Difference between revisions of "Troubleshooting"

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It is common nowadays in modern music setups to have noise issues that require some thought and experience to sort out.
 
It is common nowadays in modern music setups to have noise issues that require some thought and experience to sort out.
  
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We prepared a short guide to help you troubleshoot some noise issues that you may face using MOD devices.
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If you are experiencing noise issues on your setup we recommend you to check the following aspects on your setup:
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* Gain staging: check the gain levels both on the input and on the output of all of the devices in your setup;
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* Pedalboard: check the effects on your pedalboard (both virtual inside your MOD Device or other physical devices in your setup) and pay attention for potential sources of noise;
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* Ground loop: check for potential ground loop issues in your setup. Multiple grounded devices in your setup may generate noise issues.
  
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In the following sub-chapters we will check some common sources of noise on our devices and how should you approach to get it solved.
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For more detailed explanations and info, please check the "[[Dealing with noise issues]]" page.
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=== Gain staging ===
 
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It's not uncommon to have noise being listenable due to poorly set gain staging settings between the devices connected to your setup.
 
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As gain amplifies each element of an audio signal, a poorly set gain staging can be increasing the noise present in your gear to an unusable point.
 
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Often devices, when you can set one or multiple gains, have colourful LEDs or graphic representations. Optimal gain staging headroom is obtained when you play on the yellow area.
 
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==== How to tackle issues with gain staging on your MOD device ====
 
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If the input gain on your MOD device feels a bit too quiet, try to increase the gain on the device on your signal chain before the MOD devices, while decreasing on the MOD device output. You can do that either by decreasing the Master Volume, a gain plugin by the end of your pedalboard.
 
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If by another end you find the output signal on your MOD device too quite perform the opposite as before. So you should increase the output levels on your MOD device (again, either by using a plugin by the end of your pedalboard or the master volume), simultaneously you should decrease the gain in the device connected in your signal chain after your MOD device.
 
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When the output of your device is too "hot" (or loud) for the device that you have it plugged into, it's better for the range to turn down on the codec gain (on the settings of your device) than to do it using a plugin in the pedalboard.
 
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'''Note:''' all these adjustments should be done according to your setup and fine-tuning, so you can avoid noise issues.
 
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=== Pedalboard setup ===
 
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Some noise issues are caused by your pedalboard arrangement and the plugins that you are using. Some amp or tape simulators color the signal with their own programmed enhancements and often can be dialed back when necessary. Yet, sometimes developers don't give control to the users on these enhancements.
 
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For these types of cases, you need to use compressors or amplifiers in your pedalboard, you should use also a Noise Gate plugin to filter out all sounds happening below a threshold.
 
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=== Ground loop issues ===
 
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Ground loops are some of the most common issues causing noise on audio devices. It results often in a modulated hum around 50 and 60Hz.
 
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Besides this normal hum, digital noise from all devices connected to your setup can also be introduced on the ground, and become audible when a loop is present. In other words, this means that the noise is not necessarily generated by a particular device, but by the combination of multiple devices.
 
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You can read more about them [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_loop_(electricity) here].
 
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There are mainly 3 identified causes for ground loops in MOD devices:
 
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==== Multiple grounded audio devices in your setup plugged into different power sockets ====
 
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- If your issue may fit into this situation you will need to limit the loop size of the power section between your devices.
 
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In order to achieve that try to use the same power strip between all the devices connected via audio to the MOD device or keep the power cables closer together;
 
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- Check if you have equipment connected in the room that may lead to interferences. Common issues can be found if you used dimmed LEDs or fluorescent lights;
 
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- If none of the above helps you experiment connecting to other power sockets. Although this may increase your power loop size, sometimes different sockets can be less prone to interference due to their shape and orientation;
 
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==== Unbalanced cables between MOD device and grounded gear ====
 
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- If the device where you have your MOD device connected has a "ground lift" switch (some mixers for example have it), try using it;
 
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- add a passive DI or a ground loop isolator if the receiving device has unbalanced inputs;
 
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- if the receiving device has balanced inputs, use balanced/stereo cables;
 
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- if none of the above works experiment with a passive DI or ground loop isolator and balanced/stereo cables.
 
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==== USB connection to a grounded device (for example: a computer) ====
 
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- use the MOD USB provided cable;
 
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- try without a USB connected;
 
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- try a different USB port;
 
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- try through a USB hub;
 
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- add a USB isolator.
 
