Sonar 7 Producer Edition Audio Drop Outs

[guitarfiend]

Hi, I'm totally new to recording. I'm using Sonar 7 Producer Edition, and Windows Vista. My PC is a HP with an Intel Pentium 4, 2.4 ghz quad-core processor, 2 gigs of ram, and a 320 gig hard drive. My recording interface is a Presonus Firestudio Project. I have closed down all applications (other than Sonar and the Presonus mixer), gone into the task manager and closed all processes that I do not need running. When I hit record, I automatically (or within seconds) get the "Drop Out". What is going on? Do I need to change the buffer size in my Presonus mixer from 256 to say 1024? I have tried this and still get the drop out. And for this change to take effect, do I need to save that setting, close out of it and re-open it? Or is there some setting in Sonar I need to change? I have also set the latency all the way up in Sonar, and still getting a drop out. Thanks in advance for the advice.

[jclampitt]

you could try changing buffer size, and drivers, but the problem could be vista, if you have copy of windows xp you might want to give that a try...

[leobeo]

It seems there is some suggestion here.

Try to follow these.... and feedback us.

[guitarfiend]

Awesome. I'm at work right now, so I'll check it out when I get home. I searched the cakewalk website, but didn't come across this page...it seems as though this should be the solution. Thank you!!! I may finally get to work on some projects.

[deep thought]

hi it depends on which drivers you're using,if you are using Asio which has the least amount of latency then try increasing the buffers and use the latency slider,if you're using WDM mode try increasing or decreasing buffer size and use the latency slider and then use the wave profiler,in Sonar 7 Producer Edition i find 10 ms,seems to be a good setting,though i prefer lower of course,it is still workable,lowering the latency less than 10ms. with my computer setup right now will cause audio dropouts,i hope this will get you in the ball park,just have to experiment with settings.

[adorian]

I am getting these also at Sonar 7 - 4.2 gig dual AMD PC Win XP x64, 4 gig of ram, 128 megs of video. Everything else I have (Cubase, Sony Acid, Tracktion) runs rock solid. So much for my big switch to Sonar

Gotta play with latency, buffer settings, pre-write settings, different drivers. Possibly try even another hard drive than the one the operating system is on and see how it fares.

I am on FP10.

[Necromancer]

Don't diss Sonar too quickly.
If you are having drop out problems it's most likely your Firewire interface.
Rather it's onboard, generic, or VIA - it won't hold up to audio work without problems.
Trust me, I've been through this and not just with Sonar. I switched from Cubase SX 3 recently and Sonar 7 Producer has much more gusto, especially using WDM Kernal over ASIO.
Go to Guitar Center or order it from MusiciansFriend.com - but spend the $40 on this firewire card:
ADS Tech PYRO PCI 64R2 Firewire Card and more Sound and Recording Cards / Audio Interfaces at GuitarCenter.com.
Texas Instrument chipset makes a huge difference.
Take it back if your not happy, you have nothing to loose!

[Singularity]

I'm using Sonar 4 producer edition, with a reasonable pc, and it's great, apart from the unfortunate fact that it calls me a "dropout" every half hour. I get stuff done, but it's still frustrating. I've got a 2.13 core duo, and 3g of ram, using xp pro. I don't know whether it's a sonar issue, or some setting I'm still not getting. The firewire mixer is a multimix12 from alessis, using asio. I'm not sure where to go to solve it from here ( I just grabbed another gig of ram to make sure it wasn't that).
To me, the whole "ghost in the shell" software stuff just gets me frustrated, and I want someone to release a product that doesn't need to be fixed before use. Which does not require updating on the day of purchase. Which actually works as promised without all this mucking about.
How would we feel if we were sold cars with three wheels? With the promise of a fourth if we connect to the internet for half an hour? Anyway...
Sorry for that,
Software seems one of the unique industries where we buy stuff that is not finished... MS, I'm looking at you...
Arrrrg...
Sonar 4 seems nice though. It lets my mixer work. For at least half an hour, starting and stopping.
Unless I run 10 24bit tracks at once with 2-3 effects on each, processed live... then it's closer to 5 mins...
But.... I was promised a TOOL!!! That should WORK!!! bah... too much optimism... too early in the morning for this...
bye...
sorry for ranting...

[Necromancer]

Originally Posted by Singularity

The firewire mixer is a multimix12 from alessis, using asio. I'm not sure where to go to solve it from here

What I said before applies to you. I'm assuming you have an on-board Firewire interface. Changes are it's not a TI chipset and even if it is you may still have issues.

Order the firewire card I mentioned above. Problem solved.

[adorian]

So how come I don't have that problem in Cubase and Acid but it is in Sonar? Can't be the card...
Sonar also calls me dropout on the other PC where I have a PCI built in card (Terratec).