Random Audio Distortion During Recording, Playback OK

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Discussion related to installation, configuration and use of MOTU hardware such as MIDI interfaces, audio interfaces, etc. with Windows
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jsg
Posts: 44
Joined: Fri May 03, 2013 7:43 pm
Primary DAW OS: Windows

Random Audio Distortion During Recording, Playback OK

Post by jsg »

Hello,

I have a random, intermittent problem when recording audio and hope somebody out there might be able to figure out what's going on. It doesn't matter whether I record from a microphone into the MOTU 1248 (my audio interface) or whether I record one track to another track in Sonar Platinum (latest version), or whether I am recording a soft synth track to another track.

I am hearing distortion that gets into the recording (playback is fine). If I zoom in far to the wave file, I see what appears to be little square waves that should not be there. I record a take, and it's distorted. I record again on same track and it's good for the next 5 or 6 takes, and then the distortion comes back, it's unpredictable.

Here is what I have done in terms of troubleshooting:

1. Swap USB cables between DAW and MOTU 1248 audio interface.

2. Change USB port on DAW.

3. Update to latest Windows updates (Win7) and updates to latest MOTU drivers and firmware.

4. Sweetwater technician took remote control of DAW to check if Windows settings are good for audio, they are.

5. Took DAW out of the signal path and replaced with a laptop running same drivers, same OS and same version of Sonar Platinum (latest).

6. Turned off master clock (Antelope OCX-HD) and ran the MOTU 1248 on its internal clock.

7. Experimented with different disc buffer record settings in Sonar up to 2048.

8. Experimented with audio buffer sizes in the 1248, increased to 1024.

9. Turned off "Remove DC Offset During Record" in Sonar.


None of these things have resolved it. Today, I received a new 1248 as the one I have is still under warranty. I set it up and recorded, expecting resolution. But same problem, intermittent distortion which comes and goes while recording!

This is a very stubborn issue. And an embarrassing one when musicians are in the recording booth and I waste their valuable time with a take that fails.

Any help is greatly appreciated,

Jerry
www.jerrygerber.com
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