What are people using to get rid of noise in their audio lines. Can I use one eliminator in between my mixer and interface box, or is it better to eliminate noise at the source, my eurorack, and a couple of synths?
What kind of noise? If you have noise on several synths, but not all, Is the ones giving noise grounded with a 3 prong power cable?
Grounding noise. No three prong on a couple, yes on the other ones. I’ve tried separating audio from power cables. It doesn’t help much that the electrical in my house is older, and may not be grounded itself.
What mixer are you using?
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Using USB? If so, does disconnect it cancel noise?
Any offenders I have go thru a DI with ground lift ON.
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Thats the worst kind to fix. I had the same issue for a long time. The only grounded synth i had was a eurorack with a doepfer power supply. And as soon as i connected that to my audio interface i got ground loop noise. But only when the interface was connected to my computer. I found out that the 2010 imac had a strange problem that resulted in a ground loop with firewire interfaces.
Is the mixer also grounded? Often there is one problematic “thing” but it spreads out to all other connected gear. In my case the noise wasnt bad if i only used my modular. But it spread to all other inputs and it added up to a level that was clearly noticable.
Some say that connecting all grounded gear on the same outlet can help.
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Yes.
If you are used to solve EMC (Electro Magnetic Compatibility) problems, don’t read this, it’s very basic … 
EMC related noise can have multiple sources … to name a few …
- Power lines, which carry fluctuating or noisy voltages … BTW this is not only a possible problem of the power source of the house, also a power supply of a unit in the setup can be the culprit. Dying or faulty power supplies can generate problems as well.
- Units generating noise by themselves and transmitting their noise via electromagnetic waves or via the cables.
- High frequency sources like digital units, which can emit quite some noises via electro magnetic coupling as well as over USB cables.
- Radio stations or broadcasting systems nearby can also become a problem.
Sometimes we have a mix of EMC issues …
Reduction of noise can be done by (a small selection):
- Conductive sources (via cables): here the source should to be treated, or repaired. If it’s on the line only, a filter maybe of help to reduce the emitted noise.
- Unwanted coupling to an EMC environment: here a good shielding of the cables is most efficient, but it has to be combined with adequate grounding and best electrical contacts of the connectors.
There is some legendary gear, which is noisy, but a modern synth or modern outboard gear should generate only very low levels of noise and not be an issue.
Even an old house should have a grounding. But sometimes DIY electricians get the wall socket connected incorrectly and the grounding is missing … this can be checked and changed easily.
Best to check first, if every unit in the setup shares a common grounding or has a grounding at all. Check also that all audio cables are shielded adequately. A good shielding includes the cable and the connector. If the housing of the connector is made from plastic, it can be an issue. If grounding and shielding are not good enough, then you have a kind of antenna, which is happy to receive any EMC disturbance, which might be in your vicinity.
Last but not least … best use cables as short as possible.
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A Yamaha MG 16.
Wow, what a response. This was certainly your moment and you smashed it. Thanks for the information.
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If you mean that there is no ground contact on the plug, which is the case for some power supplies … please don’t laugh … sometimes it helps, if we plug the connector just the other way around in the jack … no joking … really
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I’d also recommend getting a pack of ferrite rings! Add them to power supply cables that don’t have them already. Also, check that you are using the right unbalanced vs. balanced cables for each synth. I’ve had a few monosynths where I would get significant noise on a balanced cable, but unbalanced would instantly solve it.
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Agreed, aka Ferrite Beads… worth the small investment.
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@jdaddyaz in addition to the above, I’d recommend using balanced cables from your mixer to your interface and your interface to your monitors, if you aren’t already. I live in a house with old wiring and terrible grounding, had awful hum when I first set up my interface + monitors. Switched to balanced cables for the monitors, problem solved.
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Thanks everyone. I’ve added some things to my online cart. Will report back if we have success.
I had noise coming from my soundcard (usb transmit noise from my computer) to my monitors.
I fixed the issue by setting balanced jack <-> XLR from the soundcard to ART DTI isolator, then balanced XLR from ART DTI to the monitors.
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I have everything running through a Furman M-8x power conditioner. It’s worth the small investment to clean your power up if you don’t already have one. Less than $100 and made exactly for your situation. Plug everything into it up to 15amps (most people will be able to plug all of their gear into it).
Also I second the ferrite beads suggestion after the power conditioner. I keep a few around just in case.
If all else fails you can just unplug all of the audio cables and the noise will be gone 
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Next topic. Got rid of noise, but now no sound. Vicious cycle.
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You can buy, very expensive, power cables, they use them in mastering studios, I think you can pick them up for about £200 for 2m 2nd hand , I can’t recall the name, but I’m sure you’ll be able to find them. Worth knowing about I guess.
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But will a $200, 2 inch rca cable give me the heavenly crystal clear sounds that I so think I desire. I mean I read somewhere that if you want to hear those tones that supposedly “our ears can’t hear”, I need to drop a minimum of $1400 on cables, and then get a convertor $6000 transformer, with shampooing and conditioner technology that is powered by crystals and the blood of a virgin Himalayan goats.
Oh wait…you were serious. Sorry. I thought you were referring to those crazy prices that some audiophiles pay for “premium” cables. I guess $200 for a cable that is two meters long and used for mastering purposes makes sense. Good to know.
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not a pro at all … wouldn’t a DI-box help?