static in DP 5.13

[oldspice]

3 or four times over the past 2 years,I have encountered walls of static in multi-track live recording sessions; in one case, after 2 hours of recording, in another, a week ago, after 15 minutes. I use DP 5.13 on a Mac (dual 1.8 PowerPC G5, 4 GB RAM) with a Mackie Onyx 400F interface. Previously I used a MOTU 828 Mk II which I replaced the first time the static appeared.

The static renders each soundbite unusable; no edge-editing or merging accomplishes anything. The soundbites are superficially normal but when zoomed turn into walls of black "clipping." No adjustments to settings are made in between the good tracks and the static tracks, and the static may appear midway through a track.

When I research this topic I find that many people have experienced this. One person said MOTU told him an upgrade to 6.o2 would cure it, but users of later versions have posted similar experiences, I think. Is there now a consensus of opinion as to the sources of and cures for this problem? Perhaps Protools?

I would particularly welcome input from the moderators. whom I am sure know all there is to be known about DP.

Thanks for reading this and for any help you can offer.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

I have suspected FireWire as the culprit. It carries a voltage and that concerns me. Once I started using a separate power supply for my audio interface, pretty much shut the f up and did its job.

Maybe something to think about.

[oldspice]

Thanks.
So a "power conditioner" might be the remedy, then?

[MIDI Life Crisis]

No. A power supply for the device. Some come with wall warts. Others have optional supplies. IOW, the device is not buss powered.

[oldspice]

The Mackie Onyx 400F isn't buss-powered or on a wall wart, but on its own AC cord. There is a FW connection to the Mac.

[MIDI Life Crisis]

Then everything I said is now moot. Sorry.

[oldspice]

thanks, anyway.

[James Steele]

... the moderators. whom I am sure know all there is to be known about DP.

If only. That's why this forum exists. Hard to know "all there is."

[MIDI Life Crisis]

All I know as a moderator is that I learn everything I need to know about DP from other members - and a few moderators.

[Frodo]

I use DP 5.13 on a Mac (dual 1.8 PowerPC G5, 4 GB RAM)

Which version of OSX? I only ask just to put a few possible culprits into context.

It would be a stretch to think that all DAWs get it right all the time. The problem is that all it takes is for something to go wrong once before a project is wrecked.

That said, there *could be* another possibility.

There was a time when some fx and instruments had difficulty shaking hands with MAS. I recall a few years ago Magic Dave (our MOTU guy) talking about which processes were handled by MAS and which were not. (I would like to find his post again because it revealed much I was not aware of and raised additional questions.) There were other discussions about bounce issues in which bouncing direct from MAS to wav, bwav, aiff, etc., worked better than bouncing via Core Audio. The general result was that recorded or bounced audio generated an audio file of noise or silence.

If DP6 did not address these issues fully, then it should also be noted that MOTU has gone further than DP6 to fix these and many other issues. The problem here is that the move from PPC to Intel processors accelerated more rapidly than some users could afford to upgrade their hardware. So, a lot of users found themselves stuck with the vulnerabilities of their hardware along with the pre-Intel compatibility conundrum.

The same is true with the arrival of DP8 and 64-bit memory addressing. Not every working Intel-Mac can run the latest version of OSX or even boot the 64-bit kernel-- even if it could run 10.6.

My point is that certain remedies are no longer as simple as good software management as it once was. Increasingly, moving forward means updating hardware-- and that gets into some nasty business.

If remaining with older hardware and corresponding compatible software is a must, the best approach I can think of is to consider an occasional (if infrequent) maintenance routine of wiping the drive and reinstalling everything just to keep things as clean as possible so that everything works as well as it did before the problems reared their ugly heads. Files *do* go corrupt in whole or in part. Keeping those files clean (and backed up) is paramount.

A good hard drive *should be* good for 5 years or so. After that, it could be subject to bad sectors and other mechanical wear that could result in read/write glitches. The occasional "blip" might be a sign of aging hardware. Yeah, it works great for the most part-- but why wait for failure before addressing the issue?

Yep. You bought new tires for your car, but you've put 30k miles on them since. Why wait until a blowout occurs before you replace them? Same with hard drives. Bad sectors build over time. Replace them before they become impossible to deal with if they are older than 5 years.

If the audio noise remains occasional (2-3 times a year), count your blessings and weigh them carefully against the wise pragmatism of the financial savings of not having invested in every hardware or software upgrade at every turn.

At the same time, be aware that DP and OSX have come a LONG way since the days of Tiger and Leopard.

[oldspice]

Thanks for the reply. I use 10.5.6.

A new hard drive is in my future, and probably an Intel Mac, too, but I don't know the compatibilty issues.

[Frodo]

If (and only if) problems persist, I would recommend trying the 10.5.8 Combo Update

At least up to one point, MOTU recommended Combo Updates over the more streamlined Software Update. I still do Combo Updates which are more fully featured and refresh a great many more files than the standard Software Update does, hence the difference in the size of the respective downloads.

As for compatibility issues, it remains a point of focus for many, so don't feel alone in your mystery. There really is a Scooby-Doo something or other quality about this.

For the time being, just know that 10.5.8 should tidy up your OS functionality from 10.5.6. Does that solve the audio noise problem? Hard to tell, but options are currently limited.

As mentioned, if the issue is debilitating, then there's nothing to lose by doing the OS update. If your current issue is manageable with only biannual occurrences, then it might be best to leave things as they are... and to run the occasional disc repair/defrag utility, as the case may be or see fit...

Every time I mention DiskWarrior, someone always comes along with another option--- but almost any disk utility is better than none at all.

What's best and/or still available for 10.5 will take a bit of research.

[oldspice]

Thanks again. I'll try that update.