Crackling again suddenly

Support and feedback for Acoustica's Mixcraft audio mixing software.

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unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

So annoyed...I've been working on a project for about a month without any issues. I have a very powerful desktop computer. I've been working at 96000 sample rate without any problems. Now the project is suddenly hiccupping with weird sounds, particularly when I move the cursor to a different play position. I've tried reducing the sample rate to 48000 and I've also been playing back at a buffer 0f 1024. When I was recording my acoustic and vocals, I was using 96000 / 192 buffer with no issues.

The latest thing I did was sidechain the kick to the drum using waves rcompressor. I did the same with vocals. I'm not exactly sure if it started after this, but if I turn that compressor off in both instances, it still happens. I currently can't navigate around my project at all, I just get weird sustained popping and clicking noises. I can restart Mixcraft and play through the track, but as soon as I change the play position, it cracks and pops.

HELP!!
unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

I should add that I just turned off every effect in the project and it still happens, though not as badly.
unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

More info, I loaded my previous project and it has the same issue, which I never experienced while working on that track a month ago. So it's not an issue with the song I'm working on, it's something with Mixcraft / Windows 11, I think.
hpharley90
Posts: 322
Joined: Sat Sep 12, 2015 3:07 pm
Location: Southern New England

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by hpharley90 »

i had noise issue also. mine is fixed. i use a focusrite interface.
check this thread out.
https://forums.acoustica.com/viewtopic. ... 36#p157736
10.5 Pro studio build 618
3rd gen Focusrite 2i2
Dell XPS i7-10700 2.9Ghz
48 GB RAM
Windows 10
unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

hpharley90 wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2024 12:42 pm i had noise issue also. mine is fixed. i use a focusrite interface.
check this thread out.
https://forums.acoustica.com/viewtopic. ... 36#p157736
Hey I appreciate the reply. I have a Focusrite Clarett+ and I've been through all these optimizations when I originally setup my system. Nothing has or should have changed. I've been using my new desktop for several months now without any issues. I'm right at the tail end of working on this new track and then boom for no reason that I can determine, Mixcraft is suddenly completely unusable. As soon as I change the playback location, it goes nuts. I'm still experimenting trying to figure things out. I've frozen all my Native Instruments tracks, and I'll continue to freeze all of the rest to see if it's a particular instrument. I've also removed all my effects and the issue persists, although it's not as dramatic. I've also opened up my previous project and same issue. I did try a new track and just recorded some random nonsense, but I couldn't replicate the issue that way.

I'm going to send a log to Acoustica.
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TrevsAudio
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Location: Rhode Island

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by TrevsAudio »

This may be off-beat, but I once had crackling with my Focusrite 2i2. As it was old (2nd Gen), I bought a new Focusrite Solo only to later discover that the problem was with the usb cable. I replaced that and it solved the problem.

So now I have a spare interface. :(
Old Dudes Rock!
Trevor
OFC™ Founding Member

Dell 3050 SFF; i3; 8 gig RAM; Mixcraft 8, 9 and 10.5 Pro Studio; Win 11 Pro

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@trevsaudio
Sample Projects: https://soundcloud.com/trevs_audio
unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

TrevsAudio wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2024 2:07 pm This may be off-beat, but I once had crackling with my Focusrite 2i2. As it was old (2nd Gen), I bought a new Focusrite Solo only to later discover that the problem was with the usb cable. I replaced that and it solved the problem.

So now I have a spare interface. :(
Hey TrevsAudio,

Thanks for the suggestion but that can't be it. All other music listening is ok and it only clearly happens when I change the play point while in Mixcraft. It's definitely a software issue.

Thanks
unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

TrevsAudio wrote: Wed Oct 30, 2024 2:07 pm This may be off-beat, but I once had crackling with my Focusrite 2i2. As it was old (2nd Gen), I bought a new Focusrite Solo only to later discover that the problem was with the usb cable. I replaced that and it solved the problem.

So now I have a spare interface. :(
I ended up trying a few other cables and still no luck. I also bypassed my Focusrite completely using the internal audio in my desktop and same issue. This points to it being a software issue. Windows, Mixcraft, plugins? Who knows, but it's so frustrating...
RStudio
Posts: 185
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2023 1:35 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by RStudio »

Are you sure your CPU is not currently loaded? The moment your project gets an audio mess, do you monitor your current CPU performance in task manager?

If you switch to a different audio device in mx, does the problem persist as well?

How many tracks are in your project? And what plugins are you using?
unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

RStudio wrote: Thu Oct 31, 2024 7:28 am Are you sure your CPU is not currently loaded? The moment your project gets an audio mess, do you monitor your current CPU performance in task manager?

