WTF?!? my FF 800 is a JITTERY BUGGER!

[frontierfran]

not sure why, but i bought a FF 800 used from a reputable guy. Im using it with DP 4.6, and everything i record has this bad jitter all over the place. skipping sounds, minor dropouts...i cant record like this!!

my settings in DP 24/48. lower buffer during recording, higher during mixing. buffer multiplier setting..not sure what to do with that one.

I posted another time thinking i was just clipping the converter coming out of my Vintech, but that isnt the case, since ive since learned how to use the damn thing (thanks to you guys...

anyone know of something i could be missing?

[Schmacko]

You're probably getting buffer underruns - i.e., you're computer cannot keep up with processing the audio at the low buffer setting you've decided on. Try a higher buffer setting, and turn off delay compensation if you haven't already. Unfortunately, I've found that Core Audio will record the audio dropouts during buffer underruns. What Mac are you using?

If this isn't the case, something's definitely up with your Fireface.

[frontierfran]

im using an older dual 1.8 G5, 2 GB RAM. hopefully your right, but i slammed the G5 using my old MOTU 24 i/o, running like 40+ tracks with crazy plugs running at the time...then again, the PCI 424 card took on a lot of the work as well.

what would you recommend as a good tracking buffer setting?

[Slaytex]

If you use direct monitoring from the FF800, then just leave the buffer at 1024. that's what I do as i'm not monitoring from my DAW. I use Nuendo 3.0 so everything is perfectly copensated for. Works great.
Good luck.

[mds]

Does it happen with just one track? thats plenty of computer to record a ton of tracks with plugs, etc.

[RainbowStorm]

Originally Posted by frontierfran

not sure why, but i bought a FF 800 used from a reputable guy. Im using it with DP 4.6, and everything i record has this bad jitter all over the place. skipping sounds, minor dropouts...i cant record like this!!

my settings in DP 24/48. lower buffer during recording, higher during mixing. buffer multiplier setting..not sure what to do with that one.

I posted another time thinking i was just clipping the converter coming out of my Vintech, but that isnt the case, since ive since learned how to use the damn thing (thanks to you guys...

anyone know of something i could be missing?

If the computer's performance is enough and the buffer size is enough as well then try turning off the unit as well as the fireface.exe controller software and then switch it back on. I have had this problem a few times when I've shut down Cubase and listened to my mix. It is driver errors causing this clipping distortion. If that doesn't help, change DAW software.

[frontierfran]

Originally Posted by Slaytex

If you use direct monitoring from the FF800, then just leave the buffer at 1024. that's what I do as i'm not monitoring from my DAW. I use Nuendo 3.0 so everything is perfectly copensated for. Works great.
Good luck.

by direct monitoring, do you mean using the 9/10 monitor out on the front panel. right now I am using analog 1 and 2 going into a soundcraft mixer for monitoring...but i would imagine that isnt direct monitoring.

excuse my noobishness on this...im used to the 24 i/o...

thanks again, all

[barryjohns]

Originally Posted by Slaytex

If you use direct monitoring from the FF800, then just leave the buffer at 1024. that's what I do as i'm not monitoring from my DAW. I use Nuendo 3.0 so everything is perfectly copensated for. Works great.
Good luck.

Ditto, I leave my buffer high and monitor through Totalmix. Works like a champ.

[jdier]

Have you contacted RME? They have a guy there named Daniel (i think) and he is pretty quick about getting back to people.

[jdier]

Originally Posted by jdier

Have you contacted RME? They have a guy there named Daniel (i think) and he is pretty quick about getting back to people.

Sorry. It is George.

george@synthax.com


He's a solid dude.

[Reptil]

It's been up before, but do you have anything else on the firewire bus? Did you check the settings in bandwidth in the settings panel?

[frontierfran]

Originally Posted by Reptil

It's been up before, but do you have anything else on the firewire bus? Did you check the settings in bandwidth in the settings panel?

the FF is on its own FW bus, and i have 2 Lacie's chained on the other port.

i guess Ill try it on a higher buffer, but then wont i have to deal with latency? ahh, yes! Direct monitoring should resolve that, right? can someone just run that concept by this noob once more?

you guys rule...

[Reptil]

Originally Posted by frontierfran

the FF is on its own FW bus, and i have 2 Lacie's chained on the other port.

AHA! What appleflapple doesn't tell you on their front page, read the small print, is that only one controller is handling both firewire busses. I ran into that wall when trying the fireface on the 800 bus and my lacie on the 400 bus of my G4. (which has an equal firewire part as the G5) They share the bandwith!
Try disconnecting (after powering down everything! I have no faith in firewire hotplugging) the Lacies en see if the problem is still there.
The setting above restricts the fireface's bandwith, in your case start with 8 ch analog.
IMO the Lacie takes chuncks out of the firewire bandwith as big as it's appetite at a given moment, and there is no way to limit that, that I know of, so it won't help much IME to limit the RME ánd keep the Lacie.
Just see it as a riverbed, just after two streams came together. One is constant but needs uninterrupted flow, the other sometimes nothing sometimes so much water that the whole river is overflooded. Which you can hear.
The problem is not in the fireface, if this is the solution.
If it doesn't help, try lowering the buffer size. Are you running 44.1 or 96?

Originally Posted by frontierfran

i guess Ill try it on a higher buffer, but then wont i have to deal with latency? ahh, yes! Direct monitoring should resolve that, right? can someone just run that concept by this noob once more?
......

Direct monitoring means that, before the audio is routed to the computer, it is internally wired to an output. And so doesn't suffer from latency because of computer processing.

RTFM! read the manual. It's quite extensive.