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Old 01-22-2021, 09:32 PM   #1
Basil
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Default Would like some best practices for live multitrack band recording

Last night I set up my Tascam 1641 interface and Reaper 2.58 for live (12) multi track recording and ran into some issues with things freezing up after stopping and starting after each songs recording. I just let the recording go and after about 30 minutes it just froze. Had to save and restart the machine, rename , cleared all the track and stared it up again.
Was wondering if there are some settings that I need to adjust or if there is some type of limit on how long you can multi track without having problem. I’m using a windows 7 machine, 4 gigs ram , AMD 1.90 GHZ processor 64 bit system. I know everything I’m using is old but it’s all I have and for the most part everything works. I’m just not familiar with multi track (12) track live recording.

Thanks for any help on this subject
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Old 01-22-2021, 11:56 PM   #2
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Seems you were hit by some kind of bug.

If you feel that it had been caused by Reaper you might want to place a message in the "bugs" forum.
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Old 01-23-2021, 03:15 AM   #3
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i run without any kind of issue +8 hours of recording with +20 tracks at the same time everyday (not with this f***** virus sadly, but hey, let's hope...).
It looks like a buffer issue or some kind of lack of communication between the pc and the iterface.
Also a defeated or slow hard drive may cause this issues.

You can try to raise a bit the buffer, trying another usb cable on another usb port on your pc and see what happens.
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Old 01-23-2021, 07:58 AM   #4
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Reaper 2.58? At least try the new builds to check issues with your system.

I had a 1641, and eventually it became a brick with Windows 10 and Mac OS High Sierra and above. Windows 7 probably fine though..

My best guess is 4 gigs of ram was not enough to do the writing process for that many wav files.

You should try the settings in Recording:

https://i.imgur.com/J5tCvwS.png

Maybe turning on "When recording multiple tracks, offset the switches for better performance" and reducing the start new file size will help.
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Old 01-23-2021, 08:12 AM   #5
serr
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Basil View Post
Last night I set up my Tascam 1641 interface and Reaper 2.58 for live (12) multi track recording and ran into some issues with things freezing up after stopping and starting after each songs recording. I just let the recording go and after about 30 minutes it just froze. Had to save and restart the machine, rename , cleared all the track and stared it up again.
Was wondering if there are some settings that I need to adjust or if there is some type of limit on how long you can multi track without having problem. I’m using a windows 7 machine, 4 gigs ram , AMD 1.90 GHZ processor 64 bit system. I know everything I’m using is old but it’s all I have and for the most part everything works. I’m just not familiar with multi track (12) track live recording.

Thanks for any help on this subject
Basil
It's not old per say, just a modest 'netbook' style machine.

Computers with 1GHz CPUs and 5400rpm HDDs were recording 20 tracks of 48k 24 bit audio all day long in 1999.

Check your hard drive first. If it's an aging 5400rpm HDD, throw a SSD in there and experience a whole new upgraded machine. Move your new SSD to a new machine if you upgrade further later on. Maybe make sure your Windows OS install is behaving. Sounds like hard drive issues though. 4GB ram is considered 'light' in 2010 but recording doesn't use much ram and this isn't your issue.
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Old 01-23-2021, 09:30 AM   #6
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Just a thought. Are you using plugins when recording?
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Old 01-23-2021, 09:47 AM   #7
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If you were trying to do something with live sound production through the Reaper mixer with low latency settings it could max out that computer quickly as well. If you are just tracking, make sure your block size is set high (512 or 1024 samples).

If you were needing to run through amp sim plugins or MIDI controlled sound modules and that kind of live production work, that computer is probably not up for such a thing.
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Old 01-23-2021, 10:16 AM   #8
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Hello everyone and thank you for the help.

1. It's good to know that there are not time limits as to recording time.

2. It could be a hard drive issue because mine is old and it's not a SSD type so that could be a issue.

3. I will try looking at some of the settings and see if making some adjustments will correct the issues and try a different USB type cord/ USB port.

4. No plugins were being used.


I guess some of this will have to be trial and error.

Another question: Would it be best to stop and start the recording every15 min and press save or would it be better to just let it record indefinitely?
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Old 01-23-2021, 10:29 AM   #9
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Telltale signs of hard drive issues there.

A SATA 1TB SSD is $100 nowadays.

It could be a USB cable failing. Try swapping the cable just because. My money's on hard drive issues (and maybe Windows OS setup stuff).

You could stop the recording every so often if you really wanted to take a chance on forgetting to start it at some point so you could miss something...
This isn't heavy on the computer, no.

So you're not doing any live production. Check.
What's your block size? Are you controlling this from Reaper (box ticked, value entered) or a different control panel (box unticked in Reaper Preferences/Audio/Device page).

