Cubase 5 Playback Problem

[selke61]

Okay, just rencently my playback on Cubase 5 has gotten on my nerve. In random times, my playback for whatever track I am playing, is horribly popping/crackling. I know that what goes in, is perfectly recorded because the popping and crackling disappears for a brief time. I use brand new M-Audio Studiophile Speakers, but I know they are fine because I can play music fine on iTunes. I tried my old speakers for the hell of it, but it still does it. I never had this problem, and it worries me.

I use Pod Farm 2 and the UX2 DI, Cubase 5 on a Compaq computer with Windows Vista, I know, not an impressive computer, but I was able to record music on there for over a year now with no problems. When I switch over to ASIO4ALL, I think it stops doing it but I haven't fully tested it out yet cause I had to go to work, so could it be Pod Farm? I tweaked the latency and buffers and all that junk, took advice from simliar problems, but I can't get it fixed. Someone please help!

EDIT: IGNORE THIS STATEMENT, SO WRONG, GO DOWN

 

[koalamo]

That definitely sounds like a latency problem man

 

[selke61]

That definitely sounds like a latency problem man

I really hope so. So where should I fix this? I can't on Cubase right? If I do it on ASIO4ALL, should I set the latency left for lower latnecy or right for reduced glitches? Sorry I dont know much about this, never had this problem before. But also, my UX2's driver needs an update, could that mess with it? It's just strange cause everything is set the way I always had it and never had a problem with this before and then it just happens? Is it fixable?? haha I have a few bands coming in the next few weeks and I can't have this going on. SOUNDS TERRIBLE!!!

EDIT: KEEP GOING

 

[koalamo]

I really hope so. So where should I fix this? I can't on Cubase right? If I do it on ASIO4ALL, should I set the latency left for lower latnecy or right for reduced glitches? Sorry I dont know much about this, never had this problem before. But also, my UX2's driver needs an update, could that mess with it? It's just strange cause everything is set the way I always had it and never had a problem with this before and then it just happens? Is it fixable?? haha I have a few bands coming in the next few weeks and I can't have this going on. SOUNDS TERRIBLE!!!

well for starters the lower your latency i.e sample value the more pops and clicks your going to have if your computer isn't able to handle it. So whatever your latency is at now is probably way to0 low and you want to set it higher. It could be your driver I guess maybe, but its more than likely your latency. Set it higher and see if that fixes it. Try using the drivers for whatever interface you have instead of asio4all (if applicable). That poping and clicking comes from putting too much strain on your soundcard you could try reducing the number of plugins your running also. Cut down on the podfarms or whatever....

 

[espartaco]

maybe is that you have like a million edits? try to consolidate all your edits and see if it helps. also ,your hard drive may need a defrag.

 

[selke61]

well for starters the lower your latency i.e sample value the more pops and clicks your going to have if your computer isn't able to handle it. So whatever your latency is at now is probably way to0 low and you want to set it higher. It could be your driver I guess maybe, but its more than likely your latency. Set it higher and see if that fixes it. Try using the drivers for whatever interface you have instead of asio4all (if applicable). That poping and clicking comes from putting too much strain on your soundcard you could try reducing the number of plugins your running also. Cut down on the podfarms or whatever....

maybe is that you have like a million edits? try to consolidate all your edits and see if it helps. also ,your hard drive may need a defrag.

Hey guys, I appreciate the help, but I think it was in fact a latency issue, because on the ASIO4ALL's buffer sizer slide, I shifted more towards "reduce glitches" and it disappeared. It did it again, so I slid it some more. I think it's that ASIO driver that caused the crackling. I'll update if something happens. If I defrag my computer, will it still work the same? Will it delete files? I never defragged before and just don't want to ruin my computer.

EDIT: A LITTLE MORE

 

[006]

maybe is that you have like a million edits? try to consolidate all your edits and see if it helps. also ,your hard drive may need a defrag.

:zombie:

 

[selke61]

Well fuck me, it's still doing it and I'm getting so aggravated. Have a band coming tomorrow and I don't know what to do. I don't have a million edits, I keep my files pretty organized.

