Topic: i got crackles and pops...

[chrisdavis]

Ok, so i taped nmas wed nite.  i was the only taper.  ive been pushing my gear lately, trying to not be so damn conservative.  so, i ran HOT, way hot, ua-5 peak light all over the place hot. (but no clipping on the jb3 level meter)

so, i get home, and ive got pops and static in places.  i thought its because i ran so hot, but ba seems to think its an issue in my gear.  (maybe time for a new optical?, or new jb3?)  to be honest, i think i agree with him.  i ran hot, but my waveforms dont even peak out of the wave editor. 

ok, so heres some samples.  id obviously love to find a way to salvage the recording.  id also like to know exactly what is wrong with my gear...please help me if you can.

This is from disc 1, where the pops are the worst.  ive isolated a particularly bad section here:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/4fx6ao

When Alvin came out, I expected it to get louder with his guitar, so i brought the levels down a bit.  The pops are still there, but much less frequently, this portion is more listenable, perhaps even uploadable...
http://www.sendspace.com/file/ooj4wc

Finally, the jb3 was gettin hot, (hottest nite in the poho in a longtime) and i didnt want a repeat of columbia, so i switched to my backup jb3 during the encore break.  the encore portion seems to be clean.  heres a sample just in case:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/39hdyi

+thanks in advance for your help.........

[jkbyram]

when i ran a jb3, i had similar sounds when i had a fragmented hard drive.  have you deleted lots off of your main jb3 and the second one you used has not had as many shows deleted? i got in the habit of a new format before each show out.  i never had my ua-5 cause the pops from being too hot. ymmv

[NOLAfishwater]

I had trouble with a bad opti cable creating pops and crackles.

[bluegrass_brad]

Breakfast's best friend, Taper's worst enemy. Snap must have been off busting a cap on those Keebler elves....

[chrisdavis]

when i ran a jb3, i had similar sounds when i had a fragmented hard drive.  have you deleted lots off of your main jb3 and the second one you used has not had as many shows deleted? i got in the habit of a new format before each show out.  i never had my ua-5 cause the pops from being too hot. ymmv

ok, sounds good.  ill check the jb3 faq and figure out how to re-format.  i believe a new optical cable is in order as well..

any suggestions on salvaging the recording?  de-clicker in wavelab maybe?  not a big deal, i think at least half the show is upload worthy...and i got a good alvin pull,so...

[cfox]

 (maybe time for a new optical?, or new jb3?) 

SD 702 CD! 

[chrisdavis]

 (maybe time for a new optical?, or new jb3?) 

SD 702 CD! 

i knew somebody would make this suggestion.  im not sure its the fix kelsie's looking for   

[Gordon]

you should ALWAYS format the drive, not just delete stuff.  only time I ever had the same thing from the jb3 that was why.  could be the optical but I'm betting on a very fragmented drive.  unlike a iriver you can't defrag a jb3 so you have to format.


as for saving the recording I've not had good luck with the declicker in wavelab.  ymmv.

[vanark]

I've got nothing to offer, Chris, other than my sympathies.  Hope you can salvage it. 

[SmokinJoe]

The MP3 file you posted is no where near clipping.  I don't think that's your problem.

When I had problems with a bad optical cable, I would get "skips", in other words it wasn't getting data to write to disk, so it didn't write anything... but that was with an H120, I suppose a JB3 could be different.  When you listen to this, the beat is steady, so it's not skipping points in time.

I would say you've actually "bad digital data".  Look how jagged these waves are.

Format, get a new cable, and do living room testing to make sure you got it.

[baustin]

The MP3 file you posted is no where near clipping.  I don't think that's your problem.

When I had problems with a bad optical cable, I would get "skips", in other words it wasn't getting data to write to disk, so it didn't write anything... but that was with an H120, I suppose a JB3 could be different.  When you listen to this, the beat is steady, so it's not skipping points in time.

I would say you've actually "bad digital data".  Look how jagged these waves are.

Format, get a new cable, and do living room testing to make sure you got it.

agreed. i don't think getting too hot is an issue.

i would definitely recommend reformatting the HD. i routinely reformat the HD on the 744t. i usually fill the drive with shows, then delete everything and reformat. like i said, it doesn't sounds like clipping to me.

it definitely could be an optical cable, but you really don't tape in sandy or overly dusty environments too often, do you? obviously it only takes a speck or two of dust, but still. i think this is evident based on the 2nd (less often used) jb3 source being clean. at the same time, i think it seems just as likely that there could be dust on the "lens" of the 1st jb3 as it could be the cable.

1st i would record at home, in front of the stereo without reformatting. record at low level as well as high level and see if you are able to reproduce the "crackles and pops." i would also try this with jb3 number 2 to see if it gets the same results. be sure to use the same optical cable for both. you may need to record for an extended period of time. how long is it before the noise comes into the nmas recording? you may need to record that long. hell, you may not even need to record the stereo. you may get it just by hitting record if the HD is in bad enough shape.

2nd i would reformat then repeat step 1.

***if possible, use the same passage of the song.

-ba

[chrisdavis]

serious +thanks everybody!  ive got the day off tomorrow, and ill be running living room tests, then teaching myself a little something about re-formatting.  might even treat myself to a new optical cable just for fun.  hey, why not, im a good guy right?!?!?

thanks for your help everybody; TS is an awesome resource!!!

hey vanark, ill Pm you when i make a decision on what to post,  feel free to PM me if you have ideas...Cd

[coloartist]

Bad optical cable is my guess. I have an extra. Toslink>mini

[indietaperwloo]

I actually specialize in restoration and remastering from sources like vinyl and shellac/acetate records.  Send me a file and I'll see what I can do with it.  I currently use the Waves Restoration suite of plugins (this is basically the next best thing to a full-blown CEDAR system) with Wavelab 4.

[chrisdavis]

I actually specialize in restoration and remastering from sources like vinyl and shellac/acetate records.  Send me a file and I'll see what I can do with it.  I currently use the Waves Restoration suite of plugins (this is basically the next best thing to a full-blown CEDAR system) with Wavelab 4.

PM Sent