Sonar 6 - Clicking & Popping in recorded tracks - Level are "Normal" though?!?!

WERNER 1

Member
Sonar 6 - Clicking & Popping in recorded tracks - Level are "Normal" though?!?!

Hi guys, I'm new to Cakewalk/Sonar 6 and I've got an issue with this popping and clicking that I'm not sure what it is.

I've been using Adobe Audition 1.5 for quite a while now, but I though moving up to Sonar 6 would be a good step upwards...

I'm still trying to learn everything as it's much different in some ways to A.A. 1.5, but when I record even just a single track I'm getting these clicking/popping/staticy sound on the playback (in the same spots each time of playback...so it is "Recorded" on the track.)

All of my levels in Sonar apear to be well with in the Normal range... no clipping or anything..

Any suggestions on what this is and how to fix it?

Thanks in advance,
Rick
 
What kind of hardware are you using? I've experienced this using an ADAT device into a PCI ADAT card in my PC. I don't know if i'm using bad cables, but it was a clock issue, because using a word clock fixed it right up!
 
Thanks for the reply!!

I'm using a Delta 1010 as my interface and soundcard, and then I'm using mostly some M-Audio DMP-3's as my preamps (Is this what you were looking for? )

Thanks,
Rick
 
I've been using it for a couple of days now. The Midi seems to work great but audio has problems similar to what your having. Some times I get the popping and clicking some times pitch changes. I found turning off the automation helps some but is still not reliable. I've since upgraded to VISTA but haven't had a chance to test it.
 
WERNER 1 said:
Hi guys, I'm new to Cakewalk/Sonar 6 and I've got an issue with this popping and clicking that I'm not sure what it is.

I've been using Adobe Audition 1.5 for quite a while now, but I though moving up to Sonar 6 would be a good step upwards...

I'm still trying to learn everything as it's much different in some ways to A.A. 1.5, but when I record even just a single track I'm getting these clicking/popping/staticy sound on the playback (in the same spots each time of playback...so it is "Recorded" on the track.)

All of my levels in Sonar apear to be well with in the Normal range... no clipping or anything..

Any suggestions on what this is and how to fix it?

Thanks in advance,
Rick
Generally this is symptomatic of a system issue. What CPU/Memory/OS are you using, and have you optimized your system for audio? Dual disk drives or single?
 
Uhmm.... here's the details..

Dell 4600 2.8Ghz, 768 RAM, 800mhz front side buss, 80G HD (50% free space), XP home edition, M-Audio Delta 1010...

I've not "Optimized" it or anything.......not sure what's all involved in that..

I do know that I've not had any issues when using A.A. 1.5 or CEP 2.0......works like a champ with those (??)

I don't know if this makes a difference or not, but it's actually Sonar 6 Producers Edition

Thanks,
Rick
 
WERNER 1 said:
Uhmm.... here's the details..

Dell 4600 2.8Ghz, 768 RAM, 800mhz front side buss, 80G HD (50% free space), XP home edition, M-Audio Delta 1010...

I've not "Optimized" it or anything.......not sure what's all involved in that..

I do know that I've not had any issues when using A.A. 1.5 or CEP 2.0......works like a champ with those (??)

I don't know if this makes a difference or not, but it's actually Sonar 6 Producers Edition

Thanks,
Rick
CPU and RAM look fine. I assume by your post you have just a single hard drive. I hope it is at least a 7200 RPM drive. You should also try defragging it.

I would start by optimizing the system for audio work. Generally that means removing anything but the essentials, and not running anything in the background (such as virus scanning software, etc).

There's lots of help on the web. Here's some (including one from Adobe :) ):

http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php

http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=329242

http://www.staudio.de/kb/english/2000xp/

http://www.korg.com/1212faq/1212_windows_optimize.htm

http://www.tascam.com/Products/US-428/W2k_XP_Optimize.pdf

I would start here, and see if any of these tweaks fix the problem. The other thing to consider down the road is investing in a second hard drive. Using the same hard drive for OS and audio streaming, you run the risk of the drive trying to look for system information at the same time it is reading audio.

Anyway, hope you get it resolved. It could be a very simple setting that needs to be changed - but finding it could be a nightmare.

