ant_in_wales

I had a similar-sounding issue, and went back to a much older driver, and it has completely fixed the problem.

I have a Behringer 404HD and went from v5.x drivers to 4.59.

Does your audio interface maybe need extra power?

Good luck!

2 hours ago, giovannibuchelli said:

Try with an older version of the Behringer drivers.

For some reason, versions 5x don't work well in Windows 10. V 4.59 is the last one that works perfectly fine for me.

 

 

 

Ha ha ha!!!
And dramatic music!

That has fixed it!

Behringer still has that old driver on there (suspicious, non?).
I've put 4.59 back on, and it's now fine! It doesn't care about latency at all.

What is strange is that performance has only gone terrible recently. I wonder why that is?

However, I'm not a thoughtful or reflective man - I like what I am seeing and that is enough for me!!

Thank you very much @giovannibuchelli !

7 hours ago, msmcleod said:

Freezing is really just a short-cut to a bounce, so you can always bounce the buses to new tracks using "Bounce to Track(s)"


 

Thank you for your suggestions, @msmcleod but I'd tried most already.

I don't understand what you mean by bouncing buses to a new track.
Do you mean like this - https://www.cakewalk.com/Documentation?product=SONAR X3&language=3&help=Mixing.45.html

I don't suppose you could explain what this means, or suggest a nice tutorial please?

18 hours ago, gustabo said:

Neutron consumes a lot of cpu cycles!

That is true, but the CPU barely gets into double figures.

Presumably Neutron runs as a separate Process in Task Manager.  Does making Cakewalk's priority Higher mean Neutron isn't getting the clock cycles it deserves?

13 hours ago, Terry Kelley said:

It would help if you could tell us the instruments (VSTs) and plugins. There are plugins that inhale the processor but don't really show up in the performance monitor. Lots of experienced people here might be able to point them out.

I'm using four instances each of (Waves) J37 tape sim, Magma BB Tubes sim & Neutron  on drum, bass, vocals bus and guitar bus.
Master bus clean. Buffer 2048.
No resource issues in Task Manager - system barely ticking over.

Video editing software works like a dream - system seems fine.

Thanks for thoughts in advance.

Not being able to freeze buses is a pain - I'd be fine then!

13 hours ago, Isaiah said:

I just replied to another post as I also had stutters, but have you tried unselecting Use MMCSS? 

It was enabled. I've turned off, but no change.

8 hours ago, Kalle Rantaaho said:

What  audio interface and drivers are you using?

I'm using Behringer UMC404HD with latest drivers (5.30).
Thanks in advance.

Thanks both.
LatencyMon seemed very relaxed, and I'm already freezing more than a polar bear, so I guess I just need to use less VST.
Thank you for your suggestions.

Happy Easter, Y'all

I'm using Windows 10, and I was wondering how people stop their machine glitching and stuttering when they're playing back with plenty of VST plugins.
I record on low latency with no plugins, but even pushing my buffer up to 2048 samples when mixing I'm getting stutter.

When I look at what's happening in Task Manager, hardly anything is going on. CPU, RAM & disk use are low.
I use Task Manager to increase Cakewalk's Priority to High.
Two solid state hard disks,  32GB RAM, HP Z620 workstation with a Xeon E5-2690 (10 cores at 3GHz).

Cakewalk is up to date.
I wonder if there are any  Windows settings I could profitably tweak.

All suggestions gratefully received, thank you

Tony

18 minutes ago, Makke said:

Nice boogie song. Sounds good for me. Like recorded at small club. A live performance ambience, only audience voices missed. Good job!
 

Thanks @Makke - I wondered about dubbing a bit of fake crowd on.

That is really catchy, but I wonder if it's a bit too woozy. Too much weird, not quite enough solid foundations.

Reminded me of Talking Heads.

I liked it, but less wooze might make it more approachable.

That's a great sound.
I was trying to think of what to sing with it, and could only think of a Chris Isaak vibe.
Didn't make me think of winter loneliness, unless you live somewhere sunnier than me.

Maybe a desert in winter, waiting for a lover to return. Do deserts have seasons? Do the plants in Texas die off and then return?
What's winter in a desert like? Is that the song?

I'd definitely extend the chorus, and maybe use the pre-chorus section to build to it.

Every end is a beginning
Every good person is sinning.
Everything we've seen will come around again.
Every end is a beginning
Every loser's winning.
Everything's circular and comes around again.

(Except Death 😉)
(Or I certainly hope so.)

