Sound crackles

[VincentPompe]

Hi

When I use some instruments at the same time or many notes at the same time, the sound starts to crackle, allmost as if it were too loud (don't know the english word, sorry, I mean when it goes into the red on monitor)

This allso happens with harp or piano if I roll a finger over the keys. I have no clue what causes this, as far as I can see the sound is not to loud... anyone got an idea?

Vincent

[dnortana]

If your audio is not clipping, then it might be cpu overloading. Do you have any kind of performance monitor that can tell you cpu usage?

One way to ease strain on your cpu/system is to increase your audio buffers, or increase the latency. Try going to larger numbers and see if it helps. If you are using the wet instruments, change to the dry instruments. If you are using reverb, decrease its quality setting.

If these suggestions don't cure your problem, then it would be helpful for you to tell us more about your system. What computer, OS, amount of RAM, what sequencer, etc ....

Trond

[Dimora]

I'm having the same problem. I'm running a G4 400Mhz with 576MB of RAM with OSX (10.3.2) I know this isn't nearly the ideal system to run GPO. I do have a 1Ghz processor coming to me in the mail, but is this situation strictly a RAM issue or is it a combination of RAM and processor speed?

Thanks!
Clo

[VincentPompe]

Hi Trond,

thanx for your answer!

I work on a Pentium 4 2,4GHz cpu, 1GB memory, Sb audigity 2 soundcard and a very big, fast seperate audioharddisk and a Fatar SL-880 MIDI keyboard.

CPU is used mostly only about 20 / 30 percent, so overloading should not be the case...

Could it have something to do with (the velocity/aftertouch options of) my keyboard?

Vincent

[falcon1]

This sometimes happens for me too, but I have only noticed this when I use solo-trumpet + overlay.

[falcon1]

Update: Just re-installed my Cubase and the crackles seems to have disappeared. I'll post an update after few days to confirm it.

[dnortana]

Vincent,

I seriously doubt your problem is due to the keyboard. But, I seem to recall seeing posts on other forums about Audigy soundcards ... I don't recall the details, but there's a 'red flag' in my mind about them. You might try a search on the 'big' northernsounds forum and see what you turn up about the SB Audigy2.

If your cpu is down around 20-30 % we can pretty much rule out cpu overload as the problem.

Have you 'tweaked' your PC to work optimally for music? There are numerous settings to 'tune' in XP to get optimal performance. Again, a forum or google search will lead you to some excellent web pages for setting up your PC for best audio performance.

Trond

[LouisD]

My system is about exactly the same and I had the very same problem. I was about to rip the Audigy soundcard out and jump on it. But after a lot of searching the problem was found in the most unlikely place (well, to me that is...) I have a NVIDA graphics card and although I had the lastest drivers downloaded and installed, it had a problem with Windows XP Pro. I went to the windows update page, updated windows completely, including some graphics card drivers and the crackle and popping stopted and never returned. I admit that I'm a cave dweller when it comes to solving computer issues but it seems that windows has a problem with certain graphics cards and that problem causes a problem with Audigy cards. I know this because I have two sounds cards, and the other one has always work just perfectly, whereas the Audigy was crackling and popping so badly that I was almost not able to use it.

Hope this helps.

Have a good day!

[trentpmcd]

I had this problem and found the fix thanks to Shazbot.

Windows defaults with a service called ACPI loaded. This works great for general machines but often causes problems if you are using it as a music production machine.

I reloaded Windows without it and it works great.

Read this article:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/Mar02/articles/pcmusician0302.asp?session=ccefd763a17969fde94c914 7535e0c6b

[VincentPompe]

Hi all

I lowered the latency from 2 to 20 and that helps. everything works just fine. But this only moved up the 'border line' where my pc thinks it's time to start crackling again. So the problem is still not completely solved. (although it is managebla now)

I'll try removing the ACPI service and keep you informed!


Vincent

[Jeff Hurchalla]

Another suggestion (which may be obvious) is to use only the dry instruments and apply a reverb as a send effect in your sequences. The Ambience reverb that comes with GPO works nicely for this.

[TennesseeVic]

If you're using Logic, read this post (http://community.sonikmatter.com/cgi-bin/emagic/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=23&t=000173#000003).

V.

[kitekrazy]

Hi all

I lowered the latency from 2 to 20 and that helps. everything works just fine. But this only moved up the 'border line' where my pc thinks it's time to start crackling again. So the problem is still not completely solved. (although it is managebla now)

I'll try removing the ACPI service and keep you informed!


Vincent

Usually not the best move unless you do a full Windows reinstall. On most recent boards ACPI is not a problem. The SOS article (dated 2002) would be considered as outdated since most hardware has made major advances since then.

It should've occured to you that your soundcard (SB) can't run at 2ms. A high end card with excellent drivers will lower your latency.

[Joseph Burrell]

Yeah, after getting rid of the ACPI drivers myself, you will encounter problems with things like DVD or CD drives. I wouldn't recommend doing it anymore. This was mostly a Gigastudio fix when it first came to exist. I don't think this is necessary anymore. I've built 2 Gigastudio PC's (for a friend) and my current PC for GPO and I've never done this because it isn't necessary.