Garbled Playback

[MissY]

Hi,

New to Reaper last weekend. New to home recording, period.

Installed last weekend, was able to get something recorded fairly easily. :-)

This weekend I am having problems with playback. When I listen to a track it is very garbled - not sure how to describe it, but very loud distorted static or something along with whatever I recorded.

This didn't happen last weekend, it was fine. Also the tracks from last weekend which were fine...when I play them now, they are all garbled. But, if I send one of those same tracks in an email and listen to it on my laptop, the tracks are still fine.

Any ideas? Thanks for anything someone can offer. :-)

MissY

[Cosmic]

Its a tricky one.

First thing I would do is turn off your anti virus stuff.The computer might be getttig a bit taxed.

My advice to you would be to post your operating system and a bit more detail of the actual hardware..and one of our resident whizzes wil come along and figure it out in a jiffy.

Welcome to the board.You made a great choice with REAPER.

We'll figure it out!

[viscofisy]

It could be a number of things.
First, are you using the commuter's internal Audio card or a dedicated Audio Interface?

Have you tried setting a longer audio buffer - the delay time that allows your computer to process audio?


There are a few steps you should take in any case to get the best from your pc while recording/mixing (if you haven't already) :

Turn wifi off
Turn anti-virus off

A few computer audio manufacturers have published guides - here's the Focusrite page (the steps are applicable whether or not you use Focusrite products)

Scroll down to find whatever OS you use, it'll be heade "Optimise PC for Windows...[OS version], and follow the directions :

http://us.focusrite.com/answerbase/c...nical-articles

[viscofisy]

Sorry Cosmic, not trying to confuse matters - eventually typed a reply without seeing yours

As you said, better to provide system details, OS etc.

[MissY]

Wow, you guys are quick to answer, thank you so much!

Now it is okay!! I don't know, but I think you may have been onto something with the computer being taxed or the wifi. Seems like there was interference or something...since it started working again okay a little later.

I am recording now and everything is working but I am sure to run into problems again like this I think. I am about the most untechnical person around. Reaper I think I can eventually figure out, but the computer hook up stuff boggles my mind.

The PC is as follows - I'm not sure exactly what info you need.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4460 CPU @ 3.20GHz 3.20 GHz
Memory 8.00 GB (7.89 usable)
64 bit OS
Windows 7

I have an interface connected to it.

Going to try disconnecting the wifi and see how that goes.

THANKS! I'm sure I'll be back in here with more questions, but I am liking Reaper a lot so far. :-)

[Cosmic]

Originally Posted by MissY

.

The PC is as follows - I'm not sure exactly what info you need.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4460 CPU @ 3.20GHz 3.20 GHz
Memory 8.00 GB (7.89 usable)
64 bit OS
Windows 7

I have an interface connected to it.

Going to try disconnecting the wifi and see how that goes.

THANKS! I'm sure I'll be back in here with more questions, but I am liking Reaper a lot so far. :-)

That computer is AWESOME and Windows 7 rocks for audio,Thats not gonna be an issue.You could record a symphony on that.

Turn off the wifi and anti virus when yer recording as has been said.You should be golden

This place is FULL of fanatical recordists 24 hours a day.You'll never wait more than ten minutes for an answer.
And no question is too dumb to ask...remember that.THreads are free

[MissY]

Thanks so much. :-) So far, so good!!!

I have the feeling I'll be stopping in fairly often, lol. This is a huge learning curve for me, but I have been able to at least get tracks recorded now, and listening back they seem to be fine. Wifi is now off and I'm pretty sure (fingers crossed) that was causing the problem.

The help here is so appreciated!!

[MissY]

Frustrated!

I turned off the wifi and anti-virus as suggested above. That seemed to work. Last night everything was fine, but this morning I am getting that same distorted noise in my tracks - even though I have not changed a thing since I was on here last night. I do have the wifi and anti-virus disabled on that computer.

It seems to be only in Reaper. I sent a small sample of it to myself and when I listen to it on this computer it is fine.

Any other thoughts as to what might be causing this?

I just restarted, and the sound is fine now. What a mystery, it is very strange how it comes and goes.

Also, when it does that, it happens when I listen back to what I have recorded, but also while I am recording.

[Cosmic]

Hmmm..what interface are you using?

Do you have the correct/latest drivers for it installed?

Are you using any third party plugins?

What size buffer are you using?and have you tried incraesing it?This is under the preferences menu

You can also try disabling Windows system sounds.

[MissY]

The interface is Link.Firewire 4 X 6. It is an old one that has been discontinued. The computer is brand new. I had to go to the Mackie site and get a driver as it wouldn't work on the computer with the old driver I had.

(hope I explained that okay, I have limited knowledge on this driver stuff!)

[Cosmic]

hmm ok.I edited my post above with some other suggestions.

It sounds like it could be a driver issue..let me have a google

[MissY]

Do you have the correct/latest drivers for it installed?
Installed like I mentioned in my post above. If this might be the issue, why is it okay sometimes and not others?

Are you using any third party plugins?
I have Reaper installed as it comes and have added nothing else...so I don't think so. I'm not really sure what third party plug ins are. I did use ReaEQ at some point here.

