Squeaky chirping drum machines and Crashing

[Gothmann]

Okay, so I haven't used Reaper in some time, and I'm trying out the latest version with my most commonly used plugins, but I have a serious issue which is making Reaper completely unusable.

Whenever I use Superior Drummer 2, or MT Power Drumkit, or any kind of drums, the program will function perfectly for anywhere between ten and twenty minutes, then, the drums will start chirping.

I have no other adequate description for the sound besides "chirp". I can't seem to capture it, so I can't upload an example. Besides which, the whole program stops working moments after the chirping starts.

It seems to affect all drum machines without exception. I think it is affecting other audio tracks, but it's hard for me to be certain, as the issue is only obvious on audio with strong transients.

This never used to be an issue and the only thing that has changed about my setup at all since 2015 is the version of Reaper I am using (pretty sure the last version I used was an early version of Reaper 4).

I've tried changing the buffer on my sound device, changing to Time Critical, forcing cache mode in SD2. The only thing that seems to halt the problem is waiting for the program to crash, then restarting, which isn't really a fix.
Running in Admin mode just gives me the horrible old "there is a problem with your sound device" error most of the time, but even when the program doesn't s**t the bed, the chirping is not deterred (although, I am finally able to use Miroslav Philharmonic without "registry error" - something else that never happened before).

The best way to describe the "chirp" is as follows:
You know how sometimes, a bounced basketball will hit the ground in say, a sports hall and make a loud, reverberating squeak, or how sports shoes squeak when you run on waxed floors?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSu1AD2JL_0
Like that. In fact, just like that, but sort of "mixed together" with the drum samples, with what I can only describe as a kind of spring delay that makes it sound like chirping.

At first, I thought it was something to do with DFX Sound Enhancer, but the problem is present whether DFX is running or disabled.

It is maddening. I've run the same plugins in Mixcraft 8 and not had any issues, but Mixcraft plays a poor second fiddle compared to Reaper's interface. The bussing is particular is shoddy, so I am rather desperate to work out what the hell is wrong with Reaper and fix it, particularly since there shouldn't be any reason why I can't use my favourite DAW.

I am using a Roland Quad-Capture as the primary sound device (fully updated). Other stats for my system below:

Operating System
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 4790K @ 4.00GHz
Haswell 22nm Technology
RAM
32.0GB Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 799MHz (11-11-11-28)
Motherboard
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. Z97-PRO (SOCKET 1150)
Graphics
1023MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 720 (EVGA)

As you can see, my system is a bit of a monster. I custom-designed the whole thing to handle vast mixing sessions, so there shouldn't be a problem, particularly with a DAW as easy on the system as Reaper.

[Gothmann]

Also, I have tried re-installing the trial, and running older versions without success/

[Gothmann]

Okay, so further to this, I have tried starting a new project without any plugins except Superior Drummer 2, and it lasted fifteen minutes before dying.
Same thing with a few other drum programs.

My next step is to try a portable installation, but I am not well-versed in the differences between the two, so it might take me some time to work out whether there is a difference.

My biggest concern is that one of my plugins is causing an issue with the newer Reaper version without my adding it to an FX chain.

I have literally got well over a-hundred-and-fifty plugins (VST/VSTi), so if it's one of them, I do not relish the idea of going through them all, especially since it could easily be more than one of them.

I have done many searches online for the same problem, and could only find one instance of a problem that even sounds like it could be the same, but I can't even be remotely sure, and the chap who raised the issue didn't seem to get it fixed.
https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=58888

[Gothmann]

New news. I managed to hear some more of the sound before it crashed, and there's more description to come.

I happened to be listening to the toms while it went squeaky this time, and the "chirp" sounds very different. Because of the extended low-end of the tom drums, the noise that keeps turning up without warning sounds a lot like a nasty sizzling, ringing sound. It seemed to affect all the tracks in my mix when I took my toms off solo.

It was horrible... just horrible.

Again, only in Reaper.

[Gothmann]

I'm hoping that sooner or later, I'll describe something that rings a bell for somebody since I'm guessing that the lack of responses is largely down to my issue being really bloody weird and hard to describe.

[Gothmann]

I'm slowly getting the feeling that this is going to end up like the Cool Edit Pro fiasco all over again for me.
That was a painful time.
Why, Adobe? Why did you take such a great program and progressively make it worse? It took me so long to find a replacement that I enjoyed using...

[ivansc]

Hi. You have a similar but slightlly more powerful system than my 4770 on the identical mobo and I use (beta test for one of them) the same drum programs as you.

First off, have you tried downloading and running resplendence.com DPC Latency checker? It may well throw up some issues you dont know you have.

Also you havent mentioned what you are using as an Audio/MIDI interface and what drivers you are using. My first thoughts on this were that you either have a clash between audio settings of your computer interface & the drum romplers youy are using, but it could equally be something you have set "wrong" for the interface itself.

[Gothmann]

Originally Posted by ivansc

Hi. You have a similar but slightlly more powerful system than my 4770 on the identical mobo and I use (beta test for one of them) the same drum programs as you.

First off, have you tried downloading and running resplendence.com DPC Latency checker? It may well throw up some issues you dont know you have.

Also you havent mentioned what you are using as an Audio/MIDI interface and what drivers you are using. My first thoughts on this were that you either have a clash between audio settings of your computer interface & the drum romplers youy are using, but it could equally be something you have set "wrong" for the interface itself.

Thanks for responding.
I have not tried a latency checker. I will do so as soon as I can tomorrow (I won't be home tonight, so if I'm not back later, I'm not just being rude.)

My audio interface is a Roland Quad Capture. My audio settings as ASIO, 41k as all other settings (WASAPI, DirectSound, etc.) only reliably work in admin mode.

I'm hoping I just have some setting switched to the wrong polarity or something, as that would not be surprising for me.

I'll get back to you as soon as I have news.