We plan on bringing you some periodic tips on production issues from various producers who’ve been involved in Muti Music in some way, this month the tip is from Dov.
Problem: Using certain Firewire interfaces with a Power PC Mac sometimes results in an odd high pitched frequency emission, that no unplugging or rewiring of your studio will solve. In my case it was a Presonus Firebox interface when using my Macintosh PowerPC laptop, sometimes the whine / hum was minimal and other times more prominent, almost like having chronic tinnitus. I lucked out one day reading EQ magazine and found my solution. This has worked for a few of my friends and myself, however is not guaranteed as a fix for all high pitched whines that could occur in a studio, but it is worth a try. The relief I had immediately when the sound was gone inspired me to get busy on new tracks right away with the ‘clean’ airspace.

Solution:

Go to http://developer.apple.com/tools/download/ and download Computer Hardware Understanding Developer Tools (CHUD Tools), the version up there now is 4.5, but the 4.4.4 version is the older one that worked for me. Double-click on the .DMG software and then the CHUD.pkg. Install the CHUD tools and this will add a ‘Processor’ option to the ‘System Preferences’ menu under ‘Hardware’.

Double-click on the ‘Processor’ icon and then uncheck “Allow Nap”, Restart and the whine should be gone