Playback cuts out and never returns?

[King83]

Hey all,

I'm fairly new to using recording software but I've managed to make a few songs now using Cubase, my Lexicon Lambda external sound card, and Guitar/Bass straight through a Pod 2.0. I don't have a lot of experience but I was in a band and went to a few professional recording studios and have friends that dabbled as well.

So to the problem...
My new song I'm working on I have quite a few tracks with VST Dynamics settings on them, and a limiter set on the main channel.

My Problem
When I'm trying to mix on the fly the audio will just suddenly die in the app. Everything will be sounding fine and then it just... stops. The playback line is still going but I get no audio. I can stop, and continue to interact with Cubase but with no audio. At this point if I try to exit Cubase it will always crash by means of "stops responding" and a forced end now. Starting the app up again and loading the project will yield the same result usually within the first minute of the song.

I have 4 guitar channels - 2 using modified VST Dynamics "Guitar Compression", and 2 using "Rhodes Attack". I then have 2 EZ Drummer tracks.
(Why 2? I pulled the bass kick out of one and put it in its own instrument track so I can isolate and put compression on it since LE 4 does not support multi channel out for EZDrummer - I play metal btw, need that ballsy kick)

No bass track yet

I thought my problem might have been related to clipping but I pulled all the channel volumes down before playback and it still happened. Possibly the Limiter on the master channel? My other speculation is something to do with the larger amount of VST Dynamics I'm using in the project, but it seems small compared to the supported 48 tracks available. Also possibly a Midi collision between the 2 EZ drummer tracks but I have removed the bass drum kick from track 1, and it only exists in track 2 now so they aren't sharing the same midi note at the same time. Same problem...

Specs
Cubase 4 LE (Came with my Lexicon Lambda soundcard device)
EZDrummer Plugin

Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.6ghz or 2.8ghz (at work not positive, but it's a fast one)
4 GB of Ram
32-bit Windows XP Professional SP3 (yes I know I can't see all the memory because it's 32-bit)
Lambda Lexicon ( Lexicon Lambda USB Desktop Studio and more Audio Interfaces & Convertors at GuitarCenter.com. )
500GB 7200 SATA HD

Other specs are pretty high as well but not relevant I don't think - this is mainly a gaming PC so it has a 9800 etc but you guys don't care about that


I've read on other forum posts about the buffer on the sound card, it's possible that might be my problem but I have no clue how to tap into that given the external nature of this card - it seems to have an estranged method of tweaking it.

Thanks for any help guys, I appreciate it!

[jagcmos]

Here's a link on how to adjust the Lambda's latency:
knowledgebase | Lexicon Pro

Make sure that you have the latest Lamba drivers downloaded and installed as well as any patches for Cubase.

Just because it is crashing makes me think it has to with either a vst, vsti or driver problem and not related to buffer size.

I would try removing a single plugin at a time and see if you can eliminate the crash.

Good luck.

[richiebee]

I think the driver is probably crashing. Because its no longer available in Cubase, it then makes Cubase crash. What's causing the driver to crash? Probably buffer settings. You're using a good trusted OS, so I can't imagine that being anythign to do with it. I'd say either buffer settings, or a faulty unit or USB connection.

What do the performance meters read when you have this problem? Do they spike to 100%?

[King83]

I'll have to get back to you on the meters later this evening, but the drivers crashing sounds interesting. I do have it set to a bit low on the latency and it's never given me problems before. Also, after the "crash" the rest of the sound works fine in the OS and any other app I load.

I'll try messing with the latency thing and see what happens. Thanks for the tip!

Any other ideas?

[King83]

Originally Posted by jagcmos

Here's a link on how to adjust the Lambda's latency:
knowledgebase | Lexicon Pro

Make sure that you have the latest Lamba drivers downloaded and installed as well as any patches for Cubase.

Just because it is crashing makes me think it has to with either a vst, vsti or driver problem and not related to buffer size.

I would try removing a single plugin at a time and see if you can eliminate the crash.

Good luck.

The crash happens only after I try to leave Cubase, it doesn't actually stop Cubase dead with an error dialogue, the sound just stops processing. Wondering if I was clear enough in the original post that this is the behavior it's portraying.

[King83]

Just an update my VST performance never even hits 10% ASIO, and the disk never highlights in any capacity. Trying the update etc now.

Edit: Patching it helped it last for longer but it still drops out. As an interesting side note when it does stop, the ASIO meter in the VST meters freezes in place - does sound like a possible driver crash but to my knowledge I don't have any other drivers to install as they are up to date. :/

[King83]

Did a reinstall of my Lexicon Drivers, updated Cubase and applied everything applicable in the knowledbase from Lexicon and I seem to be up and running again. Thanks for the ideas guys!