hybrid and expand synths clipping

[dendee]

no matter how low i attenuate, these synths are causing clipping artifacts. the overload indicators are not showing clipping, as the dialed in level is actually very low. it's definitely heard however, and i'm not having clipping problems with anything else.

any thoughts are appreciated


HD3 7.4.2
MacPro 2.8 8 gigs ram
192i/o

[crizdee]

Originally Posted by dendee

no matter how low i attenuate, these synths are causing clipping artifacts. the overload indicators are not showing clipping, as the dialed in level is actually very low. it's definitely heard however, and i'm not having clipping problems with anything else.

any thoughts are appreciated


HD3 7.4.2
MacPro 2.8 8 gigs ram
192i/o

Are your meters in pre or post fader mode?

I find some patches are very hot but as they are midi instruments its relevant to the midi level that feeds them!!!

Chris

[dendee]

options/pre-fader metering was checked. i tried it unchecked but the sound is no different.

could it be a calibration thing? i am using the spdif out from the 192 into a presonus central station. we started using these out of the box and did not do a calibration because everything seemed ok compared to mastered cd's.

[crizdee]

Originally Posted by dendee

options/pre-fader metering was checked. i tried it unchecked but the sound is no different.

could it be a calibration thing? i am using the spdif out from the 192 into a presonus central station. we started using these out of the box and did not do a calibration because everything seemed ok compared to mastered cd's.

What you are hearing could be due to having the buffer set too small! this can cause some glitching with VI's.

What your hardware buffer setting?

How many CPU are set for RTAS playback? its advised to set to an odd number 1/3/5/7 etc.

Chris

[dendee]

1024 samples, 7 processors, 95% cpu usage, RTAS Engine not checked, 96 voices 2 dsp's, 44.1, long delay compensation, 3000ms disk buffer, large cache size

[crizdee]

Originally Posted by dendee

1024 samples, 7 processors, 95% cpu usage, RTAS Engine not checked, 96 voices 2 dsp's, 44.1, long delay compensation, 3000ms disk buffer, large cache size

Well you shouldn't be getting any problems with those settings!

Only other question? any other RTAS plugins in the session.

Chris

[dendee]

lots of plugs...rtas and hd well over a hundred. i'm mixing a track.

[dendee]

how can i calibrate self powered monitors to the presonus central station, and to the 192i/o ?

[Stiff]

Try it in a completely new session with only those plug-ins and see if it clips. It sounds very much like something is working too hard.

[dendee]

tried removing all other tracks leaving only one vi in the session...still clips. so then i tried printing the vi onto an audio track at a level where it doesnt clip (very low) to see if i could later boost the wave level to an acceptable volume. didnt work. as soon as i gained up to where i needed it, it would distort. when i compared the vi track to the wave audio file, they both distort at the same volume level. the patch is expand vocal oohs to ahhs, eq'd with everything under 200hz cut and over 5k cut .

time to get a real synth. the vi is just cheese-o-rama poopoo