Clicking sound recording via USB into PT 9.0.6

shotgunn

Fractal Fanatic
I am getting a clicking sound when recording via USB. My level to PT is peaking around -6dB. None of my Axe II levels are even close to clipping.

Any ideas? I've been recording via USB since I got my II on 12-02-2011. I've had some hiccups here and there but nothing like this until now.

The clip I posted here had the clean SVT solo'd in PT. BTW, I using a MacBook Pro on 10.6.8 for those who don't already know.

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Come on guys. Anybody?!? It's a soft click but it adds up in the mix. Bump!!!


I'm a high gain djent djent meedley meedely meedely type player...

Sent from my iPod.
 
Yup. 48kHz session.


I'm a high gain djent djent meedley meedely meedely type player...

Sent from my iPod.
 
I get the same problem inconsistently with the exact same setup and so have a bunch of others on the board. I would end up just switching my playback engine buffer size up or down then would switch it back and it would fix it. It makes no sense at all because I would record say 2 guitar tracks that were perfect then magically the 3rd or 4th or whatever would have the popping like when your CPU is overloaded but I knew it wasn't that since my IMAC is maxed at 16gb of RAM. Its some odd glitch that I havent been able to find the real solution for either except just not go USB.
 
I am puzzled by this...it sounds like you are monitoring the dirty and clean tracks at the same time but you say just the clean is solo'd...definetly some string/fret buzz in there mixed with this clipping. I will have to try this tomorrow and see if there is a similar issue with my DAW. I haven't done any axefx 2 only recordings yet (finishing started re-amping projects first)...
 
I have had problems like that with other programs; buffer settings coupled with other things in the DAW, but if this is an issue regarding audio drivers and you change the buffer, it should "change" what's happening. Maybe you could test the problem by recording at different buffer settings and see if the problem could be made worse. Glitchy clicks can sound like digital clipping but IMO they sound more like pops, distinguished from various-sounding distortion spikes from exceeding an audio threshold. In my case I had this "pop" sounding issue with BFD2 (the issue was finally resolved when Fxpansion figured out the particular code bug), and an issue when running more than one soundcard (driver programmers hate when we do this!!!) Therefore, have you tried to see if your audio drivers for your computer have been revised? Also, aside from the AXE usb driver and your sound card, are you using an additional sound card?
 
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Thanx for taking the time to respond. How and where do I go to find updates to my audio drivers for my computer? I assumed that the USB driver that FAS gives us is all we need. Am I wrong? When you say BFD2, you mean Bomb Factory plugins right? Of all the thing I have tried you know what I haven't tried. Creating a new session. The session I am working with now was started on my 002 before I got my Axe II. I'm gonna start a new session from scratch and see if my Axe II plays nice.

Thanx for the tips!!!
 
I am puzzled by this...it sounds like you are monitoring the dirty and clean tracks at the same time but you say just the clean is solo'd...definetly some string/fret buzz in there mixed with this clipping. I will have to try this tomorrow and see if there is a similar issue with my DAW. I haven't done any axefx 2 only recordings yet (finishing started re-amping projects first)...

I must've missed your response. You are right there is some fret buzz. I borrowed the bass from a friend. I ordered a new nut as the slots are filed way too low. I even cranked the saddles up a bit as well. The new nut should solve the fret buzz. Aside from that there was definitely some odd distortion.


I'm a high gain djent djent meedley meedely meedely type player...

Sent from my iPod.
 
There may have been some breakup in this bass sound but I know I was hearing some digital artifacts.


I'm a high gain djent djent meedley meedely meedely type player...

Sent from my iPod.
 
BFD2 is the Fxpansion drums, "Best F*ing Drums #2". It has an audio export feature that is supposed to render to a file, similar to recording but it is taking its samples, through effects, and rendering them to a new wave file. The glitches were effected by the buffer and some other settings, so I knew it wasn't simply too hot a signal. But the glitches turned out to be an error in some math in their code, and it particularly started after a minor upgrade. Still, a very good product if you have patience and want to tweak your drum sounds.

I think starting the new session was a good idea, and you are right, if all you're doing is recording the Axe, the Axe USB driver should be good enough and should not conflict with another audio driver - at least in my PC this isn't a problem. Almost all Windows computers have built in audio cards, so I was assuming your Mac had at least one. I also have had computers where I had added a pro audio card, and still had the original non-ASIO card running for use with my programs that don't see ASIO. Some programs wouldn't let me have both turned on, and some programs I concluded simply 'forgot' to address the possibility of having the second audio card, and gave me money back due to the conflict which resulted in dead silence when playing back video. I read a disclaimer later that said their product didn't work with more than one audio card installed. Another time I had a laptop and planned to occasionally plug a USB audio card into it, and when it uninstalled each time I unplugged it I called the company, they said it was not designed to be removed. "You are supposed to leave the thing plugged in at all times..." I said, "you're kidding, right?". How stupid is that, like whenever you boot your computer it must see the audio card or it uninstalls it!!! I've also been amazed to get different quality of recording for no apparent reason sometimes, like with two DAWs not yielding the same audio quality, one sounding more muffled, even though the settings were as near to equal as I could figure. These are just some issues I've seen with audio cards and audio rendering that I didn't expect.

Oh, another issue I had was that my last computer had a wireless transmitter that interfered with the audio card, and was creating noise because the processor was grinding to a halt every half second or so. If you think something like this is going on you might find a program like this windows one DPC Latency Checker for your Mac. Its just a latency checker, and if there is interference or some other reason your computer is not running steadily on all cylinders these little gems can help pinpoint that. Also I use a free program Vista Services Optimizer - Free Download Optimize Windows services easily and safely to unload unwanted services, again, maybe Mac people have something like it although I don't think you guys need it as your operating system is probably not as clutsy.

So I feel for ya, man. Hopefully the clicking will stop. Please keep us informed.
 
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What kind of converters are you using? It could be a clocking issue between the Axe FX and Protools. I had this problem when connecting via AES to the digital inputs of a 196 i/o (digi's converter for the TDM system) I went in to the system setup window in Pro Tools and had to change the sync to something else (sorry can't remember exactly). I think i changed it to "Internal VSO", or it could have been "DIgital AES" or something. Not sure if that could be the problem or not because you are using USB. If you are using the AXE FX as the sound card for Pro TOols then perhaps you are getting close to your CPU limit on the AXE FX. Check the CPU limit indicator on the AXE or in AXE edit while you are using the unit to see if it is getting above 91%. I get glitching sometimes above that when connected USB to my MAC.
 
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