MW Equalizer + Automation = Useless (noise)?

kriista · Post by **kriista** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 10:17 pm

I've been working on a very busy mix that has required alot of surgical automation with MWEQ (sweeping up the locut filter to remove footsteps upstairs etc..) and have been running into some wierd problems.

I did a search but nothing turned up so heres whats happening.

On some automation (I havent found a rhyme or reason as to what triggers it) MWEQ makes an earsplitting (and im sure monitor busting , if i wasnt using headphones) noise.
even the FFT goes crazy, The noise is hard to describe, but it clips everything, the FFT flies up off the screen and it makes my ears hurt.

Now this happens with a simple, slow movement on the locut freq from say 20hz to 50hz.

I had to dork around with a few diff eqs to get something to work the way i wanted MWEQ to work, sans the awful sound. I even bounced out to near if it was only in playback, and its in the bounced version too.

It also happens much more subtly on another track I'm working on , similar thing, using the locut freq sweep to 'dial out' thumps etc.. (thats home recording for ya!), on this track theres a barely audioble 'thumpy drag' type sound as the automation moves.

Like if your dragging a rubber shoe accros a large metal tub. I hadnt worried about it as i figured it wouldnt print on bounce, but it does...

So, has anyone else had similar problems with MWEQ automation?

Like I said, it only happens on certain things, but its not inconsistant, if the automation makes noise, it makes the same exact noise every time, and I'm only using the locut freq automation.

If my ears can stand it, i might take a quick video of the noise, its remarkable.

dpdan · Post by **dpdan** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 11:01 pm

I had that same problem, almost blew my eardrums, I discovered how un-godly reliable the high frequency drivers are in my Tannoy monitors. Holy crap it was loud!

I sent the project to Magic Dave and he ran it at MOTU, and it would not act up at all. If I recall, I was using DP5.0 at the time with 10.3.9. I think I am being honest when I say that I have not had this problem since updating to Tiger and DP 5.1.

Dan

kriista · Post by **kriista** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 11:14 pm

At least I'm not alone.

Well, I'm experiencing this in DP5.1 with OS 10.4.8.

I am using the internal sound driver, so maybe it acts different on diff sound cards? (i havent tested it running through my traveller as I normally mix with just my laptop + headphones)

dpdan · Post by **dpdan** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:06 pm

I too use a Traveler, so if you continue to have this problem, I would suggest contacting Magic Dave magicd@motu.com and tell him that Dan Kury had the same problem.
Dan

stephentayler · Post by **stephentayler** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 12:23 am

I had a weird one too with MW EQ. I also use a Traveler.

Doing a surround mix, and automated sweeping the lowpass filter.

At various points in the track, usually where there was a sudden change in the sweep, the left and right channels ( to which this sound was routed, and sometimes also the rear channels) in the Traveler would pop and cut out, to reappear a few seconds later. Eventually the channels would stay off, and a complete reset was requiired.

Completely the same every time I tried. Funnily enough, the LFE channel carried on working.

The solution was to BTD the channel with the sweeping filter. Then no further problems (after cancelling the EQ plugin)

So It seemed like it was the action of the automation ( or real-time) adjustments that were causing a glitch to MAS?

Not exactly the same, but similar to some of the other posts.

Curious

Stephen

blue · Post by **blue** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:50 am

I'd be curious to see what happens if you check "Always run in real time" in the mini menu of the MWEQ plugin. Could DP's new rendering feature be somehow responsible for this problem?

dpdan · Post by **dpdan** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:03 am

blue wrote:I'd be curious to see what happens if you check "Always run in real time" in the mini menu of the MWEQ plugin. Could DP's new rendering feature be somehow responsible for this problem?

I almost always run plugins in real time, so although this is a good thought, that's not the cause.
Thanks for helping blue.

Also, once this automation causes your ears to blow once, the project will continue to mess up in this regard even after a cold reboot.

Dan

blue · Post by **blue** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:34 pm

Oh well. It was worth a shot I guess.

In general, I wonder why there are all sorts of new audio playback/bounce bugs. Did MOTU rewrite the MAS code to accommodate pre-rendering, and screw something up in the process?

Just meaningless conjecture on my part. Carry on.