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Post by ninworks on Jan 2, 2021 5:34:19 GMT -5
I turned on my Focusrite ISA428 mic pre amp a few days ago and it was making this weird sound. A kind of 60 cycle rattling noise. That was without anything plugged into, or out of, it. I think it may be in the digital converter section. It sounds like it's coming from that end of the unit and the digital indicator lights on the front panel are doing strange things. I haven't hooked a mic to it to see if the analog section is actually working because the noise sounds like it could be dangerous and I really don't want to see smoke coming out of it. So I didn't leave it on long enough to test it.
I called my nephew in Nashville that had his own commercial studio for about 10 years to see if he knew any local techs. He did and gave me his contact info. I hope he can fix it. I have heard that Focusrite is kind of stinky about releasing schematics and parts to repair facilities that are not factory authorized. The closest one of those I could find is in Las Vegas. I'm in Tennessee. I really don't want to have to ship it cross country for repairs. I'll call the local tech next week to see what he says then make a decision from there. Fingers crossed.
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Jan 2, 2021 10:18:33 GMT -5
How old of a unit? I see they're still sold at Sweetwater. No chance of a warranty repair I take it.
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Post by ninworks on Jan 2, 2021 15:57:09 GMT -5
No warranty. I've had it for about 13 years and it's been a real nice unit. It is the same mic pres as this; focusrite.com/en/node/99However, the 428 doesn't have the EQ the console does. |
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Post by Auf Kiltre on Jan 2, 2021 17:42:10 GMT -5
Hopefully you'll be able to get it fixed. I have an older budget Focusrite TwinTrak Pro that got a lot of bad reviews. I haven't used it in years but recently revisited some of my older works and found it offered a clarity and presence that I have not been able to get using the mic input on my Eleven Rack.
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Post by ninworks on Jan 3, 2021 6:54:49 GMT -5
The mic pre in the Eleven Rack is not bad, is usable, and will work in a pinch. I also have a budget Focusrite Scarlette 18i20 interface that has 8 mic pre's in it. They sound a little better than the Eleven Rack but the difference is minimal compared to the ISA428. It is a monster. Especially if I use the converters in it. I can bypass the converters in the 18i20 and go directly from the ISA428 into Pro Tools via either S-PDIF, AES/EBU, or Lightpipe, using the 18i20 as a digital port. It has transformer balanced inputs and sounds wonderful. The converters can be from 16 bit 44.1kHz all the way to 24 bit 192kHz and everything in between. It also has analog outputs that sound so good I really have to listen closely to tell the difference between them and the digital outputs. The noise floor is slightly better using the digital outputs.
I'm sure I can get it fixed somewhere. They are a very popular unit but I'll bet it will be costly. The 428 was about $2300 with the digital option. There are better and more expensive mic pre's out there if I wanted to get into an API or Neve but this one is good enough for me. Like you, I'm just a hobbyist these days and can't justify the expense.
The budget stuff is getting so much better these days. I wouldn't hesitate to use any of them if needed, and I do. I still use the different mic pres I have occasionally just for some variation. The truth is that, for all of the expensive mics and front end I have, I record most things direct without a mic. The Eleven Rack works quite well as a guitar and bass amp and all of my keyboard sounds except the Hammond are in the computer. I even have an Arturia Hammond plugin that sounds very good. I still have my old Minimoog but most of the time I use the Arturia one in my computer for the ease of use if I need that sound. I did a side-by-side comparison with the Arturia and the real Minimoog once. The real one had just a little more punch to it but was also noisier and the intonation wasn't as good across the keyboard as the plugin. The plugin is also polyphonic, has effects, and will store presets where the real one will do none of that. Point, game, and match! The real Hammond and Leslies still wipe the floor with the plugin. Especially when the Leslies are turned up loud and breaking up. There's still no substitute for the tubes in a Leslie. I use more mics when recording a Leslie than I do for anything else I record. Usually 4. 2 on the upper rotor and 2 on the lower rotor. I don't always use all the mic tracks when mixing but sometimes I do. It often sounds better with just one dynamic mic on the upper rotor and then double track the Hammond and split it left and right in the mix. It depends on the song as to which way I do it.
Oh my. I do tend to wander off topic.
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Post by ninworks on Jan 3, 2021 9:21:06 GMT -5
I sent my sales engineer at Sweetwater an email asking him if he knew any factory authorized facilities on this end of the USA. My thoughts were that since they are a dealer they could find out. Who knows? Sweetwater themselves may be a repair option. Still awaiting a reply to my email. Probably get one in the next couple days.
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Post by ninworks on Jan 4, 2021 15:21:58 GMT -5
Sweetwater was a bust so I contacted Focusrite directly from their website. Now I wait.......
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Post by ninworks on Jan 17, 2021 20:24:13 GMT -5
FYI, Focusrite contacted me and there is an authorized repair facility in Southaven Mississippi. That's much closer to me than Las Vegas. I ended up taking it to a tech in Nashville. Hopefully he can get what he needs to fix it.
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