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===== For MOD Dwarf users =====
 
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If you are a MOD Dwarf user and you believe that you are facing a ground loop issue try to use the ground loop compensation feature available for this device.
 
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You can access this feature under "System Behaviour" on the settings of your MOD Dwarf.
 
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'''Note:''' enabling this feature reduces slightly the amount of available CPU power on your MOD Dwarf.
 

Revision as of 09:15, 10 September 2021

Windows doesn’t recognize MOD as you plug it

Certain Windows systems don't recognize the MOD as a network device or fail to find the correct driver.
Use this driver for such cases: https://modclouddownloadprod.blob.core.windows.net/shared/mod-rndis-driver-windows.zip

For more information and to learn how to install the driver visit Troubleshooting Windows Connection.

Can't connect to the Web GUI in my Mac OS

If you are not able to connect to your MOD device using Mac OS, please check Troubleshooting Mac OS Network

MOD does not boot, stuck on 'MOD Duo' screen

If the unit becomes unbootable for some reason, we might need to reinstall the OS inside.
We can boot the unit in recovery mode for safe reinstall, boot over USB if recovery partition is broken, or perform a full factory reset (which will erase all your data).

For more information see Troubleshooting Reinstall.

Note that the MOD Duo is not software brickable, you can always reinstall its OS.

It is possible to make the MOD Duo X unbootable though, if the bootloader or restore partition are corrupted.
The only way that can happen is if you remove the power supply during the very small period of the software update when the bootloader and restore partition are replaced, or if you intentionally break them.
In such cases it is still possible to recover data, but one needs a imx8mq developer kit in order to boot a custom image/payload (which the MOD team has).

MOD produces a lot of noise when plugged in my current setup (Ground Loop)

If you use other equipment along with your MOD and it starts producing loud noises when plugged in, you might be experiencing a Ground Loop. This could be other pedals, an amplifier, or even your computer.

In short, ground loops may occur when you have multiple audio equipments grounded to different power sources but connected between each other. This situation can happen with MOD Duo X because it is a device that is actually referenced to earth.

To check if that is the case, try to isolate the power of your MOD device and see if it changes your results. One thing that helps is to make sure your MOD device and all other equipment are connected to the same power socket.

Another way these ground loops can occur is by connecting to a PC or laptop which has a really bad power supply, so try disconnecting it from the PC.

References on Ground Loops:

MOD Duo X screens freeze

If your Duo X unit's screen stops operating properly (basically frozen) after a few minutes of usage, please try disabling the audio peakmeter service (in the advanced settings of the web GUI).
Use the advanced settings to trigger a power off of the unit, and then manual turn off and on the power again.
If this indeed fixes the screen freeze issue, please contact support to get your unit replaced.

If the issue is not fixed, try enabling the workaround to automatically restart the screen (also in the advanced settings).
Please post in our forums if you need to do this, so we can fix whatever causes it.

Failed to connect to MOD Cloud

If you see the "Failed to connect to MOD Cloud" message, you should try the following:

  • First of all, double-check your internet connection
  • There have been reports of some browser extensions that might prevent the MOD Web GUI to connect to the cloud. Try deactivating some extensions. One extension reported was the "Firefox Privacy Badger". Do you know any other extension that is causing issues? Please share with us!

Using Firefox and 'noscript' add-on prevents loading of cloud pedalboards

Open noscript preferences, then go to the advanced tab, then 'ABE'. The system ruleset should look like this: 

# Prevent Internet sites from requesting LAN resources.
Site LOCAL
Accept from LOCAL
Accept from http://integrate.moddevices.com/
Deny

Note the new 'Accept from ...' rule. This makes noscript accept requests from cloud pedalboards into the local network.

Dealing with noise issues

It is common nowadays in modern music setups to have noise issues that require some thought and experience to sort out.

If you are experiencing noise issues on your setup we recommend you to check the following aspects on your setup:

  • Gain staging: check the gain levels both on the input and on the output of all of the devices in your setup;
  • Pedalboard: check the effects on your pedalboard (both virtual inside your MOD Device or other physical devices in your setup) and pay attention for potential sources of noise;
  • Ground loop: check for potential ground loop issues in your setup. Multiple grounded devices in your setup may generate noise issues.

For more detailed explanations and info, please check the "Dealing with noise issues" page.

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