Author Topic: Pops in recording...need help. (Read 10991 times)

waltflanagansdog · « **on:** December 13, 2003, 11:10:17 AM »

Hey,

All of the sudden this week I have been getting pops in my recordings. I did 2 NMAS shows last week, no problem. Now my stuff sounds like Rice Krispies.

I have changed UA5 batteries and XLR's.

I run C1000's>UA5>Wavelab 4.0

Am I missing something?

Thanks!

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #1 on:** December 13, 2003, 11:23:44 AM »

Any changes on your PC lately? 24- or 16-bit? Sample rate? What's between UA5 and Wavelab - soundcard/cabling? USB? Rebooted lately? PC optimized for audio? How frequent are the pops?

More information will help those (unlike me) knowledgable enough with computer recording.

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #2 on:** December 13, 2003, 11:52:17 AM »

There is a USB between the UA5 and lappy. I haven't rebooted lately, and yes it it optimized for audio. I have done a BUNCH of recordings, no problem...now it is terrible.

The pops are very frequent!

I tried using the AC adapter for the UA5 and still got the same result.

Thanks

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #3 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:01:23 PM »

Well, definitely reboot and see if that does it. When in doubt, always reboot! Again, questions I'm sure others with a greater knowledge will ask:

Any changes on your PC lately? 24- or 16-bit? Sample rate? Mac or PC?

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #4 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:05:43 PM »

Haven't changed anything on the lappy lately!

The sample rate hasn't changed either. I use Windows 2000

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #5 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:16:43 PM »

Okay, so you haven't changed the sample rate. But what *is* the sample rate you're using? And are you running 16-bit or 24-bit? And did rebooting/powering off/on solve the problem?

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #6 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:17:18 PM »

Rebooted...no change.

Changed the USB cable...no change

Opened up the UA5 and cleaned it out...no change

Next...re-install Wavelab and try SoundForge

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #7 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:18:02 PM »

I am running at 16bit/44.1 kHz

zhianosatch · « **Reply #8 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:22:09 PM »

there!

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #9 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:24:16 PM »

There what? :-)

zhianosatch · « **Reply #10 on:** December 13, 2003, 12:25:56 PM »

you finally admitted what sampling rate you used to record

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #11 on:** December 13, 2003, 03:28:57 PM »

Anyone?? I have a show to record tonight and I have run out of ideas.

Thanks

pfife · « **Reply #12 on:** December 13, 2003, 03:44:14 PM »

Did you accidently switch on the back of the UA-5 into advanced mode? This would make it go into 24 bit mode.

Did you accidently switch the UA-5 to 48 or 96?

Wild guesses... trying to help!

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #13 on:** December 13, 2003, 03:57:11 PM »

pfife: Thanks for the help.

I checked all the swithces and i moved them back to normal...same pops.

I just happened to record a movie, and when at the peak of the kid's voice I got pops, no other time.

John Kelly · « **Reply #14 on:** December 14, 2003, 02:39:09 AM »

I've got absolutely nothing to add, but I have to +t you for the name.

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #15 on:** December 14, 2003, 04:32:54 AM »

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 13, 2003, 03:57:11 PM

I just happened to record a movie, and when at the peak of the kid's voice I got pops, no other time.

A stupid question, I'm sure, but...I assume the pops aren't just normal clipping from running levels too hot?

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #16 on:** December 14, 2003, 07:24:21 AM »

I made sure the sensitivity levels on the mics were at about half to ensure they weren't too hot.

I am gonna try to work this on my wife's laptop to make sure it's not my lappy.

F.O.Bean · « **Reply #17 on:** December 14, 2003, 07:31:19 AM »

try switching your recording and playback buffers to the max, that helped w/ my setup quite a bit.....

its under the preferences.....

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #18 on:** December 14, 2003, 07:36:10 AM »

Thanks Bean! I'll give it a whirl.

F.O.Bean · « **Reply #19 on:** December 14, 2003, 07:36:55 AM »

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 14, 2003, 07:36:10 AM

Thanks Bean! I'll give it a whirl.

lemme know my man.....

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #20 on:** December 14, 2003, 07:42:16 AM »

Do I raise the buffer number and size to the max?

F.O.Bean · « **Reply #21 on:** December 14, 2003, 07:46:11 AM »

i maxed everything, the one on playback is 64 then the other # is maxed....then the recording side is 16, and then maxed, so yes, max both

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #22 on:** December 14, 2003, 07:48:08 AM »

cool thanks! I will let you know what happens.

