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Odd distortion recording multiple tracks.


Troy Winemiller

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Focusrite 18i20 3rd gen.

When I record a single track in stereo using a pair of interface inputs I get tracks as expected.

If I record the same sources but individual tracks simultaneously, they have a digital zippy distortion on both tracks. 

If I record ONE of the tracks there's no distortion.  If I record the same input to both tracks there's no distortion.

It's very evident using a bass as the source for the tracks.

What I've tried:

Multiple Focusrite drivers.

Multiple input pairs, and sources.

Internal and external clocking on the interface.

I'm not clipping anywhere.   I'm a Sonar user for decades, so I don't think it's a newb mistake.   I don't have another DAW to test.   I've recorded individual tracks in this manner a zillion times before and never had this issue.

Anyone else confirm?

Thanks!

Edited by Troy Winemiller
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I would definitely recommend recording using a different app as a test. You can try Cakewalk Next. Waveform is also free. Don’t try Audacity because it doesn’t support ASIO. 
 

There’s been a few posts this fall from Focusrite , Motu and RME users having similar issues and it’s pointing to something W11 have screwed up. 
Someone even mentioned that they found W11 was running in 44.1 even though they had set everything to 48

Myself I had to shelve my Motu M4 because it keeps going distorted if I leave my computer on for a few hours. I have to restart. 

Edited by Bass Guitar
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16 hours ago, Troy Winemiller said:

When I record a single track in stereo using a pair of interface inputs I get tracks as expected.

If I record the same sources but individual tracks simultaneously, they have a digital zippy distortion on both tracks. 

A stereo track will effectively have the two channels panned hard left and right. Recording them to individual mono tracks will have them both center-panned. Depending on the degree of correlation betwene the two channels, the mono setup is going to produce up to a 6dB increase in level at the Master bus, potentially clipping the output, unless you pan the mono tracks hard left and right to match what a stereo track does.

1 hour ago, petemus said:

Would it be having the "Remove DC Offset During Record" checked? I had strange sound issues when I had that on...

This is a possibility, but I recall that issue being addressed some years ago, and can't repro the problem now.

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Quote

 

There’s been a few posts this fall from Focusrite , Motu and RME users having similar issues and it’s pointing to something W11 have screwed up. 
Someone even mentioned that they found W11 was running in 44.1 even though they had set everything to 48

Im on win10.  But I forgot I have waveform, and will give that a look.  Thanks!

Quote

Would it be having the "Remove DC Offset During Record" checked? I had strange sound issues when I had that on...

I had it on, but will look into this.   I'm pretty sure I've always had it on.  Thanks!

Quote

A stereo track will effectively have the two channels panned hard left and right. Recording them to individual mono tracks will have them both center-panned.

Yeah, I'm aware of this.  The distortion is on the recording itself and not induced by routing or panning.  But I appreciate the input!

 

Thanks everyone.  I'm going to look into the suggestions and report back.

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