(Actually, those lyrics are rather cheesy, but so am I.)

Thanks Bjorn
I have been backwards and forwards on the vocals - if I make them higher then the music seems to go too quiet.
I'll try 1db boost perhaps.

I think the song does race ahead of my abilities as a singer, the dream is for a real singer to take it forward.

Thank you for your feedback.

Happy Valentine's Day my lovelies

You all gave me some great feedback on a song - "Decent lyrics, poor arrangement" - so I've spent some time working out a different style and key and I'm now much happier.
I managed to find some Boogie Woogie piano and bass MIDI parts which meant I could change key and tempo in seconds. Well, it took the rhythm section seconds, I took longer.

I'd be very curious to know what everyone thinks.
Is the vocal too quiet and is there too much reverb? I want to get someone to cover it (and have it on the radio every Twixmas) but it to be clear to a listener how it should sound.

The irony of looking to write a commercial song in a style which peaked in 1953 isn't lost on me 🙂
Best wishes
 

Chorus too short.
Finish with "Every end is a beginning. Except Death [silence]"?

I really like the guitar. I think the pre-chorus could be stronger. Chorus needs more triumph.
Sounds like 70s English songwriters like Nick Lowe, which is a good thing.

Thank you very much to you all for your help.
I was just thinking about hi-pass to give the kick it's own space, then the bass, then everything else above 150Hz (?)
I'll have a play and report back (hopefully might help others)

I wrote this song last New Year. Lyrics are fine and music is 12 bar blues. Not superb playing but it's just to get the song over.
But the mix is horrorshow. And I really don't know quite what's making it so bad.
Is it possible to tell from a mix exactly what your problem is, like being able to tell a computer needs the fan cleaning from the sound?
Or is it just something I can't do?

Any thoughts on "Where to begin" gratefully accepted. That song  @Douglas Kirby just posted sounds so well mixed it's like he's taunting me  🙂

Thanks

"New Year" - Same Old Mix Problems

Lovely clear and loud mix. Even more double-tracking on the "Say You Will"?

My style is spontaneous, @ramscapri - I feel it, I do it.
But sadly anything more structured and polished is beyond me.
My kid has taught himself to harmonise, but if I try I just end up copying him.

I'm all inspiration but lack the musical chops of technique, which is what I'm trying to work on. 

Is it even that bad that this lady just turns up so you can take her to the bar, or take her for a drive, or spend some quality lying-in-bed time?
Doesn't that leave you more time to play with your guitars, edit your videos, install demos of software you don't need and write songs about your girlfriend is leaving you all alone?
Isn't this a great setup? All the advantages of a girlfriend, without someone around the house all the time saying "Why have you got so many cables? I'm hungry. What's that smell? How often do you change your clothes? Why do you need more guitars than you can play at once?"

I think you (well, your protagonist*) need to catch themselves on and realize they're onto a good thing.

*unless your songs are more autobiographical than I imagined

I liked the big piano opening - quite Lana del Rey.
The voice is really strong and clear, mix all blends together well.

I wonder if there should be more of a change at 1'45? A full stop and some new sound? Key change for 8 bars? Different style of singing? Spoken word interlude?

Oh yes, I like it. Cheery 70s bar blues with a modern sound.

But I'd like it to go harder into the chorus - it sounds like there's a beat's pause and then the "Never Enough" sounds underpowered.
Shouldn't it be louder, shouted by three people, in more of a late-70s New Wave sorta way?

Love the lead guitar part, obviously. Great sound and played lively.

I wonder about turning it round at the end to explain Why this lady has such power over you? 
"Still I ain't had enough and I want more
So when she knocks I gotta open the door"?
Maybe a verse about where you gonna find someone who can outdrink you and hustle at pool? Who'll put up with your X and Y? 

On 12/2/2021 at 9:02 PM, johnpeeee said:

Respect.
Sonar/cakewalk has been my only DAW since I changed from tape. I wish cakewalk by band lab had a bit more credibility out here. The updates since bandlab took over are amazing. Yet (for example) Sound on Sound just ignore it. Shame.

I find this strange too. It's clearly a £250+ product FOR FREE, with updates and no license nonsense to deal with.
I can't understand why everyone doesn't use it.

My kid is looking to study "Music" in the autumn, and they all use ProTools. So if want to work from home, he needs a £2k Mac & £180 license for PT.
Or he could carry on using free Cakewalk.
But that's a whole different Grrrr.