F.O.Bean · « **Reply #23 on:** December 14, 2003, 07:59:14 AM »

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 14, 2003, 07:48:08 AM

cool thanks! I will let you know what happens.

please do..

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #24 on:** December 15, 2003, 08:51:09 AM »

Hey! I just remembered how my last recording before the shit went down.

NMAS 12-6-03...in the encore about 2.5 hours into the recording it started popping and static-ing pretty hard, then all static, then nothing. I lost the last 3 songs of the encore.

The system didn't freeze or anything. Just loud ass static, then nothing.

F.O.Bean · « **Reply #25 on:** December 15, 2003, 09:16:26 AM »

hmmmmmm, do you defrag and cleanup frequently???that could be everything...but, you prolly do that sooooo, the buffers didnt work??

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #26 on:** December 15, 2003, 09:44:50 AM »

I changed the buffers, defragged, and cleaned...but didn't have time to test it yet. Today after work I shall see what the deal is.

Thanks for the concern, bean...you rawk!

F.O.Bean · « **Reply #27 on:** December 15, 2003, 05:07:02 PM »

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 15, 2003, 09:44:50 AM

I changed the buffers, defragged, and cleaned...but didn't have time to test it yet. Today after work I shall see what the deal is.

Thanks for the concern, bean...you rawk!

anytime my man, keep me posted...

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #28 on:** December 15, 2003, 09:21:48 PM »

**Update**

Disc was defragged and cleaned. I just recorded the Aerosmith crap on MNF and I had the same pops and static. This time through the headphones I heard a constant light static/hiss just when I was moving opening and closing Wavelab on the lappy. The levels on Wavelab looked all jacked up too. It looked very intermittent, like it was only recording every .5 seconds. I listened to the recording and the pops were there, but you could here all the rrcording regardless of what the levels looked like.

I restarted the system. Light hiss/static was gone, but the pops and the jacked up levels still there.

This SUCKS!! Anyone want a UA5?

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #29 on:** December 15, 2003, 09:29:03 PM »

I bet it's the PC and not the UA5. Sounds to me like a bus throughput issue. I suspect there's something going on with USB or background services on your machine gobbling resources.

Anyone else use the PC and possibly made changes without your knowledge? (Doesn't hurt to ask!)
Maybe try to run into someone else's PC via USB to see if you can duplicate the problem?
How exactly have you optimized the PC for audio?
Is the UA5 stock or modified?

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #30 on:** December 15, 2003, 09:32:29 PM »

Quote from: Brian Skalinder on December 15, 2003, 09:29:03 PM

Anyone else use the PC and possibly made changes without your knowledge? (Doesn't hurt to ask!)
Maybe try to run into someone else's PC via USB to see if you can duplicate the problem?
How exactly have you optimized the PC for audio?
Is the UA5 stock or modified?

No one has touched it, as far as I know.

I am gonna try the wife's lappy here in a minute.

I have no clue how the PC is optimized...how do I figure this out.

The UA5 is all stock

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #31 on:** December 15, 2003, 09:37:28 PM »

What are your PC specs - HD, RAM, CPU, USB 1 v. 2, OS, Service Packs, etc.?

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #32 on:** December 15, 2003, 10:17:15 PM »

OK: I just recorded on my Dell Latitude CPxJ...same results. Pops and messed up looking levels.

I recorded on my wife's Latitude (much newer, XP) and had jacked looking levels, but no pops.

My specs: 20G, 256 RAM, P3 (650), 1 USB, Win2000, Service Pack 3.

Looks like we are gonna reinstall the OS and see what happens.

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #33 on:** December 15, 2003, 10:25:14 PM »

Before you re-install the OS (when was the last time you did this, BTW?), check out Black Viper's Win2k Pro Services Config site. (May want to install SP4 first.)

I just used it to tweak my home machines using the Gaming configuration. Not sure exactly which config you should use as your base, but...you can always revert back to your old settings. Give it a go - this should help free up much needed PC resources.

When you say "messed up levels" and "jacked looking levels", what exactly do you mean?

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #34 on:** December 15, 2003, 10:27:37 PM »

I will give the SP4 a shot!

The levels on the Wavelab looked smooth last week. It looked real time. No it looks as though it is only recording every .5 seconds, but it IS recording everything.

