Help with a wee problem i'm having...

120_Minutes

i'm a luddite when it comes to multitrack computer recording, my forte was always radio/live work. i've got a little setup at home to mess around on at home, but i'm having monitor/playback problems. my setup is thus:

PC with amd processor, cant remember the speed but its somewhere between 1.8 to 2.2 or so, 1.5 gig of ram and plenty of space.

asio4all to assign ins/outs and adjust buffers.

cubase sx with ezdrummer and guitar rig 3.

bass pod connected via usb.

the problem is thus: instrument into pod out to pc via usb, unprocessed signal on one track processed on the other...all good. but when i track or playback i'm getting the "rice crispies" (crackles and pops) mixdowns are fine. its not input overloads or that kind of clipping...i dont know what it is. adjusting my buffers doesnt help.

i have a feeling its pod related as in the interim i've borrowed a yamaha usb mixer and when i use it there are no clicks....but i have a different problem with it. unlike the pod when the signal comes into the computer and i effect it with guitar rig i still get the clean sound mixed in with it, i cant separate them.


can anyone offer any advice.....its putting me off recording in general!

Maccattack

your input signal is too hot brother.

input levels and playback levels are two different things. i dont know cubase but there must be a way to check the input as opposed to output signal.

sort that out before moving on.

violent*sky

whats the sample rate of the session set to / whats the sample rate on the pod? maybe i'm way off.

JonathanAnon

Im not sure if this is relevant but are you sure that is recording the right input and that it is enabled. One of the most annoying things about Cubase is trying to choose the correct input esp when you have a card with multiple inputs.

Can you test out the input by recording into Audacity first, see if you can isolate the problem as being a Cubase issue.

PaulBrewer

Maccattack wrote: »

your input signal is too hot brother.

input levels and playback levels are two different things. i dont know cubase but there must be a way to check the input as opposed to output signal.

sort that out before moving on.

Unlikely, 120 would recognize that.

I'd guess it's a clocking or buffering issue. I don't know how the Pod clocks i.e. is it automatically done or if it's a set up issue.

120_Minutes

its deffo not input levels, or track enabling. i get sound in, i get sound recorded, its clean. its just that when i'm monitoring or listening back i get these noises, but when its all done and mixed down they're gone.....so i cant even post examples!

everything is 44.1 as far as i'm aware. otherwise it probably wouldnt let me do anything.

PMI

Attention to details shows me an AMD processor.... soooooo Im thinking a Possibly VIA chipset on the motherboard?? if so theres the problem

Thanks 48 + VAT please

120_Minutes

VIA? i think you're right (not at home now to check) ok then 2 questions:

Why would this happen?

why is it not happening with the yamaha?

PaulBrewer

120_Minutes wrote: »

VIA? i think you're right (not at home now to check) ok then 2 questions:

Why would this happen?

why is it not happening with the yamaha?

Because it's not a Mac obviously ...;)

120_Minutes

PaulBrewer wrote: »

Because it's not a Mac obviously ...;)

Touché, salesman...

PaulBrewer

Glad to be of assistance ...

PMI

This is a known problem from the days of the AMD K6 chips and via chipsets....

you would get intemittant crackles and pops etc... on playback only regardless of card setup

I am guessing its this problem, which is why even back in the day anyone using PC would run Intel chips because of the boards and because they always had a floating point processor on board.

Some cheap cards used to work but didnt have decent drivers to run the likes of logic and cubase etc.. back then kind of a catch 22 situation ?!?

Anyway IM 90% thats your problem my friend

PaulBrewer

PMI wrote: »

This is a known problem from the days of the AMD K6 chips and via chipsets....

you would get intemittant crackles and pops etc... on playback only regardless of card setup

because they always had a floating point processor on board.

Or you could float your point over to Apple.

Lads, why on Gawds Sweet Earth do ye put up with this shyt ? Do you not want to make music?

Is it a fault in your genes you want to do things the hard way?

It can't really be about money, there's something much deeper than that going on.

PMI

I think it depends on what your recording? I have known this problem for years, back when doing custom audio PC's in the UK it was BIG grief back then..........believe me!!!!

The best route I found is a Good O'l Powermac G5 and a POWERHOUSE of a PC to run VSTi's at same time alongside

PaulBrewer

Yer all daft ....

PaulBrewer

G5s unsupported with the OS from here on in by the way ..... a lad told me.

PMI

O ok cheers, Should be ok where it is..... for a year or so

PaulBrewer

PMI wrote: »

I think it depends on what your recording?

No I think it depends on whether you want to record or spend your time under the bonnet using up the limited hours God has given you on this Earth.

PMI

ha... ya it can be if its not truly geared as a DAW only !

My PC side has never failed on me but its built from ground up choosing board, Ram, HDD's etc.. so was very picky !

alot of that is the problem, people buy a retail PC and forget that it was designed for a price point so they had to cut a corner somewhere

120_Minutes

Indeed, i'm a hobbyist and this pc was built from parts and was never intended to be a music pc, it just happened. for what i'll be doing (recording myself, for my own amusement) i cant justify buying a music only pc right now....and if course if i could it'd be a mac.

PaulBrewer

120_Minutes wrote: »

Indeed, i'm a hobbyist and this pc was built from parts and was never intended to be a music pc, it just happened. for what i'll be doing (recording myself, for my own amusement) i cant justify buying a music only pc right now....and if course if i could it'd be a mac.

Weirdo ...