Digital recorders....

[timothyel]

Hey there,
I've just started setting up a little home studio. I am using a 8 track digital recorder and not any type of computer stuff. Is that pretty much stupid? Where can I find support for that type of set up instead of computer based........

Tim

[Baron]

Originally Posted by timothyel

Hey there,
I've just started setting up a little home studio. I am using a 8 track digital recorder and not any type of computer stuff. Is that pretty much stupid? Where can I find support for that type of set up instead of computer based........

Tim

Hi Tim

Stupid? Not at all!

This site can help with the recording basics. The principals are the same whether you are using a four track cassette or a 512 track DAW

For unit specific information, you could always try the manufacturer’s web site as many of them have good user forums.

Cheers

Baron

[brandondrury]

What problems are you having?

Brandon

[timothyel]

Well...I've got a whole bunch of different problems now. I went and bought Cubase Studio 4 and a Lexicon Omega interface. When I try to record anything over 1 track I get this crazy snap crackle pop going on.......I've adjusted the buffer size so far that when ever I hit a chord on the guitar there is a second delay...I've looked in all the manuals and can’t seem to find a way to fix this. I am using a Dell with an Intel D dual core processor and have 1 GB of ram. Any suggestions? I am completely new at this computer recording so sorry if these are pretty stupid questions.

[Baron]

Originally Posted by timothyel

Well...I've got a whole bunch of different problems now. I went and bought Cubase Studio 4 and a Lexicon Omega interface. When I try to record anything over 1 track I get this crazy snap crackle pop going on........

What operating system are you running? There are some known issues with Vista

Are you using the latest ASIO drivers?

How many USB devices are you running?
(like webcams, keyboards, mice, bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.)

After you adjusted the buffer and got that big delay, did the "crazy snap crackle pop" go away?

Baron

[timothyel]

I am running Vista....Yes I have installed the latest drivers. I've got quite a few things plugged in. A mouse, keyboard, the Lexicon Omega, a couple different monitors.....I would have to go home and check. I updated my computer to have 3 GB of ram and a new hard drive with a 16md cache but I am still having the same problems. No, the snap didn't go away completely when I adjusted the latency.....Any suggestions?

[Baron]

Originally Posted by timothyel

I am running Vista....

Originally Posted by Lexicon support

The Omega is compatible with PC and MAC computers. Windows XP with Service Pack 2 is required to use the Omega on a PC.

Hi Tim
First off, you really need to read and re-read the section on latency and buffers and drivers for your DAW. This is the number one area for common mistakes. It is also important to really get a good understanding of the way Vista selects it's recording and playback drivers and shut off what you don't need on.

Second, when using your DAW disconnect anything that you don't need for recording like printers, webcams, scanners, LAN, modems, wi-fi, bluetooth, etc and reboot your system. As your Omega is a USB device, you need to ensure that you are not getting data collisions.

Read this thread and pay special attention to "BORNintoMUSIC"s posts on USB issues.
Anyway, back to Vista.

There are way too many people having issues with their Omegas (and heaps of other interfaces) on Vista. At this stage there does not appear to be a simple answer. There are a bunch of things you can do to try and improve the performance of the Omega, with Vista, but these are just general Vista tweaks.


This link has some good recommendations.

And you can just google "vista tweaks"

Now the big question: Do you have to run Vista on this PC?

Baron

[timothyel]

No I don't have to run Vista. I actually installed Windows XP on a secondary Harddrive in my computer. I installed Cubase and the omega interface (with the new drivers, and the old) and couldn't get it to work. I kept getting some sort of couldn't start ASIO driver message or something along those lines. I also couldn't get internet access...So I have both operating systems on the computer but I can seem to get either one to work properlly....

[Baron]

Originally Posted by timothyel

I installed Cubase and the omega interface (with the new drivers, and the old) and couldn't get it to work. I kept getting some sort of couldn't start ASIO driver message or something along those lines.

This is important: After you installed XP and Cubase, did you install the drivers before you plugged in the Omega?

Internet access is another issue. It would be good if you had an XP partition setup just for music and left your vista partition to do the web access. That way you don't need to have virus programs and ad/spy/malware programs running on your music configuration and stealing valuable CPU resources.

Baron

[timothyel]

I had the Omega plugged in while I was downloading the drivers. I think at one point the Omega told me to plug the mUSB in before I continued. Was that wrong?