not sure if this is a problem with a DAW setting or my computer...

braden_

braden_

New member
i'm posting this in both the Adobe Audition forum and the Digital Recording forum because either might be able to help me.

when i mix/record a song with around 9 tracks to it, and a few of those tracks have some eq or effects put on the track, i get a really, really annoying clicking sound randomly but often when i play back the song in multitrack view, however it doesn't carry over into a mixdown. it's very hard to objectively listen and mix properly with this obnoxious clicking happening. is this more than likely a problem with my computer not handling so much info at one time? that's my best guess, but i figured i'd post about it anyway. it only happens when a lot of things are going on with the song, when i record just a few tracks it is completely fine.

my computer is pretty decent
athlon 7550 dual core 2.50 ghz
3gb ram
32 bit windows 7
5.9 window experience rating

i should be able to handle a lot, right? maybe a temp reserve space setting in my daw?

any help greatly appreciated.
 
Yup, most likely it's your computer not handling the work load; especially since the mixdown is okay. Your computer specs are up for the task and for only 9 tracks, you shouldn't have ANY problems. So, you need to do some troubleshooting and find out what is eating up your resources.

Some questions:
Are you using sample type VSTi's? An example would be EZDrummer or a string orchestra VSTi. If so, how many?
Do you have any anti-virus running?
Is your computer on the internet?
How many plugs do you have per track?
What version of Adobe Audition are you running? Maybe it isn't compatible with some plugs you have.
Have you defrag'd your hard drives recently?

Here's an article on optimizing your computer for audio:

SweetCare Service & Support | Sweetwater.com

Here's another:

Definitive Guide to Windows XP Tweaking for Audio | Moozek

They might be dated, but still good info.
 
Chili said:
Yup, most likely it's your computer not handling the work load; especially since the mixdown is okay. Your computer specs are up for the task and for only 9 tracks, you shouldn't have ANY problems. So, you need to do some troubleshooting and find out what is eating up your resources.

Some questions:
Are you using sample type VSTi's? An example would be EZDrummer or a string orchestra VSTi. If so, how many?
Do you have any anti-virus running?
Is your computer on the internet?
How many plugs do you have per track?
What version of Adobe Audition are you running? Maybe it isn't compatible with some plugs you have.
Have you defrag'd your hard drives recently?

Here's an article on optimizing your computer for audio:

SweetCare Service & Support | Sweetwater.com

Here's another:

Definitive Guide to Windows XP Tweaking for Audio | Moozek

They might be dated, but still good info.
Click to expand...

okay so for this particular song there are 11 tracks, and there are no plugs on anything except on the 2 vocal tracks, which has blockfish (VST, but i'm sure you know) and a graphic equalizer (stock Audition one) on both. no samples or anything like that and it's doing this problem. i am connected to the internet... but not normally doing anything (although right now i'm on homerecording.com!). as far as things eating resources... there's probably a crapload. just down in the task bar i have a java icon, an ATI icon, a HP icon, an openoffice icon... so i'm betting i could clean those up somehow to help. i will read through the articles you posted and see if i can change some stuff up. I almost exclusively use this computer for recording and web browsing, i don't game or do anything else so i'm sure i can clean stuff up if that is the issue.

thanks for your reply chili. =)
 
Oh meant to say, I'm running a dual core also, same computer for everything, internet, email, video, music, etc... and never have a hiccup. My projects have 20 -24 tracks with one VSTi and it barely flicks the needle on work meter. I think your computer is more than apt and you just need to find what is bogging it down.

Maybe someone else will chime in with some ideas.

good luck.
 
The first things to do are to completely shut down your internet connection and, especially, close any anti virus and/or malware software you're running. AV software is specifically designed to be able to priortise itself above almost every other process.

FYI, I have a 4 year old computer nowhere near the spec of yours and I regularly mix 16-24 tracks with a modicum of effects.

AV is likely the culprit but going through task manager and shutting down processes to see which you need is a good idea.
 
Freeze the effects on the track.

Chili is right, your computer is not handling the load that the effects puts on your processor. Some of auditions built in effects run down the processor quite a bit such as convolution reverb. The reason is because you are playing the mix and effects in real time which requires them to be processed on the spot. Freezing the track writes the effects to the track but is completely reversible by a click. This is why you hear the clicking on the multitrack mode and not the edit mode.
 
Yup. "Freezing" effects is the trick to use when, despite all your best efforts, your computer runs out of steam when adding live, real time effects. It's a very useful technique when you need it.

However, I'd still suggest getting rid of any other processes running (particularly wifi and anti virus) first as this will delay your need to start freezing things.
 
I have experienced this before. One thing is that there are quite a lot of resources running. I solve this problem in two aspects, first I optimize background processing in Windows XP (probably this feature is also available in Win7, not sure). This will let the CPU to optimize audio playbacks and recording. Second, I improve the hardware although in your case, it is less of a hardware problem since you have a fairly good specs.

I also suspect there might a problem with your audio interface drivers. How about re-installing them? or using the latest updated drivers. I read a story about the Focusrite Scarlett drivers with clicks on the playback and other similar issues, they solved by releasing and installing the new drivers.

I am using Adobe Audition 1.5 that includes a feature called "Lock" in multitrack. This works by locking all plug-in in real time processing thus saving your some CPU and RAM power. Again it is worth optimizing your PC and checking for issues, I have written some tutorial on this topic on blog. You can read it here:

Windows XP/7 Audio Recording DAW Tweaks & Optimization Tips
 
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