It looks as though it starts recording, then stops...constantly.

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #35 on:** December 15, 2003, 10:35:50 PM »

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 15, 2003, 10:27:37 PM

I will give the SP4 a shot!

The levels on the Wavelab looked smooth last week. It looked real time. No it looks as though it is only recording every .5 seconds, but it IS recording everything.

It looks as though it starts recording, then stops...constantly.

I know exactly what you mean. I get the same look when I'm transferring DAT > PC in Cool Edit Pro 2 and I'm taxing my PC heavily with other stuff. I don't get pops, but I no longer perform PC-resource intensive tasks while transferring. This further suggests to me it's a PC resource issue, not the UA5.

Try SP4, and then try using Black Viper's site to turn off some unnecessary services to see if it helps.

When was the last time you (re-)installed Win2000? I know in my experience running Win2000 for too long without re-installing causes problems. Part of it I think is related to a bloated registry from installing and un-installing software. Part of it I think is related to DLL hell. And part of it is...PC gnomes?

So if it's a been a while since you've re-installed Win2000 and we're not able to further track this down, that may be an option to consider (as you already have). But try this other stuff first, we'll see what we can do before we resort to a re-install.

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #36 on:** December 15, 2003, 10:39:55 PM »

I have never re-installed Win2000. I got the lappy back in June and have not done it. I will install SP4, give it a whirl and if that doesn't work, I'll try the re-installation.

Thanks Brian! I'll let you know what happens.

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #37 on:** December 15, 2003, 10:43:37 PM »

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 15, 2003, 10:39:55 PM

I have never re-installed Win2000. I got the lappy back in June and have not done it. I will install SP4, give it a whirl and if that doesn't work, I'll try the re-installation.

Thanks Brian! I'll let you know what happens.

June?!? Shit, you shouldn't have to re-install that soon, unless you've gone really crazy installing and un-installing software over those 6 months. Even then, that's too soon. Let us know how things go...we'll definitely try to keep a Win2000 re-install as a last resort.

momule · « **Reply #38 on:** December 16, 2003, 09:47:17 AM »

Quote from: Brian Skalinder on December 15, 2003, 10:35:50 PM

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 15, 2003, 10:27:37 PM
Part of it I think is related to a bloated registry from installing and un-installing software.

here is a great reg cleaner, But I must warn ya now, if your Not Real PC friendly, Be carefull as you can really mess some shit up fast if ya go in and delete the wrong file. But you might be suprised at what ya find, When you think you have deleted a Application and all you really deleted was the shortcut.

http://www.macecraft.com/downloads/RegSupreme_setup.exe

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #39 on:** December 16, 2003, 11:09:29 AM »

Do you think a Wavelab 4.0 update might work? I think there is one on Steinberg's site.

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #40 on:** December 16, 2003, 11:34:55 AM »

Would the "jacked up" levels have anything to do with me cranking the buffer levels to the max?

dklein · « **Reply #41 on:** December 16, 2003, 11:44:21 AM »

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 15, 2003, 10:27:37 PM

The levels on the Wavelab looked smooth last week. It looked real time. No it looks as though it is only recording every .5 seconds, but it IS recording everything.

It looks as though it starts recording, then stops...constantly.

This suggests a resource issue - if there isn't even enough processing power to display the level meters, something else is running and hogging your resources.

And the dropouts certainly sound like a busy bus. Try this:
ctrl-alt-delete
click on task manager
processes tab
then click on the CPU Time tab to sort the list - what are the big ones?

BTW, did you ever try the advanced drivers (for 24 bit). I haven't had any problems with those...but I understand...it was working before so that shouldn't be it.

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #42 on:** December 16, 2003, 11:52:18 AM »

I did dry the advanced drivers all the up the ladder and the same problems.

CPU Time:
system Idle Process 1:30:46+
IEXPLORE.EXE 0:02:08
Mcshield.exe 0:01:14
explorer.exe 0:00:24
msnmsgr 0:00:21
System 0:00:08
CSRSS.EXE 0:00:08
WinMgmt.exe 0:00:03
services.exe 0:00:02
winlogin.exe 0:00:02
aim.exe 0:00:01
FrameworkServic 0:00:01

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #43 on:** December 17, 2003, 08:07:10 AM »

Still working on getting the issue resolved. I am gonna plug headphones into the UA5 to see if it's a UA5 issue. Then work from there.

