Drum track randomly hiccups - Native Instruments Battery 2.

[jj2man]

Hey all. I'm running into a problem I was hoping you all could shed some light on.

I've been using cubase SX version 3 for a few weeks now and I love it. The only problem is: When I compose a MIDI percussion track and play it using the Battery 2 plugin, The drums randomly hiccup every 10 measures or so. This only happens with beats that are very close together, as in a heavy drum part, and it occurs at unpredictable times. By hiccup I mean that instead of playing a cymbal once, it will play it twice at a very short interval apart, and make the beat sound very ugly indeed.

I have already tried the common solution of checking “Use System Timestamp” in the Device Setup dialogue. This didn't work.

Could anyone please shed some light on this issue? I'm trying to record a song I LOVE and it's gotten quite frustrating.

Thank you so much!

-Jeff from New York

[brandondrury]

Are the hiccups showing up on your mixdowns or just during playback?

If it's on playback only, I wouldn't worry too much about it but it's a sign that you are pushing your computer.

Brandon

[jj2man]

Thank you for the response. The hiccups are happening during playback, however this is a big issue for me, as it throws me off completely while I record piano/vocal track ontop of the MIDI percussion track.

I have a feeling the issue is not over-exerting my computer, but something else. I am running a perfectly capable machine (XP Pro, Dell Dimension Pentium IV 3Ghz, 2GB RAM, SB Audigy 2 Soundcard) and all no other applications are open during playback.

Any additional thoughts on this? I greatly appreciate it!!

[jj2man]

Hey, just checked and the hiccups are happening even in the Mixdown as well.

[brandondrury]

The hiccups are happening during playback

This means your computer has hiccups when a) it's expected to perform real time AND b) it has to play audio back.

The two possible problems are the audio interface drivers or the actual CPU of the computer being maxed out.

Brandon

[brandondrury]

Regarding my hiccuping issue w/ cubase: Will a new soundcard help the situation? I've been searching your soundcard wizard and have found a number of ones that I like, including the Digidesign Mbox 2 Mini. Is adding this soundcard likely to solve my problem? Also, I am a singer songwriter who mostly records guitar/keyboards and vocal harmonies. Do you think this would be the best investment for me in my recording endeavors? (I found one for only 200 dollars online!)

The soundcard could be a factor especially if you have the latency buffer turned down to levels lower than it was designed to work at.

There are a few of the Soundblaster cards that actually work, but they are rare.

A real deal audio interface sure wouldn't hurt. (Make sure you check for chipset problems first).

After that, the most important factor is the computer itself.
Is the operating system clean? Recording Computer Troubleshooting: Is Your Windows Operating System Clean?
Is it old? Are you pushing it hard?

Brandon

[jj2man]

Thanks for the input! My computer is about 4.5 years old. And allthough it runs great (I sometimes have so many programs running simultaneously it's insane - 50 tabs in firefox, etc,etc), It might be the case that it's not fast enough for the type of recording I'd like to do.

However, I make midi files on other programs all time time (sometimes WAY more complex, with dozens of simultaneous instruments playing) that work fine. This is only a single drum track. I still don't understand why it's hiccuping.

I pray the issue is only my sound card and not my CPU. I have a Soundblaster Audigy 2. How do I adjust the latency buffer levels, as you mentioned?


Thanks again!!

[brandondrury]

And allthough it runs great (I sometimes have so many programs running simultaneously it's insane - 50 tabs in firefox, etc,etc), It might be the case that it's not fast enough for the type of recording I'd like to do.

Hmmm. Why would a person have 50 tabs open in Firefox? Sinner! (Takes one to know one).

Now with that said, my internet computer can do that too. 50 tabs in Firefox is a complete joke compared to triggering drum samples and processing synths. Your recording software will chew up processing power dramatically faster than any email, graphics, and just about any other program.

Brandon

[jj2man]

Hey Brandon. So I've tried using another drum kit (LM7) since we last tackled this problem and my MIDI track played back fine with the same fast beats. No more hiccuping. I've come to the conclusion that Battery 2 simply doesn't agree with my system. Shame, since it had such great patches!

Can anyone help me find a percussion program similar to Battery? I like authentic drum kit sounds. LM7 is a bit too synthetic sounding for my taste.

Cheers!

[brandondrury]

I've come to the conclusion that Battery 2 simply doesn't agree with my system. Shame, since it had such great patches!

That's certainly one route. I guess we could call it "the easy way".

Before I call you a quitter, do a test for me.

Create a MIDI track and place a single note on the top (using the drum editor instead of the piano roll editor). Route that MIDI track to Battery 2 making sure you've got some patch loaded up. Then drag that single note from all the way to the top to all the way to the bottom. Do you not hear anything?

Can anyone help me find a percussion program similar to Battery?

I love Superior Drummer 2.0. BFD2 is excellent. Realistic Drum Samples