Dec 06, 2007 10:07 pm It sounds like a buffer issue. I would try and bump it up to either 256 or 512 and see if that solves it. That or see if there is a more current driver or firmware update for the unit on the Tascam site.
Tacscam US144 tirade
Posted on Dec 06, 2007 08:49 pm
Keith Warren
Mans reach exceeds his grasp
Member Since: Oct 23, 2007
So I just got it in today, and it works pretty well- for thirty second increments. I cant tell if I'm having buffer issues or what, but about every 30 seconds the signal dies out for about 2 second, then picks up again from a second before it dropped out (if that makes any sense at all)and after it does it once, it keeps doing it randomly. Any ideas?
PS, heres a tidbit of idiocy: there's a 4$ paypal only charge to become a member of the Tascam Forum. farkin buship
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Dec 06, 2007 10:07 pm It sounds like a buffer issue. I would try and bump it up to either 256 or 512 and see if that solves it. That or see if there is a more current driver or firmware update for the unit on the Tascam site.
Dec 06, 2007 10:27 pm Drivers and firmware was the first thing I did, righ tout of the box. I've tried the buffer from 256 through 2048 and its still swiss cheesin. I've tried deleting sonars aud.ini file and force creating it on start, still nothing.
I've tried ASIO and WDM drivers alike, tweaking and adjusting, and still to no avail. I think this thing might be whack.
Dec 06, 2007 10:46 pm Keith, I'm off to bed now but I remember seeing something on either the 144 or the 122 that was similar. I'll try and find it tomorrow and post what I can.
It might be in the faq section on the Tascam sight that I had seen it, not sure though.
Dec 07, 2007 12:53 am Here's the skinny: After 4 hours of playing with settings, I've found that theres and extremely delicate balance between buffer sizes (i.e. I/O, ASIO, etc), I've moved my global audio folder in sonar from C/: to my external 'cuda 7200 because the internal drive is a 5400 RPM(is this a bad idea??)
Finally what I came up with was a dropout here or there, basically back to the way it was behaving before, which is not too bad for a slower machine like mine, I think anyway.
So for 200$ I got 2 nice mics, a 24 bit upgrade, and phantom power, but I don't feel like I got an interface. (It's a complex emotion, don't ask)
Only thing left now is latency, which is proving to be alot more tricky than the Sigmatel was. Weird how better is worse in this instance , lol.
Dec 07, 2007 12:57 am What rrp is your hard drive?
Dec 07, 2007 01:04 am sorry didnt read last post.
I kinda have problems similar to yours and my hard drive speed is the same.
seriosly thinkin bout gettin a Mac.
They are made for this kinda app.
Mine doesnt sound like its as bad as yours though, are your channels on your software program fairly loaded up? Mine tends to get worse with lots of tracks running at once so i stagger sections of the song onto diiferent tracks so they arent all going at once. seems to be cool....so far.
Dec 07, 2007 01:08 am I've got it all worked out now- my I/O buffer is set to 256, my ASIO4ALL buffer is at 512, my reported ASIO latency is 1056, so I set the offset to 1056 as well and it stopped jammin up.
And macs are no better than pc- just different. Apples and oranges my friend.
Dec 07, 2007 04:50 pm Kool, glad it is getting sorted out Keith. It was bumming me out on the 144 thing. But ya, partial blame may indeed lie in the laptop as well I guess. I forgot about that. Time will help it all come together though.
And ya, Oranges and Apples, nice Keith, very nice!
Dec 07, 2007 04:55 pm I think it is the laptop- latency is at about 21ms, and not budging a bit- sounds like I'm singing in a cathedral. If I touch the buffers, it chokes, if I adjust ASIO latency offset, it doesn't do a thing at all. I've been looking around all day for a solution, but cant come up with anything.
Dec 07, 2007 08:32 pm Ya, 13 or 14 is about the max for most of us as acceptable latency.
After doing some digging it sounds like the 144 is more then capable of getting down under 10 without much trouble.
Dec 07, 2007 09:39 pm I've searched far and wide and can't find anything worth trying that I havn't already done. I'm seriously considering reinstalling XP and only reinstalling my recording stuff, do you think this would help, or should I not even bother? I know the 144 is capable, I just don't know why it isnt working well with my configuration.
Dec 07, 2007 10:12 pm I guess it might be worth a look to see how much other stuff is running the background and hogging up resources. That is the main cause of an issue like that. simply that there isn't enough of the system resource to go around for everything.
You might want to start with that before doing a complete re install. But as well I know that is what I went through a little while ago with the boyz game box. They simply had way to much crap installed that I could not find a way to shut off. So we just formatted and re installed XP and it was all good.