Mike

joemango · « **Reply #44 on:** December 17, 2003, 04:02:27 PM »

My guess is you might have a bad UA5. If it went in the middle of a show, I bet a capacitor popped. Make sure you use the input monitor on your UA-5 to listen with headphones, so you hear it after it has gone thru the input stages. if you hear pops or hiss, your input stages might have a bad component and you'll have to get it looked at.

Trying a new laptop didn't fix it, so I guess the computer isn't the problem. Good luck. I love my UA-5, it's hard to hear someone had such problems with theirs.

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #45 on:** December 17, 2003, 06:03:05 PM »

Update!!

I installed Service Pack 4...no difference.

I finally plugged headphones into the UA5 while recording with the laptop. The sound through the headphones was clear as crystal...the recording was poppy.

I am now beginning to wonder if I installed the wrong Wavelab driver or if I need to go to Windows XP.

Any suggestions?

ianstone · « **Reply #46 on:** December 17, 2003, 06:41:17 PM »

i would try to isolate the problem before going and reinstalling OS's, etc.

you must determine if it's the ua-5 or the computer.
if you have access to any other gear like a v3 or something, test that out and see how the recording goes. if you still get the pops and whatnot on the computer you'll know its the computer. if everything works fine, you'll know there was a problem with the ua5

ian

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #47 on:** December 18, 2003, 07:35:40 AM »

**Another Update**

For giggles I figured I'd record something using the stock microphones in my laptop. The levels, again, looked all messed up...but it recorded everything...POP/STATIC FREE!

I take it this is a USB issue now?

I also have an external burner that I hook up to the USB when I burn shows I've done. I haven't had one issue with those recordings, aside from the pops that have been recorded.

Thanks

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #48 on:** December 18, 2003, 08:10:26 AM »

What the hell is the System Idle Process?? It is under the Task Manager and under the CPU tab it is at 99.

1st set only · « **Reply #49 on:** December 18, 2003, 10:20:29 AM »

post a sample somewhere,

maby your levels are too high
try soundforge
try outputing to a tape recorder to get the same effect or monitor from the ua5 with headphones.

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #50 on:** December 18, 2003, 10:26:20 AM »

I tried SF6..same popping.
I plugged headphones into the UA5...no pops.
I cranked the levels down with the same popping effect.

joemango · « **Reply #51 on:** December 18, 2003, 11:42:48 AM »

Have you tried Edirol Tech Support? Maybe they can point you at another driver?

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #52 on:** December 18, 2003, 07:08:45 PM »

I called tech Support...very helpful folks. He uninstalled the Windows USB Driver and reinstalled the UA5 driver. Still had pops.

Called back, told me to buy a PCMCIA USB Card. Pops gone, but still have messed up levels. The recording skips a ton!

Trying a new software...we'll see.

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #53 on:** December 18, 2003, 07:20:50 PM »

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 18, 2003, 07:08:45 PM

Called back, told me to buy a PCMCIA USB Card. Pops gone, but still have messed up levels. The recording skips a ton!

So...does your on-board USB not meet Edirol's UA-5 minimum system requirements? Did the support rep indicate whether or not the UA-5 *should* work with your on-board USB? What did the support rep have to say about the fact that previously the on-board USB worked fine with the UA-5 and only recently has it become a problem?

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #54 on:** December 19, 2003, 07:14:38 AM »

Since the PCMCIA card worked fine, but there was still level problems that it wasn't a USB problem. He suggested that I install XP...I did, but have been configuring it this morning. Once I get it up and running, we'll see what happens.

Brian Skalinder · « **Reply #55 on:** December 19, 2003, 09:55:09 AM »

Quote from: waltflanagansdog on December 19, 2003, 07:14:38 AM

Since the PCMCIA card worked fine, but there was still level problems that it wasn't a USB problem. He suggested that I install XP...I did, but have been configuring it this morning. Once I get it up and running, we'll see what happens.

Ugh...XP? I don't follow the support rep's logic on that one, still sounds like a background resource issue (of which XP probably has *more* than 2000). BUT, hey, if the guy can get it to work...you'll be a happy tapir!

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #56 on:** December 19, 2003, 09:59:35 AM »

If I can get it to work....that is the question. I should be able to try again here in a bit.

waltflanagansdog · « **Reply #57 on:** December 19, 2003, 10:58:47 AM »

XP seems to have worked!!!

No pops! No jacked up levels...all through the stock USB too!