise will have to return mine as well.

Usually this is caused by power supply issues and/or ground loops with digital devices. I had this issue with a ditto x4 and an isolated psu for each device fixed it.

My Aeros has been dead quiet.

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Thanks for reply, JaredSmythe. I have just tried using stock PSU that comes with Aeros instead of my pedal board’s one and it actually improved things a lot. It’s still a bit louder than without Aeros, but only by 1-2dB and it’s barely noticeable (I guess this is expected when you add more devices to the signal chain). And high-pitched sound artifacts are no longer there, which is nice.

The problem is: do I always have to use separate PSU for Aeros to avoid noise? If that’s the case it’s kinda sucks. I have six pedals all of which are powered by my pedal board’s PSU and I never had any problems like that with either one of them. Using a separate PSU for one particular pedal in the chain (Aeros) seems like an overkill. Would really like to avoid such redundancies.

You don’t need a separate psu for each if you used a psu with effectively isolated power. I use a CS12 from Truetone. Voodoo labs also has some good ones. Cioks does, as well. I can run my entire pedalboard with a CS12 with no noise issues.

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Usually, noise issues are not the fault of any particular pedal. Rather, it’s usually the fault of the whole psu system. Don’t send back the Aeros–just get a professional pedal psu system.

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Hey guys,

I highly suggest you listen to Jared’s suggestions here, because the Aeros is a Digital Pedal, it causes issues with noise when connected to the same power source (or a non-isolated one) as analog pedals.

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And so the moral of the story is to avoid power supplies that are daisy chain based (which contributes to noise because the connection to each pedal is non-isolated. Think of a daisy chain as a waterfall that amplifies the noise with each succeeding cascade.

If you’re going to use a PSU, it’s worth spending the extra bucks instead of going the cheapest route.

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Thanks for the advises, guys. I have a rather cheap “Caline p1” power from aliexpress, it states “isolated protection” on the unit. Thought it would work for Aeros as well since it works perfectly fine for all my other pedals (some of which are also digital, like “Empress Reverb”). Didn’t know Aeros was that sensitive to power source.

I guess I’ll have to invest in a better power supply. Let’s consider this issue resolved. Thanks again for the help, that was rather quick!

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Our pleasure!

I’ve had similar issues with other equipment (Helix connected to USB for Helix Edit AND Focusright box connected to the USB) all connected to computer and a pa speaker. PA speaker was the sound problem (static background noise).

  1. Stopped noise when speaker ran on battery only (Bose S1 Pro)
  2. Stopped noise when either the Helix or Focusright USB was disconnected and PA plugged in
  3. Noise maximum with PA plugged in an both USB cables connected.

Point of story - check connections other than the power supply cords - they might be contributing to some of the problem. Still working my issue out since I really need focusright and helix edit USB to be in place at the same time during recording and editing… but not performance. Can survive with battery S1 pro during those times… but SUB OPTIMAL Solution. Haven’t tested the new system with Aeros yet… now I’m worried.

I would appreciate any additional suggestions on this topic – I have found Aeros to be a pretty noisy pedal. I’m talking about a white-noise elevation of the noise floor, not a high-frequency noise. I have small tube amps – Princeton, Blues Junior and Carr Mercury V. I have 8 other pedals in my chain – reverb, delay, chorus, boost, distortion, etc., and everything is powered by Strymon Zuma.

FWIW, I found Pigtronix Infinity to be pretty noisy also. But other pedals with a looper function, like my Volante, are silent.

Thanks.

Aeros works silently in my many-pedaled rig. I recently traced a hum in my rig caused by a “speaker cable” used as a patch cord and couple thin/cheap short patch cables. Replacing the speaker cable with instrument cable made the biggest difference (now I know they aren’t interchangeable), and upgrading short patches helped a little more. I hope you can trace down your noise.

When you say “works silently”, are you really saying that, for you, guitar -> cable -> amp sounds identical to guitar -> cable -> Aeros -> cable -> amp ?

That’s what I want, but maybe I’m too optimistic. I was hoping the ZUMA power supply would magically get me there, but the included 9v power supply sounds just the same to me.

Anyone else with any tips for decreasing the Aeros noise?

Not sure if you read the thread above but this may be solvable by replacing the power supply the Aeros is on. It needs a dedicated PSU in order avoid noise, since it is a digital pedal. One that has been recommended before is https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/1SpotProCS12--truetone-1-spot-pro-cs12-12-output-isolated-guitar-pedal-power-supply

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I’m running this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Zuma--strymon-zuma-9-output-guitar-pedal-power-supply

So I don’t think it’s the power supply.

As I said above, other digital pedals that can loop, such as Strymon Volante, ARE actually silent in my rig.

As others have stated this isn’t what they are experiencing, I’m led to believe it may be a faulty cable or some sort of mismatch somewhere, but I couldn’t say without a better understanding of your full setup and wiring scheme, all it takes is one cable!

If you could somehow record the noise that may be helpful in identifying it!