Dec 07, 2007 10:26 pm There's nothing taking up any resources far as I can tell. PF sits at 308MB with firefox open, CPU usage is always at 0/1 until I hit play- then the CPU jumps to about 70% and hovers between 70 and 90%. I don't think this is normal personally, perhaps it is though. Just for giggles, here's a list of whats running when I use Sonar (with the exception of firefox):
taskmgr.exe
svchost.exe
firefox.exe
svchost.exe
NicConfigSvc.exe
MDM.exe
Crypserv.exe
avgamsvr.exe
alg.exe
spoolsv.exe
explorer.exe
BCMWLTRY.EXE
WLTRYSVC.EXE
ctfmon.exe
wmiprvse.exe
QTTask.exe
svchost.exe
svchost.exe
tfswctrl.exe
svchost.exe
svchost.exe
jusched.exe
point32.exe
lsass.exe
services.exe
winlogon.exe
csrss.exe
smss.exe
svchost.exe
System
System Idle Process
See anything suspect?
Dec 08, 2007 12:54 pm I don't see anything really out of the ordinary in there. Although there appears to be 6 instances of svchost.exe running at once. And each of those is host to several other services that are running as well. There is a command to view these but it leaves my mind at the moment.
How much memory are all the running services consuming? I think you already increased your page file size to 2 1/2 time the amount of memory didn't you?
Dec 08, 2007 08:22 pm Physical memory is sitting at 813900 from a total of 1302000. I downloaded the Sonar 7 update last night out of sheer anger. Tomorrow I'm going to a computer show and I'm hoping to pick up a good desktop I can use for ONLY recording. I figure an AMD 6400, XP Pro, 2 GB Ram and a decent PCI/ PCI-E audio card would eliminate my problems. I've got an excellent credit line, I just choose only use it for emergencies or extreme wants such as this.
I think I'm going to return the 144 and get a PCI card, any suggestions for an affordable 100-300$ audio card? I'm done doing extreme low budget shopping, it's time to open the gate a bit.
Also, any recommendations on what to look for in a PC for my recording needs?
Dec 08, 2007 08:37 pm Quote:
any recommendations on what to look for in a PC for my recording needs?
Quote:
I figure an AMD 6400, XP Pro, 2 GB Ram and a decent PCI/ PCI-E audio card would eliminate my problems. I've got an excellent credit line, I just choose only use it for emergencies or extreme wants such as this.
Keith, it looks like you answered your own question.
Dec 08, 2007 08:44 pm yeah, but I'm looking for specific recommendations, particularly for the sound card. I'm confused on the CPU parts, as I know just enough to be dangerous, but for on board pci audio, I'm a n00b. I need serious help before tomorrow, lol!!
Dec 08, 2007 08:50 pm If you only need a two channel input - which I think you do - I recommend the M-Audio 2496.
www.zzounds.com...item--MDOAP2496
Dec 08, 2007 09:06 pm Like I said, I'm a n00b, what do I need to plug two XLR inputs from a phantom power/mic pre into a card like that? And are there any audio pre's that have XLR and TRS inputs so I can mix my piezo and mic inputs? Or would this be relative to the PCI soundcard?
Dec 08, 2007 09:18 pm First, you need a small mixer that will accept XLR mics. There are plenty of them out there, and they are very basic.
Here's the mixer I use. Small, but effective:
www.zzounds.com...em--BEHXENTX802
If you need more channels in the future, they're easily attainable.
Install the sound card into your computer, following the manufacturer's instructions. Then you simply plug the preamp into your computer's sound card inputs. Plug the mics into your mixer and you're there! Condenser mics require phantom power. There's a button on the dashboard for that.
Dec 08, 2007 09:20 pm Ya, that particular AMD chip is the one I am looking at as well. And honestly it is probably going to be good to go for awhile as it is a well benchmarked chip.
As for the PCI audio card. For what you want to do I honestly think the Line 6 Toneport UX-2 would be the killer piece for you. www.homerecordingconnecti...roduct=LINTPUX2
My only gripe is it does not have midi, but you wont find midi on most of the cards that will do what you want. The only other choice is something like the 2496 and a small mixer for the phantom power and XLR inputs.
We did a review of the UX-1 and UX-2 here and I love mine. I use it frequently not only for the guitar and bass modeler's but for the killer mic pre amp model's it has as well. And yes, it has phantom power and can record one XLR channel and one 1/4" channel at the same time.
I'll look around a bit and see if there is a PCI based card that will do what you are looking to do as well.
Dec 08, 2007 09:31 pm I recommend the UX-2 constantly, based on the reviews I've seen on here. If I cant get my tascam to work right with the new desktop comp tomorrow, I'm going to return it and either buy an internal PCI audio card, or the UX-2. I want the PCI with midi in case I buy a midi controller later on, I don't have to buy a new interface/ pci card. I'm not only focused on performance now, but also on what I can get out of it in the future.
