Help! Audio Mixer woes

Ok let me first start out by saying I probably coulda spent more money, but i got this 4-channel mixer for 79 bucks and I have a basic question about it… how do I get a low-noise signal?

On each channel there is a gain control, 3-band equaliser, aux post level control, stereo panning and an overall level control. There is a headphone jack on the mixer which I’m using to monitor the sound, and I hear a loud high-frequency hiss no matter how i set up the controls… this shows up on the recording too, which is using the main mixer out signal. This happens on all 4 channels whether I use a microphone or instrument (such as The Pink Bitch, and she’s an ultra noise-free guitar) or even with nothing plugged into the channel. What am i doing wrong?

Could be electrical interference, a short in the board itself, or the sound of a $79 mixer.

Do you hear it when the gain is turned all the way down?

Could be electrical interference, a short in the board itself, or the sound of a $79 mixer.

Do you hear it when the gain is turned all the way down?

Yes even with no gain I have the noise. And when I plug my guitar or my mic into my amp… nothing but quiet, even with the volume up pretty freekin loud. I didn’t want to pay for a xlr mic… maybe that could be my problem?