Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: jstcrsn Jul 12 2016, 03:12 AM

ever since my computer forced me to upgrade to windows ten , I have notice problems with unwanted noise (Using Bias fx ). It seems the more channels I have bias on , the louder the problem (very difficult when multi tracking ). My interface is usb and as i increase buffer size it dissapears , only problem is now with latency issues I can not record.
My question is , is this a usb thing and will switching to a thunderbolt system take care of this ?

Posted by: Rammikin Jul 12 2016, 04:57 AM

That's unlikely. When you monitor your input level, is reasonably strong? It should be somewhere around -5dB. The fact that it changes with buffer size makes it sounds like a problem in Bias. Is it a hiss or a buzz? You might try another amp simulator plugin as an experiment to see if the problem is specific to Bias.

Posted by: Mertay Jul 12 2016, 09:14 AM

drivers can also cause noise too even the graphics card.

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 15 2016, 01:33 AM

It sounds like your machine may be underpowered if you are getting latency when you raise the buffer size. Each time you add BIAS to a track, it taxes the CPU quite a bit. There is a noise gate built in to bias which can help a bit. But honestly, the easiest way I've found to avoid these problems is to simply get a Mac I'm not saying buy a crazy expensive new one. I recently bought a very used 2012 mac laptop for around $500. It has a quad core i7 processor and upgraded to 16 GB of ram ) ram is cheap) and upgraded to a 1tb SSD hard drive (Those are cheap now too). It's fast as Hell and I can take the buffer down to 32 samples with no problem using bias on 12 tracks. I"m using a USB 2.0 interfaces (not even usb 3) from iconnectivity that's also pretty cheap.

The mac laptops from 2012 have a thunderbolt port that can connect to multi port hubs that contain USB 3.0. I bought one and have attached a cheap USB 3 drive and the drive if triple as fast as my previous fastest external drive that cost 4 times as much ( a firewire 800 G Tech Raid) But start slow. Just a mid or late 2012 macbook pro with a quad i7.

It's the centerpiece of my entire home studio and I record video via firewire while recording 4 tracks of live audio at 32 samples and it doesn't complain. Smooth as silk For about the same price as a mid level windows laptop. With something called BOOTCAMP (comes with your mac) you can even install WINDOWS on your mac and boot to windows just like you do now if you like.

You can get one on ebay. I did



.

QUOTE (jstcrsn @ Jul 11 2016, 10:12 PM)

Posted by: jstcrsn Jul 15 2016, 08:04 PM

QUOTE (Todd Simpson @ Jul 15 2016, 01:33 AM)

It sounds like your machine may be underpowered if you are getting latency when you raise the buffer size. Each time you add BIAS to a track, it taxes the CPU quite a bit. There is a noise gate built in to bias which can help a bit. But honestly, the easiest way I've found to avoid these problems is to simply get a Mac I'm not saying buy a crazy expensive new one. I recently bought a very used 2012 mac laptop for around $500. It has a quad core i7 processor and upgraded to 16 GB of ram ) ram is cheap) and upgraded to a 1tb SSD hard drive (Those are cheap now too). It's fast as Hell and I can take the buffer down to 32 samples with no problem using bias on 12 tracks. I"m using a USB 2.0 interfaces (not even usb 3) from iconnectivity that's also pretty cheap.

The mac laptops from 2012 have a thunderbolt port that can connect to multi port hubs that contain USB 3.0. I bought one and have attached a cheap USB 3 drive and the drive if triple as fast as my previous fastest external drive that cost 4 times as much ( a firewire 800 G Tech Raid) But start slow. Just a mid or late 2012 macbook pro with a quad i7.

It's the centerpiece of my entire home studio and I record video via firewire while recording 4 tracks of live audio at 32 samples and it doesn't complain. Smooth as silk For about the same price as a mid level windows laptop. With something called BOOTCAMP (comes with your mac) you can even install WINDOWS on your mac and boot to windows just like you do now if you like.




.

QUOTE (Rammikin @ Jul 12 2016, 04:57 AM)

Posted by: Rammikin Jul 16 2016, 12:39 AM

When you experience the noise, does the cpu meter in Reaper show excessive cpu usage?

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 19 2016, 05:18 PM

You should be able to transfer EVERYTHING to your mac. Reaper is cross platform so just download the mac version and it should open your project files just fine. Make sure all the files/subfolders are present. That's the most common mistake folks make. They think the project file contains everything. IT DOES NOT. It's just a pointer file. The rest of the files are in the various folders under the main folder.

The good news is that you can get LOGIC X (the only reason to buy a mac IMHO, I don't like the new Final Cut but that's just me)
Logic X is $200 and used to costs over $1000. You download it from Apple and it has wads of sounds/loops/vsts built in.

Best of all, when you save a logic file, you can save as a PACKAGE. This makes ONE FILE that has EVERYTHING in it, including all of your recordings, presets, which plugins were used, etc. And it's just one single file. Very handy

Todd

QUOTE (jstcrsn @ Jul 15 2016, 03:04 PM)

Posted by: Todd Simpson Jul 19 2016, 10:54 PM

Just to repeat, the mid/late 2012 Macbook pro with core i7 processor is a steal on the used market and not much slower than the macbook pros they sell right now. Best of all you can grab one for 500-700 bux depending on condition. Mine has a dent near the trackpad which is cosmetic. As I plug it in to a 42inch LED TV for a monitor, I really didn't care about the blemish.

Of course I went and upgraded the hard drive to SSD and added 16GB of ram, but those are things you can always do later. It's been a great music computer. It can handle just about anything I throw at it. All four processor chips are "multi threaded" so you get 8 processor monitors to watch when rendering/exporting. IF they all hit the roof, then things go pretty darn quick. As a bonus, you can take it out of your studio and go remote with just using headphones for mixing and a usb to quarter inch cable for recording guitar through live plugins like bias.

Todd