Home Recording - (scratching head)

Beavis · #1 04-24-2002, 02:33 PM

Hi there i have been an avid enthusiast when it comes to home recording, not i have a good knowlege of midi, syncing, and the general jargon of computer music BUT i can't seem to get my system working. I have been trying on and off to get it working for 6 months, here it is

PIII 500mhz
512Mb Ram
60 Gb hard disk
Matrox G450 dual head graphics card
Korg 1212 audio card
Cubase VST 5
Windows 98 SE

Now the mixer i use is the Korg 168rc soundlink DRS (compatible with the audio card)

Ok well i install everything as it says in the right order and everything but i keep getting pops and crackles, now i have done every combination of the syncing, Adat, word clock, the whole lot and can't get away from the pops and crackles. Sometime the pops and crackles go away but then cubase decides to chance my sample rate from 44100hz to 48000hz and this really ruins recordings. And after all this i keep getting ecessive pci activity from my sound card when ever i do any editing or midi.

This is really starting to annoy me as i haven't been able to record anything for a while, and i am fed up with fiddling, i never actually get round to recording because i am always mucking about with settings and trying to get it to work, i just want to record.

Now i think i have two options,

1. Bin the whole lot/sell it all and just buy myself an all in one system ala roland vs1640, korg 16 track recorder or something similar. I have a drum machine, keyboards etc. *But what would you recomend.

2. Change the software i use and see if it is more compatible with my system, example pro tools free or somthing else just so i can record my ideas.

Cheers in advance for any feedback

Beavis

rgr · #2 04-24-2002, 06:50 PM

Sounds like something in your software setup but I don't know anything about Cubase. *I have that problem with Pro Tools Free so I stick to Logic or N-Tracks. *Try downloading PT Free or n-tracks (www.fasoft.com) and see if one of those works better. *You might also want to find one of the many Cubase forums and ask for help there. *

Roger

30yroldpig · #3 04-25-2002, 12:49 PM

You should describe in more detail how you are set up. I looked into the gear you have and I wonder

1- Is the signal input at the 1212 a digital signal (i.e is it converted at the console and stays digital ?)
2- If so Who is the master word (sync) clock generator?
3- Is the signal converted to digital at the input of the board, converted back to analog on the output of the board only to be re-converted at the audio card?
4- Are all your drivers up-dated?
5- Are you running an "evaluation

" or a retail version of the software?

Cracks and pops are usually a sign of sample rate mis-match look into that. I don't know cubase much check the sample rate and keep it at 44.1Khz and look into the 1212 properties or control panel to ensure that the sample rate is at 44.1Khz.

Beavis · #4 04-25-2002, 02:51 PM

1- Is the signal input at the 1212 a digital signal (i.e is it converted at the console and stays digital ?)

Yes the Anolouge to digital conversion is all done on the mixing desk, and then it goes to the 1212 via light pipe. and back via another light pipe to the desk where its again converted to the anologue outputs.

2- If so Who is the master word (sync) clock generator?

I have tried this both ways round haveing the 1212 as the master and also haveing the mixing desk as the master, still click and pops.

3- Is the signal converted to digital at the input of the board, converted back to analog on the output of the board only to be re-converted at the audio card?

When it goes from the mixing desk it stay digital till it comes back.

4- Are all your drivers up-dated?

Hmm the korg 1212 only has drivers up to ASIO 2 and win95, i run 98 se, and korg arn't releasing anymore software upgrades.

5- Are you running an "evaluation" or a retail version of the software?

well i started off with the usual cracked version and that didn't work so i brought the proper package and well that didn't work either *

Now on the rare occasions where i don't have any pops and crackles i get "excessive PCI activity" which is VERY anonying and you can't do anything when a little window keeps poping up.

I am tempted to sell some stuf and buy some more but i have to know what i buy will be stable and JUST WORK.

Cheers for the interest

Beavis

30yroldpig · #5 04-25-2002, 11:07 PM

I would use the console as the master clock source and ensure that it is generating a 44.1Khz sampling rate. Your set-up seems logical. I am sure there is a small step that you are missing. The fact that there are no 1212 drivers that support Win98 may be a problem....

BTW, what kind of applications are running in the background? Turn off all un-needed back ground apps while recording. Allow all system ressources to be used by the recording session. Also what chipset are you using in your system? That can cause alot of headaches! *

juiceofvenus · #6 05-04-2002, 03:23 PM

Well i think it's your sound card, it's either update or get a new one, but if you could borrow a cheap one a creative labs awe64 or 1024 and see if it works with that so you won't spend your money in vain when u buy a new one.

Also if you do lots of tracks and effects in Cubase you should have better results with P4 or Athlon XP

rikkbeatty · #7 05-04-2002, 05:06 PM

I had the same problem with my setup and it ended up being the chipset that I had in my motherboard. Everything was hooked up perfect but the pops and crackles still persisted. I got a new computer (Dell Dimension 8200 1.8 ghz) and no more problems. You might check into the chipset. There is a post somewhere on the forum dealing with this (I cant remember where) but just do a search on "chipsets" and you should be able to find it.