Another thought is to try using different drivers (i.e., ASIO if you are using WDM, or vice-versa), or to try a different version of the Delta drivers. Depending on the variables in your system, different people seem to have had different success stories dependent on the driver version they use. You might also try raising the latency setting in your Delta card slightly.
 
Ok, I'll start going through that stuff tonight when I get back from rehearsal...

I'm very newbie'ish at this whole PC stuff anyway, so it may take me while.. :(

You are correct in that I'm sharing my HD (yes, it's a 7200rpm) ... getting another one is just not an option right now :(

Thanks again!!
Rick
 
same issue here

I am having the same problem - here is my setup though.... M-audio delta 1010lt. I have no popping or noise when recording via mics - example: recording vocals/drums. But, when I run my Line 6 pod into the card this is when the problems occur. So, that is odd... any thoughts..

dell 8200
1.80 GHz
256 MB Ram

I know my system is older, but I just wonder why the problems only occur when I record using the POD
 
Memory Memory Memory 256 on XP has got to be killing you. The 1.8 should be fine. I am running about that same speed AMD 2500+ but I have 1.5 GB Ram and a separate 80 GB SATA Drive for AUDIO Data. I am using a PODxt for guitars through a M-AUDIO 410 Firewire (I used 2496 for a while without trouble too) And BTW describe the noise you are getting from the POD and is it POD, POD 2.0 or PODxt?

Good Luck
 
yeah - memory

I am getting popping noise on playback - I have a POD2.0 - I just updated my m-audio 1010lt drivers to the latest and I have also made some minor system changes to try to free up some resources. My machine is 5 years old, and memory is about 1/2 of what I can buy a new machine for!!! So, I shall see... I am going to try again today.. If worse comes to worse, I can just run the pod through my amp and then mic it... I really don't want to do that though...

thanks for the input...
 
I think my problem was some mis matches in sampling rates in the 1010 cards and the Sonar 6. I'm now running the 2 1010's and a Tascam fw1082 both in the same computer and it is working great.

You will definitely need more RAM. I would think 1GB would be the minimum. I also have a note book I've been using the FW1082 on with only 512MB along with a 4 to 6 pin fire wire cable and it just barely runs. I'm not sure if it is due to the limited memory or the fire wire cable. I think I'll double the memory and get a 6 pin PCMCIA firewire card along with a external FW HD before I take it anywhere.

I would suggest adding 1GB of memory and running it at 16bit 44.1 and make sure you have the Sonar settings and Delta control panel set the same. It should run fine with those setting on any P4 processor.
 
Solved my problem also..

I believe my problem was due to a conflict with my new sound card, delta 1010lt, and my old soundblaster card. I kept my old card installed so that I could route a dsignal out from the new card to the old for headphone monitoring.
this was not easy to find though, I looked under audio devices and I saw a game driver for the old card and another one that I can't remember. I disabled them both and then rebooted, knowing that if my machine had problems I could always go back and enable them again.
After this, I have not heard a pop or anything when recording!!!

Thanks for everyones help..
 
Thread revived!

So I spent a long time yesterday searching the forums to find various solutions to random popping noises in my tracks (not due to clipping or similar errors).

Here's what I've tried:
1. Optimized the system for sound. I actually built a new box specifically for recording. Then I disabled basically everything Windows XP does. (using http://www.musicxp.net/tuning_tips.php)

2. Checked the IRQ. The sound card has a channel all to itself.

3. Checked the drivers. I've tried both the driver that came with the sound card and the latest one available on M-audio's

Now I get popping sounds with some applications. Windows media player and Audacity insert so much noise I can't even work with them, but Raptor and N-track seem to run OK.

So why would some applications be making noise and not others?

Here's my setup:

Win XP (32 bit)
AMD X2 CPU (64 bit, 2.0 GHz)
M-audio 24/96 sound card (onboard sound on the mobo is disabled)
2 hard drives (IDE for system, SATA for recording data)
2.5 GB DDR RAM
 
I'm pretty sure I'm using the ASIO drivers. (Reaper registers ASIO).

My buffer is currently 1024 samples.

I don't believe I'm using any Voxengo plugins. I have not intentionally added any plugins to anything yet.
 
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