With the 144, I've had nothing but problems, and after well over 30 hours of troubleshooting, I'm ready to move on to a set up I can rely on not only now, but for at least a couple years to come. Like I said, I'm done with tight budget. But I'm still money conscious. I know what I need, and a few of you do too, now I just need to know whats within my grasp at the moment.
Dec 08, 2007 09:36 pm If you want to add midi later there are several very low dollar units that work great. Like the M-audio Uno which is a 1 x 1 midi i/o unit that works a charm.
Dec 08, 2007 09:47 pm Yeah, I know, but if I do add MIDI later, I'm going to get a Kurzweil 88 weighted. I cant play unless it's weighted, I blame it on how I learned. (in a funeral home on the fly)
I couldnt care less about midi at the moment to be honest, I just want to at least try to be pro-active about this. I'd rather spend money well now than spend more money later, know what I mean?
Dec 09, 2007 06:45 am Quote:
yeah, but I'm looking for specific recommendations, particularly for the sound card
I wish I could tell you specifics about a MB, but I wouldn't feel bad about the CPU. I'm running an AMD64 3500, on a biostar board, and it's been great.
I have 2 HD, one being split, so 3 partitions. Shoot for at least 2 HD, one for system, one for audio (and possibly one for storage, like I'm doing).
I've been running Corsair XMS memory, without problem.
Noize, dB, Kaos, and I are all running an ESI card with great results. Noize, Kaos, and I have an ESP1010, which is 8 analog input, plus midi(x2) and spdif i/o. It's been very nice. Plus it has ewire, which lets you connect internally from one sound system to another (wdm -> asio).
If you're tracking only 2 signals at a time, the Juli@ from ESI is what dB's been running, and I think Noize has one too. Lower latency than the AP2496.
I got the ESP1010 from a place in FLA for 299.
I'd look for graphix card with 2 outputs, so you can run dual monitors. That's a must-have for me now. 1 monitor would give me the fits =).
Also, you may want to shop newegg or tigerdirect. Combo deals are often offered through them, plus you can return something easily if it putzes out. I'm always leery of computer show sales, in case I have to return something, I'd have to chase them down to return it.
(course, that last part is just my .02$us)
Dec 09, 2007 07:00 am oh yeah, looking through your list, I would remove from memory the following items:
QTTask.exe
NicConfigSvc.exe
MDM.exe
Crypserv.exe
avgamsvr.exe
alg.exe
BCMWLTRY.EXE
WLTRYSVC.EXE
tfswctrl.exe
ctfmon.exe
wmiprvse.exe
none of these are required for you to play audio, and some will be taking cycles from your CPU for nothing. I would disable your wireless, if possible, as well. A few of these may pop back in on their own, no big deal if they do.
Some of these listed above are needed for other things, and when you restart your PC, they'll all be back again.
When I record with my laptop, I disable wireless, then kill around 10 - 15 processes from my list. Makes me feel a lot safer when recording.
Sorry to hear about the 144. I've had a US122 (older style) for a couple years, and it's been great. I just used it with my laptop last thursday to record our choir. I think I'm one of the lucky ones though.
Hope your new direction bears better fruit.
Dec 10, 2007 05:12 am Here's what I've got coming:
AMD 64 X2 4000+ 2.6GHZ EDIT: its a single core Orleans chip, not an X2
Biostar TForce TF570 SLI mobo
ATI FireGL V3300 graphics
2 5.25" SATA 160GB 7200RPM
2048MB Patriot PC5400 DDR2 667MHz
ThermalTake Tsunami case
2 Acer 19" TFT LCDs
XP Pro
I figure this thing should smoke and I'll give the 144 a second chance with the new set up; if it doesn't work out I'll ship it back and get a Toneport.
Dec 10, 2007 06:15 am Good deal, new gear is GREAT!
You'll love those 2x19".
Dec 10, 2007 06:25 pm The face says it all! I can't wait to be up and running again! :D
Dec 10, 2007 09:51 pm Still the chip will be fast enough with 2 gigs of ram. And the SLi mobo will be nice as it has a better northbridge set up. Nice on the dual 19's as well. I love my 19 wide screens.
You'll be in hog heaven.
Dec 12, 2007 10:33 am So I got everything today but the RAM... wth is that?? lol. And one of the monitors has a few dead pixels, so Im goin solo after all. Whatcha gonna do.
Dec 13, 2007 10:16 pm You can exchange the monitor can't you?
Dec 14, 2007 06:52 am Yeah, that's what I'm doing. It's just going to take another 2 weeks or so. I'm thrilled just having one to be honest.
Dec 15, 2007 05:50 pm Oh, it sounded like you were just going to run one. (solo) I'm trying to talk the wife into letting me buy the boyz a pair as well. Some of their games will take advantage of a dual set up with an ultra-wide view.
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