Electromagnetic Interference with Guitars

[Andy0568]

Just picked up a 2023 Macbook Pro and I'm getting an annoying amount of electromagnetic interference noise through my guitars when they are close (~6-11") away from the laptop. Is this a common problem with the new Macbook Pro's?

I run different guitars (strat, tele, les paul) straight into an Apollo Twin interface. I also tried with a Focusrite Scarlett interface. Get the noise with MBP connected/not connected to an adapter. Moved the Apollo power supply/whole setup to different rooms in the house away from monitors and other electronic equipment. The Focusrite is bus-powered. Switched guitar cables. It doesn't seem to produce the noise when the lid to the MBP is closed.

I suppose I can just move a couple feet back when I'm recording guitar, but was hoping there's another solution.

 

[IntrovertPartyAnimal]

After 3 days of troubleshooting I was able to isolate a 50khz interference of my guitar to my Macbook Air M1 2020. I can’t play or record with the Macbook, or even have it open. It is a wireless interference because the same happens it being on battery use without anything else than wireless connections on. I tried everything from measuring all the ground loops, changing cables, another building, DAC power supply upgrades etc. I was going mad, but then I realized I could test the guitar with an iPad (I don’t have physical amps), and there it was, an interference free guitar signal.

This is where I’m currently at. The funny thing is that with the same DAC and that very Macbook I’m able to produce vocals and play USB keyboard without any interferences whatsoever. But I’m not able to play the guitar with the iPad if the Macbook is on, even if it wouldn’t have a singe wire connected to it.

 

[Analog Kid]

After 3 days of troubleshooting I was able to isolate a 50khz interference of my guitar to my Macbook Air M1 2020. I can’t play or record with the Macbook, or even have it open. It is a wireless interference because the same happens it being on battery use without anything else than wireless connections on. I tried everything from measuring all the ground loops, changing cables, another building, DAC power supply upgrades etc. I was going mad, but then I realized I could test the guitar with an iPad (I don’t have physical amps), and there it was, an interference free guitar signal.

This is where I’m currently at. The funny thing is that with the same DAC and that very Macbook I’m able to produce vocals and play USB keyboard without any interferences whatsoever. But I’m not able to play the guitar with the iPad if the Macbook is on, even if it wouldn’t have a singe wire connected to it.

If you have active electronics on your guitar, it might be worth checking that they're well shielded. That's something you can control. The fact that metal strings and your body are just long antennas is harder to get around.

When you say wireless interference, do you mean WiFi? You can turn that and bluetooth off. I don't get a lot of interference off my Studio, but I can get some from my displays and the LED lamp with dimmer (dimmers are horrid for interference). I'll say this though, Logic on the iPad is a nice option to have.

 

[madrigal77]

That's really odd. I have no issues. 3 guitars with active pickups (2xEMG and one Fishman Fluence). I don't really use my Mac as an interface though. I just use it to control my Fractal FM3. But I do put it on top of my powered cab and there's no issue. Also have an M3 MBP.

 

[IntrovertPartyAnimal]

If you have active electronics on your guitar, it might be worth checking that they're well shielded. That's something you can control. The fact that metal strings and your body are just long antennas is harder to get around.

When you say wireless interference, do you mean WiFi? You can turn that and bluetooth off. I don't get a lot of interference off my Studio, but I can get some from my displays and the LED lamp with dimmer (dimmers are horrid for interference). I'll say this though, Logic on the iPad is a nice option to have.

I only have passive humbuckers in my guitar, which are wired by using shielded cables. The ground continuity is seamless according to my measures. Also, the resistance of the pickups seem reasonable. This was the first step in my troubleshooting workflow; hunting cold joints/other defects in the guitar electronics and in the guitar cable.

When I say Wireless interference, I mean I don’t know yet which wireless. Three days of troubleshooting workflows trying to isolate the problem, and I was just happy to be able to practice and record again, that I decided to look into it in coming days.

I have a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, as well as a Mesh Wifi. Though in the studio, the Macbook is connected to LAN and is set to prioritize the LAN connection. We’ll see.

 

[IntrovertPartyAnimal]

That's really odd. I have no issues. 3 guitars with active pickups (2xEMG and one Fishman Fluence). I don't really use my Mac as an interface though. I just use it to control my Fractal FM3. But I do put it on top of my powered cab and there's no issue. Also have an M3 MBP.

Indeed, it wasn’t even in my top 5 suspected interference source list.

My interface is Tascam 102i, which has its own power supply. It’s connected to my Mac via usb. I tried both a usb hub and a direct connection to the body, with and without Mac being connected to the power supply. It made no difference to the guitar interference.

Connecting the Tascam to iPad solved the interference, but only if the Macbook in the same room would be at sleep, even when not being plugged into anything. So strange.

Anyway, I didn’t mean to hijack the thread but since it didn’t have any answers, and the problem seemed related, and all other internet threads seemed unrelated/confusing, I thought sharing my two cents could help IF someone would be wandering in the dark with this topic. Isolating interferences can be quite overwhelming.

 

[Analog Kid]

I didn’t mean to hijack the thread

I don’t think you hijacked it. @Andy0568’s post went unnoticed but you managed to get some traffic here. Hopefully Andy gets some help from it too…

I was able to isolate a 50khz interference of my guitar to my Macbook Air

That’s above audio frequencies, right? Is it aliasing down or something?

 

[beastly]

He means 50hz. Guitars buzz at 50 or 60hz, and can be compounded by pointing the pickups at the monitor. Rotate your dumpy ass to the left. Don't watch the recording. Not unique to MacBooks, happens with TV's as well.

 

[IntrovertPartyAnimal]

He means 50hz. Guitars buzz at 50 or 60hz, and can be compounded by pointing the pickups at the monitor. Rotate your dumpy ass to the left. Don't watch the recording. Not unique to MacBooks, happens with TV's as well.

I would have to double check the frequencies from the EQ, as it shows significant increase at all levels. It’s not the normal ”hum” though. I uploaded a short test sample to SndUp. By only replacing a Mac to iPad in the rig, that noise is reduced by over 90% with a distortion on. Ps. There’s a metronome in the background. And sorry about the inaccuracies with the frequencies.

Turning away from the recording seems a common advice, but in my case unfortunately does nothing. To get a device specific pickup interference, from a phone example, I have to bring it extremely close to the pickups. I’ve tried moving and turning around in the studio, but unfortunately it does nothing to the interference.