First midi note / audio on playback not playing

[Jess]

Hi!

When trying to play back a MIDI clip, the first note, (or about a quarter bar if an audio clip), is cut off. The effect is as if the audio device did not have enough time to 'wake up' to play the part. If the clip is played in a loop, the first note or part is played correctly. I don't have any other playback issues and am using the following;

• Windows 10 with latest updates
• Behringer UMC 404HD with latest ASIO driver (5.57)
• Tried various sample rates (22KHz - 48KHz)
• Tried with various bit depths (16 - 32)
• Tried different ASIO drivers
• Tried non-ASIO drivers (WASAPI - shared and exclusive)
• Deleted any unwanted ASIO drivers from the Windows registry
• Midi clips used from EzDrummer 3 & EzBass

I'm just getting started and this has put a damper on things. I don't think there's a setting I haven't tried, or a Youtube video on related issues I haven't watched. I hope someone on the forum has a solution, otherwise, I'll have to go back to my day job of rocket scientist. Right now that seems so much easier..!

Cheers,
Jess
 

[David Baay]

Is this a new installation of CbB with no changes to default settings?  Does it happen if you freeze the synth? The symptoms sound like you have a non-zero Fade On Start set in Preferences > Audio > Playback and Recording.

Edited January 8 by David Baay

[Byron Dickens]

Start everything at measure 2.

[Jess]

Hi!

Thanks both Byron and David for your responses.

David : No changes to the CbB installation outside removing a few modules from the Control Bar. If I Freeze the synth the same anomaly occurs - first notes of the audio clip is cut off.  I thought the audio clip produced by freezing the track may have inherited the fault, and dragged in an related audio clip but got the same result.

Regarding the Fade On Start setting, it's never been fiddled with and is still zero.
 

---------------------------------

Byron : Starting the song on measure 2 was one of the first things I tried, but did not solve the problem, even allowing for a 1 measure 'run-up'.

---------------------------------

I previously did not mention;

• There is no Velocity Automation on the clip track, neither Fade In on the clip itself (audio only)
• Total RAM is 8Gb - CbB uses 1.2Gb for unfrozen synth track - Ez Drummer 3, (Only 1 track in project), and 234Mb if frozen
• Tried different buffer sizes between 128 - 1024
• In trying to isolate the problem, I installed the trail version of Reaper. Same result

 

I'm stumped...

[Canopus]

Maybe check the Event List to see if there are a large number of events that needs to be processed at the very beginning of the MIDI clip?

[Jess]

Hi Canopus!

Thanks for responding and your suggestion.

I cleaned out / deleted all the current events for the track, then dragged in a new 1 bar beat from Ez Drummer and let it play in a loop. The first play-through also does not play the first note, but once in the loop, it does. For the 1 measure clip there were 13 events, and no other events before the beginning of the track.

However, I noticed that whilst auditioning a clip in Ez Drummer, the first note is also silent. Hmm... To me that indicates the problem being somewhere with the audio interface (Behringer 404HD), it's associated ASIO driver, or hidden in the depths of Windows. Something else that may shed some light on the problem, I noticed that although there is no sound from the first note, the track's volume meter does respond.

Regarding Windows, I installed Process Lasso to assign a higher priority to Windows' audiodg.exe  which handles all its audio processes, and assigned it a high priority. (This was a suggestion from a a Youtuber worth trying.) Sadly there was still no difference. I also reinstalled Behringer's ASIO driver (again), to no avail.


The mystery deepens, and I can feel my Grammy slipping away...

[David Baay]

7 hours ago, Jess said:

In trying to isolate the problem, I installed the trail version of Reaper. Same result

This indicates the problem is with the interface or monitoring. A quick Google found several other references to "fade in" problems with the UMC 404HD, but no solutions offered. Seems it's got some sort of built-in gate or speaker-protection  circuit in the analog section that's malfunctioning. You should return it if you can and get something with a proven reputation for quality hardware and drivers.

Edited January 8 by David Baay

[Canopus]

Well, I've got a Behringer UMC404HD as well (although I'm still using ASIO driver version 5.51.0).

