This article applies to: Platinum VoiceMaster Pro

I get a burst of noise when turning the device on and turning phantom power on, is this normal?

Turning on the device

This is normal and you will find that any class A preamp does this (unless there is a relay circuit to delay the switching of the output - normally found in active speakers).

The noise is caused by all of the components suddenly being charged by a DC so there is no way to prevent it other than not turning the unit on.

Turning on phantom power (48V)

This is caused by the capacitors charging and is normal.

Make sure your monitors are muted when switching on phantom power and when switching the device on with phantom power on.

Turn your monitors on last

With any recording set up, it is advisable to turn things on in the order of the signal chain - definitely, amp/monitors last.

It is good practice to turn on your monitors last and power them off first. This avoids loud pops and noise and protects your monitors and your hearing. 

I can't get sound from the monitor outputs when using the mic input.

Check the following:

• Is the power switched on?
• Is the LINE switch on the front panel switched out?
• Are the INPUT and OUTPUT LEVELS set correctly?
• For microphones that require phantom power (ie condenser microphones), is the +48V switch engaged?
• Is something connected to the Instrument input? (This overrides the mic input.)
• Are headphones connected? (These mute the monitor outputs - see the article regarding latency-free monitoring)
• Is there something connected to insert return?
• Is the Optical Expander activated?

I hear hiss on the output, what can I do?

Check that the cables you are using are not faulty - swap them with ones you know work. If they work and you can still hear a noise then ensure they are not running past any sources of RF interference.

Used balanced connections wherever possible so as to ensure the noise-induced into the signal is kept to a minimum. Cheap cables with a poor screen can often result in an unclean signal.

Check the headphone out of the VoiceMaster Pro to see if the hiss is still present there (make sure all of the processing is switched out when you test). The most common cause of noise is faulty cables, but if you can hear the hiss on the VMPro headphone out then it is possible that it is being generated within the unit. If you cannot hear the hiss in the headphones then see if the level of hiss on the line out varies with the output fader level - if not then the hiss is being induced after the VoiceMaster Pro in the signal chain.

Try using the mic, line and instrument inputs to see if the hiss occurs when using all three or just one of them. Also, see if the level of the hiss varies with the input gain - if so then the hiss is being induced before the VoiceMaster Pro in the chain.