I have created my own template which i use for starting new projects. I recently started a project using this template and i haven’t got very far. I have 7 instances of Groove Agent One, 3 instances of Metrum and 3 instances of Sylenth1 open. So far i have put an 8 bar kick drum down using Groove Agent One, also an 8 bar melody using Sylenth1. I have also inserted another melody midi file from the media bay. The issue i’m having is that the sound keeps crackling. This doesn’t happen all the time but it happens quite often and its really annoying. I have a top of the range pc with an i7core cpu, 8gb ram, RME Fireface UC audio interface, SSD, and a 2TB hdd. It’s not an issue with my speakers because i also get this crackling sound in my headphones. I have good quality Beyerdynamic DT880 Pro headphones. When it was crackling i then bounced the tracks down to audio. When i played back the audio it didn’t have the crackling sound but sounded fine. If it’s crackling i then close the project and open up a new project, insert the same kick drum and melody as before but it doesn’t crackle in this new project. Does anyone know what the problem could be? Is it a known bug?
It was constantly crackling all the time just now so i left it playing for a while and it doesn’t stop crackling. So i then closed the project and reopened it straight away and now it’s not crackling at all. I don’t understand this. Also when it was crackling i opened the VST performance ASIO meter and it was very low, not even past the first mark.
Increase the Buffer Size of the sound card (RME Fireface UC).
Open the Device > Devices Setup, and choose VST Audio System. On the right side, there is the name of the driver – something like RME ASIO driver. This name is displayed under the VST Audio System. Click on it. On the rigt side, there is Control Panel button. CLick on it. Your Total Mix FX will open. Find the Buffer Size and increase this value.
Larger Buffer Size = larger latency, but you can use more plug-ins, or more CPU load plug-ins.
I increased the buffer size but this doesn’t do anything as it still crackles.
How much is your Buffer Size, now? Can you increase even more?
The buffer size is normally on 1024 samples so I increased it to the maximum setting of 2048 samples but it still crackles.
What about Performance meters, on the left side of Transport Panel? How does it look?
What about the Audio Activity maters? Can you try to decrease velocity of all tracks? Do you have compressor or Limiter on your master track? Isn’t it just distoreted?
Did you try to freeze all your tracks?
The performance meters don’t show anything. What is the audio activity meter? When you say decrease the velocity of the tracks do you mean do this in the key editor of each midi event? I don’t have a compressor or limiter on master track. I haven’t tried freezing all tracks but i shouldn’t have to freeze the tracks because i haven’t got much open in this project and i have top of the range pc so that can’t be the issue.
Audio Activity meters are the meters on the right side of the Tranposrt Panel. These are Output meters, in fact.
I mean to decrease volume of fader of all tracks. Just to be sure, the signal is not distorted.
Try to freeze all tracks, please. Just to be sure, there is no ASIO overload problem.
The whole project has 7 instances of Groove Agent One, 4 instances of Sylenth1 and 3 instances of Vengeance Metrum. I start playing 1 instance of groove agent one and 2 instances of Sylenth1 (one of these instances of Sylenth is playing 2 midi tracks). It crackles like crazy. The audio activity meter is about 2/3 of the way up to the top. I substantially decrease the volumes of all the tracks that are playing and it still crackles like crazy. The ASIO meter in the VST performance is very low and is about halfway between the first mark. I then start freezing some tracks and the crackling starts going away gradually. In the end i have to freeze all 3 instances of Metrum and 4 instances of Groove Agent One and the crackling then completely goes away. Before and after i freeze the tracks the ASIO meter stays the same the whole time. When it crackles like crazy the meter is the same as when there is no crackling. My top of the range pc has the following spec: intel corei7 2600k 3.4GHz cpu, 64bit with 8GB RAM, 223 SD, 2TB HDD, RME Fireface UC audio interface. I don’t understand how can this top of the range pc only be able to have 3 instances of Groove Agent One and 4 instances of Sylenth1 unfrozen before it starts crackling? I don’t even have any effects plugins inserted yet. I thought you are able to run absolutely loads of plugins, maybe 50 ish before the sound starts distorting? Do you know what the problem could be? Why is it distorting? It can’t be that the plugins are too heavy on the cpu because the meter is always very low so what is causing the distortion? Surely my 8GB of RAM is sufficient.
This sounds as if ASIO latency is set too low. Try increasing the value in the ASIO control panel to maybe double what you have it now and see if problem goes away. If it does, now reduce ASIO bit by bit until the crackling starts, then go back up a little.
It’s usually good to read the threads before contributing!
The buffer size is normally on 1024 samples so I increased it to the maximum setting of 2048 samples but it still crackles.
So you think buffer size and latency value in milliseconds are one and the same ?
They have a direct correspondence…
It’s usually good to read the threads before contributing!
The buffer size is normally on 1024 samples so I increased it to the maximum setting of 2048 samples but it still crackles.
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So you think buffer size and latency value in milliseconds are one and the same ?
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They have a direct correspondence…[/quote]
Ok - I understand that - but I managed to replicate the problem described by setting my latency time from 4 mS down to 1 mS - brought on all the crackles etc. Moving it back cured the noise. So if I mis-understand the terminology put it down to the fact that I only got my Cubase 6.5 Artist 2 weeks ago - and am very much a newby - but I did read through the thread and decided to offer up a suggestion based on what I had found. 
That’s fine.
Just the suggestion had been made, just in different terminology.
Aha! My sound card has a control panel which allows settings of ASIO in milliseconds - not buffer size as such. This must account for the confusion. Glad we got to the bottom of that. 