Here is one confusing thing I noticed: I would monitor through my AV-40s and also have headphones plugged in. The ASIO driver was controlling the AV-40s whilst my UX2 interface controlled the headphones. Even though it would pop/crack on the AV-40s, it didnt on the headphones. So it had to be the ASIO4ALL. Should I download it again, or is there a better free one out there? I paid a shit ton of money for all the stuff I have now, I really don't wanna go buy some stupid ass driver that might cause me problems like this in the future.

I'm experiencing all sorts of problems now on Cubase 5 that I've never experienced and it's only been happening in the past 2-3 days. Should I do this defrag? Please, some friendly help is all I need. IM SO LOST

EDIT: TOTALLY DISREGARD THIS STATEMENT, KEEP GOING ;]

 

[espartaco]

are the uX drivers that bad? i dont get why are you using asioforall if your interface have dedicated ASIO drivers. it does the same whit the UX drivers?

and 006: dude if there is something wrong whit my past comment please point it out.

 

[espartaco]

are the uX drivers that bad? i dont get why are you using asioforall if your interface have dedicated ASIO drivers. it does the same whit the UX drivers?

and 006: dude if there is something wrong whit my past comment please point it out for us.


edit: sorry for the double post...

 

[Scott Horner]

Are you using any VSTs in your project? I had a similar issue a while back. I tried increasing buffer, uninstalling/reinstalling drivers, Cubase and everything. Turns out it was a single instance of a free amp sim that I had preloaded in my default project. This may not be the case in your situation but if you do have any VSTs try disabling them one by one to narrow down what it may be. Good luck figuring it out. I know that shit can be frustrating.

 

[selke61]

are the uX drivers that bad? i dont get why are you using asioforall if your interface have dedicated ASIO drivers. it does the same whit the UX drivers?

and 006: dude if there is something wrong whit my past comment please point it out.

Are you using any VSTs in your project? I had a similar issue a while back. I tried increasing buffer, uninstalling/reinstalling drivers, Cubase and everything. Turns out it was a single instance of a free amp sim that I had preloaded in my default project. This may not be the case in your situation but if you do have any VSTs try disabling them one by one to narrow down what it may be. Good luck figuring it out. I know that shit can be frustrating.

The UX2 drivers are very good, but for times when I'm editing I dont have the UX2 plugged in. The ASIO4ALL is my only other ASIO driver thats built-in the computer, so-to-speak. And I checked my VST Performance meter on Cubase and they are barely moving. I have no VST's running as a matter of fact. They do it on raw tracks. A friend of mine pointed out that perhaps this new internet wireless USB port I bought could be doing it??? Maybe because it takes up a lot of CPU Usage? Does that sound reasonable because I realized this has been happening ever since I bought it. I don't know, this is the most frustrating thing ever haha.

What's worst is that the popping/crackling can disappear for awhile, then come back. Another thing I noticed with this wireless adapter plugged in is I use a program for my drums called Beatcraft and playback on there is perfectly fine, but when Cubase is open and I go to playback the drums on Beatcraft it chops and skips parts. I'm really hoping this is the culprit, cause I'll unplug this bastard in a heartbeat.

 

[selke61]

it does the same whit the UX drivers?

Oh and I forgot, no it doesn't, except when I do vocal recordings.

This is how I vocal record. The UX2 is my interface for vocals as well, and it supports phantom power, but the only way I can monitor though my AV-40s is having ASIO4ALL driver on and assigning My UX2 outputs to the vocalist's headphones, the input through the UX2 and then the AV-40's are assigned for a Studio Output on Cubase. It crackles terribly, but I think I realized it is just the ASIO4ALL driver because like I stated before on the headphones (UX2 output) it sounds fine, but on the AV-40s its popping/crackling. I changed the buffer size of the ASIO4ALL driver and it stopped, but occasionally come back and I just slightly adjust the buffer size again to stop it. But theres gotta be a better way to fix this.

So pretty much, I can rule out a lot of things as culprits. The UX2, VST plug-ins, etc. I think the wireless adapter (see previous post) and the ASIO4ALL driver are screwing up the process. Any suggestions, and thanks for all these tips guys, really appreciate it!