I inserted EZdrummer 3 into a new, empty project in CbB and dragged a groove called 'Fills 01' to position 1:01:000. I can hear all hits, including the first one, from the very beginning and not only from the first iteration of the loop.

[Jess]

Hi David!

I believe you're right - all the logical possible solutions have been tried. Being new to this, I couldn't be sure if it was finger-trouble, lack of experience, or a combination of both. I had the same experience as you with regards to Google.

I now feel more confident that there is a defect with the interface; nothing else makes sense. Thank you for your input and effort, I appreciate your time.

 

Regards,
Jess

[Jess]

Hi Canopus!

Yeah, that's how it should be. That said, I believe David Baay has it right - part of the circuitry may be defective.  To my knowledge, the UMC404HD should virtually be plug n play.

Thanks for the time and effort you spent on this for me - I appreciate it.

 

Regards,
Jess

[mettelus]

3 hours ago, David Baay said:

This indicates the problem is with the interface or monitoring. [...] You should return it if you can and get something with a proven reputation for quality hardware and drivers.

Not sure if that Behringer UMC404HD is within the return window (hopefully it is), but there are bigger names in the game with an interface in that price range that make their own drivers. Behringer has had a lot of posts over the years with people having issues with them.

A trial of Studio One Pro has more analytics/latency options available internal to the app, but if you have already replicated the issue with Reaper, I doubt that is going to help you find a solution to the interface itself (which is what it appears to be).

Edited January 8 by mettelus

[Jess]

21 minutes ago, mettelus said:

Not sure if that Behringer UMC404HD is within the return window (hopefully it is), but there are bigger names in the game with an interface in that price range that make their own drivers. Behringer has had a lot of posts over the years with people having issues with them.

A trial of Studio One Pro has more analytics/latency options available internal to the app, but if you have already replicated the issue with Reaper, I doubt that is going to help you find a solution to the interface itself (which is what it appears to be).

 

Hi Mettelus!

Thanks for responding. I believe you're right, and unfortunately I wasn't aware of Behringer's issues before my purchase. That's what one gets for not doing enough home work, and was lulled into a false sense of security by a few good reviews. Experience does not come cheap!

Some background: I was intending to record some of my songs about a year ago, and knew I'd need an audio interface in the future. There was no rush, but then I saw a 'special' on the Behringer 404HD. I purchased it in the mean time while continuing writing. Now, a year later, I've discovered this anomaly. There's no way the store is going to accept a return and I can't really blame them. (Who's going to believe I bought the device a year ago, but have only tried using it in the past 2 weeks!)

 

Cheers!
Jess

[mettelus]

That is the story with half of my projects for sure, I buy things well in advance of using them at times as well.

Have you tried tackling this from another perspective? I.e., you really only need an audio interface to get audio in (and cannot really get around this)... can you pull the Behringer out of the loop and play the project back on the RealTek chip in WASAPI mode? Be sure the project sample rate matches the RealTek in Windows Sound Options, but if you have a system (or even headphones) to use the Onboard audio that should be an option (for playback/mixing). You will take a latency hit for that playback option, but I use that to mix surround quite often.

[Jess]

2 hours ago, mettelus said:

That is the story with half of my projects for sure, I buy things well in advance of using them at times as well.

Have you tried tackling this from another perspective? I.e., you really only need an audio interface to get audio in (and cannot really get around this)... can you pull the Behringer out of the loop and play the project back on the RealTek chip in WASAPI mode? Be sure the project sample rate matches the RealTek in Windows Sound Options, but if you have a system (or even headphones) to use the Onboard audio that should be an option (for playback/mixing). You will take a latency hit for that playback option, but I use that to mix surround quite often.

 

Hey Mettelus!

For playback only, I'm sure your suggestion will work. However, my project will be singer/songwriter oriented with acoustic guitar. I also have a large diaphragm microphone that requires phantom power. So, an audio interface is essential.  I'm currently looking at the Arturia MiniFuse 2, UA's Volt1 or 2, and the Presonus 24C. They seem like good budget interfaces that will suit my needs - I'm not looking to compete with Abby Road Studios!

Cheers!