Ralias Howl Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 Hey all, I'm pretty new to music production and recently splurged on a MiniLab to do music for a video game I'm working on. I started out with Ableton but found Cakewalk much easier for me to use, especially since it has vst-2 compatibility. I'm currently experiencing some problems in my playback with my MIDI, especially with my Arturia synth VSTs, where the MIDI will buzz and crackle on playback unless the volume is ungodly low. Not all the synths do this, but the more aggressive/dark sounding synths do, which limits my instrument usage a lot. Playing the VST live has no issues beyond the occasional glitch, so I'm unsure why playback is only being affected. I tend to experience some buzzing when the project file is using around 4 synths at once, but this particular project only one synth is buzzing. I've glanced at looking into the issue, but I'm mostly seeing this issue for recorded audio rather than audio and MIDI, and my mic-recorded clips appear to playback just fine. I've messed around with buffer sizes and different audio drivers but nothing seems to lessen the buzzing. I'm operating a Windows 10 with around 16G of RAM, and my CPU tends to run fine most of the time. If you guys would like to see my CPU info let me know. I do want to see if I can't fix or manage the issue without getting new equipment if possible. I do plan on upgrading my PC however that's a long-term project that I wont be able to work on for a few months. Any advice is greatly appreciated! I only know so much about the technical side of music production since I'm really new to it. Here's my settings as of current: Current Version: build 28.11.0.021 Audio Driver Settings Audio Driver Bit-Depth: 16-bit (increasing this too much does actually completely cut audio for me) 64-bit precision is checked Stereo Panning Law: 0dB center, constant power, sin/cos taper Sampling Rate: 48000 on my current project, Ableton and new Cakewalk projects are set to 44100 Buffers in Playback Queue: 4 Buffer Size: 30.0 msec 1323 samples (Increasing this much more makes the buzzing worse, somehow) Audio Playback Settings Driver Mode: MME (32-Bit) (Im aware WASAPI and ASIO are better, but ASIO cuts my audio and cakewalk thinks my headset is unavailable for WASAPI, it's a headache I know) Dithering: None Command Audition Length: 3s Record Pre-Allocate File: 0s Fade on start: 0ms Fade on stop: 0ms MIDI Device Settings Inputs: Arturia MiniLab mkII Outputs: Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth (this is the only option besides the MiniLab that is provided) MIDI Playback and Recording Settings Driver Mode: MME (ASIO and WASAPI are unavailable here) Number of Buffers: 128, Echo System Exclusive is unchecked MIDI Sysx Echo Ports: Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth Playback; Prepare Using: 200 ms buffers, Always echo current MIDI track is checked Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scook Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 3 minutes ago, Ralias Howl said: Driver Mode: MME (32-Bit) (Im aware WASAPI and ASIO are better, but ASIO cuts my audio and cakewalk thinks my headset is unavailable for WASAPI, it's a headache I know) It's worse than you think. There are quite a few choices for PC audio. Some are better than others when working with DAWs. It appears you have made a very bad choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralias Howl Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 Just now, scook said: It's worse than you think. There are quite a few choices for PC audio. Some are better than others when working with DAWs. It appears you have made a very bad choice. That's what I've read. I dont hear a difference between WASAPI and MME atm (and to be fair, my projects aren't getting all that big right now), and I think I'll look into ASIO a bit more but I believe I need to download a specific driver for it. I've heard ASIO is better for recorded live audio rather than than MIDI, and that WASAPI Shared is generally recommended instead, however. Couldn't hurt to try, but saying I "made a bad choice" doesn't really help me 😅 I'm genuinely open for suggestions if you have any 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Dickens Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 (edited) 18 minutes ago, Ralias Howl said: I do want to see if I can't fix or manage the issue without getting new equipment if possible. Not really. If you don't like tearing your hair out, you should get a decent audio interface. One that has a dedicated ASIO driver. Also the MS wavetable synth is about the crappiest sounding garbage in the world. Edited June 12, 2023 by Byron Dickens Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralias Howl Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 5 minutes ago, Byron Dickens said: Not really. If you don't like tearing your hair out, you should get a decent audio interface. One that has a dedicated ASIO driver. Also the MS wavetable synth is about the crappiest sounding garbage in the world. Fair enough. I want to manage what I can at the moment, but I am down for audio interface suggestions I can keep an eye on once I'm able to start getting PC upgrades Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byron Dickens Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 The interface will do you a whole lot more good than PC upgrades. Spend your money wisely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 Just a footnote re: Driver Mode: MME (ASIO and WASAPI are unavailable here) under MIDI Playback and Recording Settings. When you don't have a project loaded, you have a choice of MME and UWP. (See below.) You cannot change that when you have a project loaded. However, those are MIDI driver mode settings, not to be confused with Audio driver mode settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 20 minutes ago, Ralias Howl said: I've heard ASIO is better for recorded live audio rather than than MIDI, and that WASAPI Shared is generally recommended instead, however. Not sure of the context for the recommendation but just so you realize, MIDI is not audio. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralias Howl Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 1 minute ago, User 905133 said: Not sure of the context for the recommendation but just so you realize, MIDI is not audio. Yep I'm aware; I am offering my audio driver information as a lot of forums I've found on similar subjects ask for the information regardless. Cakewalk can record an audio file from MIDI input as well if a synth is attached, so I thought maybe it'd be helpful. Better to provide too much info rather than too little 😅 Additionally I was responding specifically to Byron in regards to Audio Drivers, hence talking about ASIO and WASAPI. I mentioned WASAPI being recommended more for MIDI mostly because most people suggest that if you're mostly doing MIDI, to not worry about ASIO since it's more for dedicated live recording. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralias Howl Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 20 minutes ago, Byron Dickens said: The interface will do you a whole lot more good than PC upgrades. Spend your money wisely. I'm aware 😅 Apologies, I should clarify: I mean that I wont be able to get any extra equipment until I am starting PC upgrades as it's a specific budget I'm making. I am happy to get suggestions on what audio interfaces I can save up for on a small budget (and a small amount of space), as I get mixed opinions on that. Even though it's frustrating, I would like to see what I can do with what I have right now until I can get said audio interface. It's not the simplest solution but I am an indie-developer, so one works with what they have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scook Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 17 minutes ago, Ralias Howl said: Fair enough. I want to manage what I can at the moment, but I am down for audio interface suggestions I can keep an eye on once I'm able to start getting PC upgrades Unless you need something with a bunch of I/O for simultaneous recording, Focusrite Solo or 2i2 seem pretty safe choices for a first interface. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
User 905133 Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 2 minutes ago, Ralias Howl said: Cakewalk can record an audio file from MIDI input as well if a synth is attached. . . . I assume you mean that Cakewalk can record both MIDI data and an audio signal at the same time if an attached synth has a built-in audio/MIDI interface. To me this is different than recording audio from a MIDI input. But maybe you mean something entirely different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralias Howl Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 1 minute ago, User 905133 said: I assume you mean that Cakewalk can record both MIDI data and an audio signal at the same time if an attached synth has a built-in audio/MIDI interface. To me this is different than recording audio from a MIDI input. But maybe you mean something entirely different. Yeah thats right! My apologies, I'm a bit foggy brained so sometimes I word things odd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralias Howl Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 3 minutes ago, scook said: Unless you need something with a bunch of I/O for simultaneous recording, Focusrite Solo or 2i2 seem pretty safe choices for a first interface. Fantastic. I'll put that on my list of things to look into. Looks like Focusrite Solo will be my best shot budget wise, looks to be a decent size too :)) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scook Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 One more thing, plan on routing ALL the audio going into and coming out of the PC through the new interface or plan on buying more gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ralias Howl Posted June 12, 2023 Author Share Posted June 12, 2023 Just now, scook said: One more thing, plan on routing ALL the audio going into and coming out of the PC through the new interface or buying more gear. Noted; To clarify, do you mean setting audio output and input to the new interface? And if so would that mean I would need to plug my mic and midi directly into the interface as well or no? Thank you for the suggestions btw, I seriously appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scook Posted June 12, 2023 Share Posted June 12, 2023 ASIO - the preferred driver in Windows DAW world limits most users to one audio I/O device by restricting DAW access to one ASIO driver at a time 7 hours ago, Ralias Howl said: if so would that mean I would need to plug my mic and midi directly into the interface as well or no? Mic yes MIDI no. And this trips up some., a USB microphone IS an audio interface with a microphone built in. So, if you are currently using a USB microphone, that will need to be replaced. This is all about audio so how a MIDI device connects to the DAW is not at issue. I am guessing USB keyboard here. Some audio interfaces have a built in MIDI interface. AFAIK, they all use standard 5-pin DIN connections on the MIDI side. That covers input, since ASIO is handling all the DAW output too you are going to want something attached to the interface to hear what's going on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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