First choice is control from Reaper.
Try 512 or 1024 samples for a block size. You literally aren't listening to anything live from the Reaper mixer while tracking. So don't tax the system running at low latency.

That would be the setting to check.
You could run some hard drive speed tests and check up on it if you wanted. Really safe upgrade though.
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Old 01-23-2021, 07:13 PM   #10
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I'm going to try checking the " when recording multi track files offset file switch for better performance" as suggested by Fergler


@ serr I also see in the same tab "start new files every 1024 megabyte" is that where I would change it to 512? or is that in a different tab?
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Old 01-24-2021, 08:29 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Basil View Post
I'm going to try checking the " when recording multi track files offset file switch for better performance" as suggested by Fergler


@ serr I also see in the same tab "start new files every 1024 megabyte" is that where I would change it to 512? or is that in a different tab?
No, I was talking about the block size!
The system latency control. On Reaper Preferences/Audio/Device page.
Set it low for low latency when performing live through the computer with no perceivable lag. Makes the computer scream! Your netbook probably can't do this job. Set it big (eg 1024 samples) when you aren't doing anything live and thus not listening to the live output along with real time live performance. Relaxes CPU use. This is important! You could reduce a capable machine that could record all day long for you to fully useless by setting it to too low latency.

If you suspect that the freezing up issue happened precisely at the moment all the files were switching to new files (at the 1024MB point), then that feature might help. From what you wrote, it didn't sound related. And this isn't going to be a make/break performance feature either if the machine is struggling to the point of crashing. We're way past that!
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Old 01-24-2021, 10:06 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fergler View Post
I had a 1641, and eventually it became a brick with Windows 10...
Really? I haven’t tried it, but there is a driver out there for it. In fact, I thought that all of their interfaces use the same driver package, and any time they upgrade drivers for the newer products, the older ones come along for the ride. I know my 1641 worked on 7, and both my 2x2 and 1800 (exactly the same as the 1641 except visually) work fine on 8.1
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Old 01-24-2021, 10:45 AM   #13
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@ serr I understand about keeping the latency low, I'm not monitoring anything through the system just a set and forget type of set up. I'm using ASIO and the US-1641 driver
and I don't see any setting to lower the block size.
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Old 01-24-2021, 11:05 AM   #14
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Pretty sure it’s just listed as “latency” in the Tascam ASIO control panel. I don’t think it gives numbers just make it as long as it goes.
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Old 01-24-2021, 12:28 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Basil View Post
@ serr I understand about keeping the latency low, I'm not monitoring anything through the system just a set and forget type of set up. I'm using ASIO and the US-1641 driver
and I don't see any setting to lower the block size.
You mean you understand about NOT setting latency low for tracking but not monitoring anything through the system, right? You set your latency high for this job.


If you use a different control panel than the Reaper Preference page, the control may be called "latency", "buffer", "I/O buffer", etc.

Try control with Reaper first. Reaper Preferences/Audio/Device page.
Tick the box next to 'block size' to enable Reaper control. Enter 1024 samples.

If that's still a problem, try control from your Tascam control panel (if it has a control for this) or your Windows ASIO control panel. Untick that box next to 'block size' on the Reaper page to disable Reaper control.
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Old 01-24-2021, 12:44 PM   #16
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Yes. Latency does not have to be low for my use ....a higher number is better because I'm not listening to record through headphones. I'll look around for Latency / buffer setting this coming week at band rehearsal and hopefully this time around I'll have a rock solid live recording experience. I thank everyone for chiming in and offering help, it's greatly appreciated. Rock On!

Thank you

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Old 01-24-2021, 06:17 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Basil View Post
Hello everyone and thank you for the help.

Another question: Would it be best to stop and start the recording every15 min and press save or would it be better to just let it record indefinitely?
YES!
Ten 15 minute files is far superior to one 150 minute file you can't open.
I usually press Stop, then Record between songs every two or three songs. It's a good safety measure.
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Old 01-25-2021, 05:13 PM   #18
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Thanks. I also looked at some other threads and found it's best to disable screen savers and sleep modes. So I'll do that as well as changing the latency and block size.
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Old 01-25-2021, 05:47 PM   #19
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How big of a HDD do you have right now and how much free space is on it?
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Old 01-25-2021, 10:48 PM   #20
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Reaper 2.58 ?????

there's you FIRST analysis point........
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Old 01-27-2021, 06:15 AM   #21
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Quote:
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How big of a HDD do you have right now and how much free space is on it?

571 GB 321 GB free
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Old 01-28-2021, 04:16 AM   #22
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I changed the latency in the Tascam 1641 driver to the highest setting and checked the "when recording multi track files offset file switch for better performance" in reaper, turned off the screen saver and sleep mode in windows and was able to record for 2 hours non stop without any problems at all.

Thank you all for the excellent help : )

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