[Resolved] Noise when using CBA Brothers via omniport

MIDI Control Chase Bliss
1

I’m just having a slight noise issue when using my CBA Brothers with my MC6 Pro.

I have the pedal connected via the proper disaster area cord that converts the signal from the omni-port to the TRS midi connection on the pedal. I’m not using a midi box. The midi out is Ring Active.

The midi connection works-- I can send any type of message that I want and control the Brothers just fine. The problem I’m having is that for some reason this connection is creating a high pitched whining noise. I know this because if I unplug the midi cable from the omni-port, the sound stops. It is loud enough to make me not want to use the pedal at shows or in recordings so I’m trying to find the fix as soon as I can.

In addition to this, if I have a USB-C connected to my computer and the Morningstar desktop application is on, the whining noise disappears.

Thanks for any help/suggestions!

2

This is related to the CBA pedals not having isolators in their MIDI inputs as per the MIDI Spec. So noise from the computer is translating to audio (ground loop).

You can find more info here: There is MIDI Noise in my Audio signal | Morningstar Engineering Helpdesk

One solution you can try is adding a MIDI Box. The MIDI Box would have an isolator in the input, and if your devices are each powered via an isolated power source, this would resolve the issue.

If the noise comes when you are connected to the computer via USB, a solution you can try is adding a USB isolator. These are relatively cheap from Aliexpress: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006100246259.html

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3

Thanks! The midibox worked perfectly.

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