What size buffer are you using?and have you tried incraesing it?This is under the preferences menu
I haven't touched any of the settings in there. I'm a little afraid to in case I really screw things up!!!

You can also try disabling Windows system sounds.
Not sure how to do this but I will look. I actually don't get any sound from anything other than from my recording stuff. Headphone plugged into interface. I just got this computer and am planning to hook up the monitors today.

And, thanks for looking into this!

[Cosmic]

No problem.Glad to try and help.

Try increasing your buffer.

And take a look at that guide to PC audio optimisation visco posted earlier.

I am afraid you are in for a slight learning curve..but if you are persistant you will succeed.Of that I have no doubt.

[MissY]

The learning curve I was prepared for. The thing is, I am not having too terribly much difficulty in recording and becoming familiar with Reaper as far as how it works - tracks and hearing playback and all the little buttons.....but this issue that comes and goes mystifies me.

I'll take a look at the link you mention on optimizing the PC and see what I can find.

Thank you!

[Cosmic]

I know how frustrating these things are when you start out...and all you want to do is make some music!

They don't call it sound engineering for nothing!

But a bit of patience and trial and error and you'll be flying.

[innuendo]

ideas:
1) Try increasing your buffer size, as mentioned. You have buffer size in Reaper prefs, however this is not what we mean, but rather the buffer size of your audio interface. You should have some panel with settings for it. Read its manual and you will figure it out.
2) It might be firewire issue. Firewire is known to have issues of this type. But let's wait for you to figure buffer size first.
3) It might be that you are using media files with a sampling rate different from your project's sampling rate. In that case, Reaper would do on-the-fly sampling rate conversion, which would both tax the computer, and reduce sound quality.
4) It might be that you have some software running on your computer that taxes performance. Disabling antivirus and wifi is a good start, however it _might_ be that there is more stuff going on there which we don't know about. Usually one can tell by icons in the system tray. That said, since you mentioned your computer is brand new, perhaps this is less probable.

[innuendo]

It might help if you make sure Windows is not attempting to use your audio interface, leaving it exclusively to Reaper. Keep in mind that if you do that, you will be unable to use it for anything else but Reaper (or any other pro-audio software).

- Point your mouse to the "speaker" little icon in the system tray, then right-click on it. Then click "Playback devices". You'll see a list of playback ports of all of the playback devices recognized by Windows. If your computer has a built-in soundcard, you will be able to choose (left-click) its playback port, then click "Set Default". Effectively this will make Windows play everything it wants through the built-in soundcard, while leaving your audio interface alone.

[tgraph]

you might check the project bit rate and depth.. every once in a while mine goes to 88kHz on it's own and the sound is terrible.. i reset it to 44 and back in business.. it's sporadic and once it's set right it stays good for the session.. just a thought.

[MissY]

Thanks everyone for the the ideas and suggestions. At the moment it seems to be okay. I just recorded, and will try to do some editing now.

Lots of things to look at, so it's nice to have some concrete things that may be causing the problem rather than me going at everything rather blindly.

Assistance SO appreciated. :-)

[innuendo]

Cool. I strongly suggest you read the user manual for your interface anyway and learn to use its control panel (if it has one). And go through some basics in Reaper's wiki. You're in the pro-audio world now, and getting things right there requires some understanding of the basics.
http://wiki.cockos.com/wiki/index.php/ReaperQuickstart

[dhj]

and have had for many weeks now. I am using a Focusrite 2i2 interface and have the latest drivers. I find that when I have this problem going into preferences, audio device settings and clicking the two boxes in the attached picture (click them on if they are off or off if they are on) solves the problem. No idea why and nobody on here seems to know either. I have to do this every time I use Reaper and am almost at the point of ditching it and trying something else. Although not a competent user I have been using this software for years and have never had a real problem with it until recently. Hopefully this isn't the same issue that you have but if it is then try my workaround.

[Fisamonica]

Missy,
You have received a lot of great suggestions however I fought for the better part of two years what I would describe as garbled feedback that would come and go and was present both during recording and playback. After a lot of frustration and searching I found my answer. When you set up a track for recording, automatically the Input Monitor box is checked. Depending on your sound card or other sound module, you may not need this box checked. I unchecked the box and have not had a problem since.

Good Luck
Fisamonica

[matonanjin]

All of a sudden everything in Reaper sounds like the slow motion in a really bad B action movie!

I started a new project and imported a backing track. It sounded horrible! So i figured there was a problem with the inserted media file (backing track). Messed with it for a long time. It sounds good when I played it in my normal media player.

So I reloaded a previous project, which played fine a week ago. IT sounds horrible.

What could have changed?

Fisamonica, where is that "Input Monitor box"?

[matonanjin]

Actually I figured it out. I was looking for dhj's checkboxes in his picture. I found the project settings and clicked on the 44 Mhz box. Voila!

Missy, I'm not saying that will fix your problem but maybe.

I'm glad you posted your problem when you did. I hope you get your's fixed!

[Fisamonica]

Missy,
You can find Monitor Input when you right click on the Arm Recording button.

Hope this helps,
Fisamonica