Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

Hey guys,

Ok so this one is driving me crazy. I have a very simple setup, Pro Tools 12.5.2 running on a Windows 10 HP i7 laptop with a brand new AVID branded Quartet.

Done all the optimisations and have ensured Windows is using the onboard sound device, leaving the Quartet exclusively for Pro Tools.

Every few minutes I get the attached error message about the external clock source not operating correctly.

Any ideas? Short of a bad Quartet unit I'm stumped.

Any help much appreciated, cheers.

Re: Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

Hi and Welcome to the Community

Have you tried trashing preferences and databases as thats what i would do first to see if anything old is interfering with the setup.

http://www.sweetwater.com/sweetcare/...s-preferences/

Let us know what happens if anything :o

Re: Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

First question:

Is the clock source, set to "Quartet" in Set up: Session??


Second question:

Is the sample rate set in "Maestro 2" or whatever the Avid branded setup utility is called the same as your PT session??

Re: Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

Thanks for the feedback.

Yep the setup is all fine, matching sample rates, Quartet selected in Pro Tools etc.

In a bid to randomly try stuff I disabled AVG antivirus and haven't had the error in a hour or two... weird. I'll report back!

Re: Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

ok - after disabling a few things, the error is much less frequent but still there. It seems like it's a processor thing, when too much is going on the clock error appears. Misleading, but life would be boring otherwise right :confused:

Re: Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

Heres an shot in the dark:

I have an HP laptop, it has both USB2 and USB3 ports.
I was having a communication issue with a cable used to interface with my car's ECU (ala Fast and Furious). The manufacturer told me to try it on a USB2, not USB3 port, and it solved the issue.

Look up in your manual, see which port is USB2, and verify, you're not on a USB3. Worth looking into.

Hope it helps


Otherwise, go here:
http://www.apogeedigital.com/support/contact-support
They answer in under 48 hours.

Re: Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

Tried the USB thing, same - but thanks. Looks like it's a CPU overload thing, clock drops when the machine is working a little harder. Bummer :mad:

Re: Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

Have you returned to your vendor, and tested another unit?

Re: Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

No I should do, but I contacted Apogee direct and they confirmed that error happens when the machine is working too hard. Still think I'll follow it up though. Thanks again!

Re: Quartet "External Clock Source" error on PC
 

My second system, 12.5.2 on a Mac Mini "Ivy Bridge" 2.6 GHz Intel "Core i7" (3720QM) Quad core, with the Apogee
branded Quartet.

Not one issue.