If you switch to a different audio device in mx, does the problem persist as well?

How many tracks are in your project? And what plugins are you using?
Hey Rstudio, thanks for the questions. So...I'm cautiously optimistic that I'm onto something here. It seems, that UA Connect (Universal Audio's awful software) might be the culprit. Every time I open a UA plugin, there's like 4 new instances of UA Connect showing up in Task Manager / Processes. When I shut them down (and shut down UA from the taskbar), things in Mixcraft clear up...at least for now - I hope. I think I will be uninstalling UA Connect completely and will just use iLok to login to my UA plugins. It is very annoying software anyway since it constantly pops up with the "User Account Control" pop-up, sometimes in the middle of a session in my DAW or while working in another application.

I'll post back later to confirm if everything is cleared up. Maybe this will help someone else with UA...

Thanks all
unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

So unfortunately, my hope has all but ended in a static mess. I guess it wasn't UA after all. I can get a few minutes at a time of clean play and then eventually as soon as I go to a new position in playback, it goes to static. Other things cause it too. Just now, I soloed a track and as soon as I un-soloed it, it all went bad. If I re-open the file, I can get a few minutes with it until it all goes bad again. I would love to hear from Acoustica. Greg are you there? I sent a log file yesterday and I haven' t heard back from anybody. I might post a link to a video of this so y'all can see what's happening. It truly is odd.

I have an I9-14900 desktop with 128gb of ram, 1tb SSD and a GeForce RTX 4060 Ti video card. More than enough horse power. The CPU doesn't spike when the static happens. I have tried my internal audio as mentioned in the last post, and same issue. I have 21 tracks (many of them light in content) and I'm using various plugins but mostly from Universal Audio, Waves, Kontakt. I have Seven Heaven running as well from Liquid Sonic. I've tried removing all plugins at one point and same issue occurred.

Again, I had no problems since getting this desktop and my previous project had more tracks and plugins. This tune I'm working on is less complicated as far as tracks and plugins go.
RStudio
Posts: 185
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2023 1:35 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by RStudio »

unclemeat wrote: Thu Oct 31, 2024 12:35 pm So unfortunately, my hope has all but ended in a static mess. I guess it wasn't UA after all. I can get a few minutes at a time of clean play and then eventually as soon as I go to a new position in playback, it goes to static. Other things cause it too. Just now, I soloed a track and as soon as I un-soloed it, it all went bad. If I re-open the file, I can get a few minutes with it until it all goes bad again. I would love to hear from Acoustica. Greg are you there? I sent a log file yesterday and I haven' t heard back from anybody. I might post a link to a video of this so y'all can see what's happening. It truly is odd.

I have an I9-14900 desktop with 128gb of ram, 1tb SSD and a GeForce RTX 4060 Ti video card. More than enough horse power. The CPU doesn't spike when the static happens. I have tried my internal audio as mentioned in the last post, and same issue. I have 21 tracks (many of them light in content) and I'm using various plugins but mostly from Universal Audio, Waves, Kontakt. I have Seven Heaven running as well from Liquid Sonic. I've tried removing all plugins at one point and same issue occurred.

Again, I had no problems since getting this desktop and my previous project had more tracks and plugins. This tune I'm working on is less complicated as far as tracks and plugins go.
So, maybe it is the new computer, or rather its individual components, that can cause such problems? Especially since you yourself say that you had no such problems before buying this computer.

Pretty powerful characteristics for mixcraft. It seems to me that such a machine can only be used to fly into space :)
unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

No, I've had no problems with this new computer which I got about 5 months ago. I've worked on 3-4 Mixcraft projects already on it and I've only experienced this issue as of a few days ago.
unclemeat
Posts: 121
Joined: Thu Sep 14, 2023 11:17 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by unclemeat »

Another update. I loaded the file on my other machine that has all the same software. SAME problem! Doesn't this point to a corrupted Mixcraft file?
RStudio
Posts: 185
Joined: Sat Jun 10, 2023 1:35 am

Re: Crackling again suddenly

Post by RStudio »

If a file is corrupted, you will not be able to open and run it. This applies to any program or file. Or by corrupted, do you mean a problem with the sound?

When you render your song do you still have the same problem with the sound? Clicks, noises, etc.? Does it affect the overall quality of the file itself?

Do you have any other equipment (other than an external audio card) connected to mixcraft? Does it cause the same problems?

In fact, it would be nice if you recorded a video showing this problem.
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